I haven't untill now:

 

 

 

 

It appears to be made of the same material as the ethocel canteens. I have never seen one, and neither has anyone that I have talked to yet. I can't find it in any books, and can find NO info on the web. Has anyone EVER seen one of these?? It apparently came out of Fort Lenordwood's museum here in Mo. It somehow ended up in a military shop. It is stamped US, but no maker or date. Any clues as to what this could be, and just what the hell it might be worth?????

Nice one but never heard of it

 

Maybe a test as almost no even pop up for sale ?

That definitely scores a 10 on the cool factor! I never seen one before and don't have the slightest clue as to value. I'm surprised it has survived intact this long, I would image that the thin plastic would be very brittle by now.

If it came out of the FT. L.W. museum, then it's stolen. Army Museums do not dispose of their property, expecially something obscure like this, by just selling it off. Someone needs to contact the curator and have him check his records to see if it is missing.

Here is one that was posted previously by a member of the forum: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/33015-ethocel-plastic-spoon-marked-us/

If it came out of the FT. L.W. museum, then it's stolen. Army Museums do not dispose of their property, expecially something obscure like this, by just selling it off. Someone needs to contact the curator and have him check his records to see if it is missing.

 

 

Just to add, I believe there are three museums there so it might be best to check with each.

Ethocel was used for more than just canteens, so the testing of plastic cutlery by the army during WWII seems plausible.

Greetings, can you show a photo of the back as well?

 

Thanks,

JRR

Checked. There is no record of it being at any Army sysyem museum at Ft. Leonard Wood.

 

 

Makes perfect sense they would try this. The number of experimental items tried in the 1942 early 1943 metal shortage period was staggering. I suspect they might have run into some issues with boiling water and or breakage.

Made of copper, by Silco. Are their more of these out there?

Wow! I've never seen an ethocel, or a copper mess kit spoon.. This is why I love this forum!

It is stamped US, but no maker or date. Any clues as to what this could be, and just what the hell it might be worth?????

Very interesting item! I generally find it annoying when somebody responds "it's worth whatever someone will pay for it" but in this case that might be the best answer. I like it a lot but personally wouldn't want to pay more than $20-25 for it. Others might be willing to pay more. It's such a unique item there really isn't a fixed value.

These are neither WW II nor mess kit spoons! They were made for the Air Force in the early 1950's as a component in the SAC E-1 Survival Kit. There were no knives or forks, just the spoons. After the E-1 kit became a limited standard item, many of the components, including the Ethocel spoons found their way into other kits. The E-1 kit with a specific list of components became the ML-4 kit with components being chosen by the base commander to meet mission requirements. Through attrition they were eventually replaced with the metal field mess spoon.

 

Below are a few references to them.

 

This is from the Military Specification, MIL-S-6216A, titled Sustenance Kit, Individual, Long-Range, Type E-1.

 

This is from the SAC Land Survival Guide section covering the components in the kit.

 

This is from another list of components for the kit.