One of the staples of a disposable-avoiding lifestyle is reusable cutlery. There are a lot of different styles to choose from, depending on which tools you need and the circumstances of use. How portable do they need to be? Can you wash them at the same location where you'll be eating? Do you really need anything any fancier than a mismatched set you can get at a thrift store for next to nothing and without making anything new?

Outlery caters to those who would like a full set of metal eating implements that coordinates well together and fits in a squarish tin rather than a longer case or cover. The trick is that each comes in 3 pieces--the "business end", a handle end, and a handle center--to be assembled when needed and disassembled for carrying. The pieces connect with screws in the handles.

One big benefit of this system is versatility. You can carry whichever, and as many, business ends as fit in the tin. A spoon, knife, fork, and two chopstick tips fit easily in the standard tin. The knife can be serrated or TSA-compliant, as you choose, and you can swap the standard spoon and/or fork with a spork or squarish "ice cream spoon". If all you want are chopsticks, you can get them by themselves in a smaller tin. All of these are available in several colors.

I Kickstarted this a long time ago, but I find I don't use it much anymore, for a few reasons. One is that there are just so many little pieces to carry and wash (including the tin and silicone liner, once you get back home), and there's no good way to isolate the clean pieces from the dirty ones in the tin. They can also rattle around a bit. Another is that the tin is a little thick for my taste; the small purse I use to carry essentials is better suited for a thinner item like Life Without Plastic's folding spork. Leaving pieces out that you don't expect to need will reduce the set's weight, but not its volume. They offer a silicone case that can protect the tin and prevent rattling, but of course that comes with the tradeoff of making the whole set slightly larger again.

My own quibbles aside, this may be right up your alley if a spork just won't cut it, including in the literal sense.