Useful reading
Choosing Grill Skewers: What a Maker Looks At Before Buying
A skewer looks like the simplest thing on the grill, yet it decides whether the meat sits still and browns evenly or spins heavy-side-down and chars on one edge. At DAVIGO we make skewers on the same laser and welding equipment as our heating elements, and years at the bench have produced a short list of what to check before buying a set or a few singles. Below: steel, profile, diameter, length, handle, and what separates one gift set from another.
Stainless or carbon steel, and why the blade is triangular
Carbon steel is cheaper, which is why market stalls are full of it. The trouble is rust: wash a skewer and leave it damp, and by morning there is an orange bloom that later ends up on the meat. Such skewers need oiling and dry storage, and after a few seasons a thin black rod twists from the heat.
Stainless behaves differently. The chromium in the alloy forms a thin oxide film that heals itself after scratches, so the skewer can be washed, left wet in a bucket or kept in a garage without rusting or tainting the food, and it holds its shape after hundreds of heatings. Every item in our skewer catalogue is stainless steel, so the rest of this article assumes that.
Now the profile. A round skewer is an axle: the piece rotates freely, and when you turn it, the heavier side slides back down. A flat skewer holds, but its thin edge cuts through the fibres, and half an hour later the meat is flapping on a wide slot.
A triangular section sits between the two. Three faces enter the meat on three planes, so the piece is locked, does not spin and does not slide when turned, while the corners are not sharp enough to sever the fibres. That is why everything we produce is triangular, from the basic Ø9 single to the sets in a tube.
Ø9 or Ø14: which diameter for which meat
Diameter is chosen for the size of the piece and the weight the rod carries over the coals, not on the principle that thicker is better.
- Ø9 mm — chicken, turkey, fish, vegetables, pork in pieces up to 40–50 g. The thin rod tears delicate meat less, mushrooms and onion rings thread easily, and a piece of chicken does not split on it the way it does on a thick one.
- Ø14 mm — pork neck in large chunks, lamb, ribs, minced-meat kebabs. The rod does not sag under a kilogram of meat, gives back heat more slowly, and mince grips the wider faces without props.
When your grilling varies, it makes sense to have both diameters in one case. That is how the twelve-piece set of six Ø9 and six Ø14 skewers is put together: chicken and vegetables go on the thin ones, pork and lamb on the thick.
Length for your grill, and what the wooden handle is for
Measure the grill across, wall to wall. The working part of the skewer should exceed that width by 8–10 cm so the ends rest on the sides and the handle is not hanging over the embers. Our set skewers are 660 mm overall, 130 mm of which is handle. The PREMIUM Ø14 skewer with a natural-wood grip has a 54 cm working length, enough for a grill up to 45 cm wide with margin on both sides.
A metal handle is one solid piece; it goes in the dishwasher and you forget about it, its one drawback being that it gets hot, so you turn in a glove. Wood does not conduct heat, so you turn with a bare hand, and it does not roll in the palm the way a smooth metal ring does. Care is light: do not leave it in water overnight, wipe it with oil once a season. Sold singly, the triangular Ø14 mm skewer with a wooden handle is from 170 UAH, the same profile in Ø9 from 150 UAH, and Ø14 with a metal handle from 145 UAH.
Gift sets: fabric case, leather case, tube or quiver
Gift sets are asked about more often than single skewers, and the reason is plain: handing a man six loose steel rods feels awkward, while a set in a case reads as a proper object. The skewers themselves are the same across the sets, triangular stainless Ø14 with a wooden handle, 660 mm long. What differs is what lies beside them and what they are stored in.
| Set | Contents | Packaging | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ø9, 6 pcs | 6 skewers Ø9 | case | from 1099 UAH |
| Ø14, 6 pcs | 6 skewers Ø14 | case | from 1219 UAH |
| Tochno v Tsil | 6 skewers Ø14, 2 forks 640 and 410 mm | fabric case | from 1415 UAH |
| Myslyvets | skewers Ø14 | quiver | from 1538 UAH |
| 12 pcs, Ø9 and Ø14 | 6 skewers Ø9 and 6 skewers Ø14 | case | from 2024 UAH |
| Dlia Svoikh | 6 skewers Ø14, 2 forks | leather case | from 2224 UAH |
| Fainyi Hospodar | 6 skewers Ø14, 2 forks 640 and 410 mm | tube | from 2684 UAH |
How to pick between them. The Tochno v Tsil set in a fabric case is the working option for a country house: light, washable, afraid of nothing. Dlia Svoikh in a leather case suits someone who likes an object in the hand; a set like this is hung where it can be seen rather than put away in a cupboard. Fainyi Hospodar in a tube has a rigid body instead of a soft case, so the skewers do not bend in a car boot and do not stab your hand when you reach into a bag, so it goes to people who often drive out of town. The two forks in these sets, 640 mm for lifting meat over the fire and 410 mm for the plate, are exactly what is usually missing by the grill.
What skewers cost, singly and as a set
The basic triangular Ø9 without a wooden handle is from 125 UAH, Ø9 with a wooden handle from 150, Ø14 with a metal handle from 145, Ø14 with a wooden handle from 170, and the PREMIUM Ø14 with a natural-wood grip from 207 UAH. A set of six Ø14 in a case is from 1219 UAH, roughly six single skewers plus the case; the Ø9 set is from 1099 UAH. Sets with forks cost more by exactly the forks and the packaging: on its own a 41 cm fork is from 164 UAH and a 64 cm fork from 184 UAH. We write prices as “from” because steel does not rise in price evenly, and the current figure is always on the product page.
Frequently asked questions
Which skewers are right for minced-meat kebabs?
Triangular Ø14. The mince grips the faces, whereas a thin Ø9 simply turns inside the kebab and it slides into the coals. Shape the meat onto a cold, dry skewer with wet hands, pack it tightly in a layer no thicker than 3 cm, and put it on the grill at once, before the mince warms up from your palms.
How many skewers should a set have?
Six is the standard for a party of four to six: an Ø14 skewer takes five or six pieces, which is one serving. Twelve are bought when two batches or two kinds of meat are cooked at once, or when the owner wants both Ø9 and Ø14, as in the twelve-piece set.
How do I clean stainless steel skewers?
Hot water and a sponge straight after grilling, before the fat sets. Burnt-on residue comes off with the rough side of the sponge and some soda, or ordinary washing-up liquid; wire brushes are unnecessary and leave scratches. Keep the wooden handle out of standing water and away from radiators, or the wood will crack.
What do you give a man who already owns skewers?
The things that are usually missing by the grill: a set with two forks, a separate 64 cm fork for lifting meat, tongs or a spatula with a wooden grip, and for someone who has moved on to steaks and vegetables, a 645×405 mm stainless grill grate. All of these sit in our catalogue next to the skewers.