The first time I remember using chopsticks was in a chinese restaurant in Acapulco, Mexico. I think I was 12. Only I already new how to use them at that point. Don't know where I picked them up the first time.

Western food in general is sometimes ill suited for chopsticks, but lately I find them much better for salads than forks. It seems restaurants no longer care to make the lettuce bite size and the dull pointed fork tines won't skewer anything but the ribs in the leaves.

i've been able to use them since i was little but then recently i found out i was holding them wrong lol

Don`t worry about that - I think something like 25% of Japanese people hold them wrong. My husband included.

Wow I didn't expect there to be so many people able to use them :O

Yeah I was also like that too, most random.

yeah, i use them like every day :vsign:

I went to a hibachi house today.. and tried to use the chopsticks. The waiter must have thought I looked stupid because he actually took a folded piece of paper, stuck it in between two sticks, and tied it together with a rubber band and gave it to me. XD

Not replying to any specific post, but a general comment. If you ask anyone that grew up from an oriental family that uses chopstick, they will tell you that to "CLAIM" the ability to use a chopstick is more than holding it and grab food with it, but to hold it in the proper form and height

I was able to "USE" is for 20 somewhat odd years, and my family keep giving me a hard time for "not knowing how to hold and use the chopstick". I didn't manage to correct it until i was around 27 or 28....

not really sure what your talking about x]
but yeah, aLOT of people hold hashi wrong >.>"""
believe the correct method is to stick your middle finger
between both sticks.
what most people do is like put the middle finger to the side of the sticks.....

by putting your middle finger inbetween, you create a lever, w/ your finger acting as a fulcrum

by putting it to the side....your just operating each stick individually >.>'''

bleh x]
*wonder if that's what your talking about*

I can use them. I just don't have many places to use them. We only have a few Japanese and chinese resturants in my area and my friend, Helen, makes sushi a lot. I have a couple of sets of them. I agree with you on the slick plastic ones,TalnSG. You just can't get a good grip. I've seen the aluminum chopsticks on JBox. They look great but I'm not sure they'd be much be much better than the plastic ones if they don't have textured grips.