This page is devoted to the various types of silver serving tongs such as asparagus tongs, chop servers and ice tongs.
The most common form of silver asparagus tongs are similar in design to oversized sugar tongs with the addition of a restraining bar, usually held in place by screws, across the centre of the stem. The large blades are often pierced, for straining, and have a lip at the end of one to help hold the spears. Earlier forms of asparagus tongs have unpierced blades with a corrugated inner surface for improving grasp. This style of server has also been linked with other serving purposes e.g. chops, steak, salad and sandwiches (basically for whatever use the owner can find!). Other less common forms of asparagus and serving tongs include the scissor action type and those with spring loaded blades - these generally date from pre-1800.
