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Not every BBQ skewer comes from a factory. In Myanmar, bamboo skewers are handcrafted using nothing but a knife, a grinding wheel, and a homemade metal disc tool with punched holes that scrapes each strip smooth in one single pull. Workers split fresh bamboo along the grain into consistent strips, grind pointed tips, then pull each strip through a small hole that removes all rough edges instantly — producing uniform, smooth skewers ready for street BBQ stalls. Simple tools, zero machinery, and a technique refined entirely by hand.
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Transcript
00:00did you know the bamboo skewers on your barbecue grill aren't always factory made
00:03in some parts of myanmar bamboo skewers are pulled out entirely by hand workers split freshly cut
00:09bamboo along the grain separating it layer by layer gradually splitting it into evenly thick
00:14strips then continuing to split until individual bamboo sticks of roughly consistent thickness
00:18emerge at this stage the basic skewer shape already exists one end of each strip is held
00:24against a high speed grinding wheel and lightly sanded to create a pointed tip preparing it for
00:29the next step the real efficiency comes from a surprisingly simple homemade tool a small metal
00:34disc is fixed onto a nut then a nail and hammer are used to punch several small holes along the
00:38disc
00:38edge and the whole edges are repeatedly smoothed down a bamboo finishing tool is ready the strip
00:44is inserted through a hole the pointed end gripped by pliers then pulled back with force as the strip
00:49passes through the hole excess rough edges on the outer layer get scraped off instantly one pull one
00:55finished skewer uniform thickness smooth surface these skewers go directly to street barbecue stalls
01:00every skewer you see on grilled food in myanmar streets is made exactly this way
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