I have been in the market for double-prong skewers for barbecuing meat. Double-prong skewers look like a very large hairpin, with both prongs going through the meat, thus preventing rotation, so when one turns the skewer full of meat over, everything turns over.
I have a old and ratty set of such skewers, but need more, and perhaps better. I think what I have was made by Weber, although what I have doesn't look exactly those pictured:
But these look pretty flimsy, and I wanted stainless steel, unlike the chrome-plated rusty steel I have. So, I found these.
They look flimsy too, and will not hold the food securely unless everything is exactly the same size.
Hmm. It's just a piece of wire sharpened at both ends and bent into a hairpin. We can do that! Don't even need fancy machine tools.
Requirements: These skewers go inside the Weber grill and must not interfere with closing the cover, must withstand the full 550 F heat, must be stiff enough that one can handle and flip a fully-loaded skewer over with tongs, and must not rust.
Of the common types of stainless steel, Type 316 is the most corrosion resistant, and is the easiest to weld (and so won't likely be caused to rust by the 550 F heat). A 6' length costs $10.46 from McMaster.
So I bought some 0.125" diameter Type 316 stainless steel rod, and made two skewers, which are simple hairpins about 13" long with prongs about 0.5" apart. The process is to sharpen both ends of a 25" long piece into diamond points with a file and bend the middle of the rod by hand over a steel rod held in a vise, finishing the bend using the vise.
Next step is to run the new skewers through the dishwasher, to get any machine oil off.
Probably get to use them this week. I'm wondering if 1/8" diameter is too large. If it is, I'll use 3/32" diameter rod instead.
Joe Gwinn