TAKIBISM Dish Handle

A standalone handle for lifting the Frying Pan Dish on and off the fire

The TAKIBISM Dish Handle is a gripper made specifically for the Frying Pan Dish. It is not a part that attaches or locks onto the plate — it hooks the rim with its claws and lifts. The grip is maple, and this one tool is all you need to move a Frying Pan Dish on and off a fire safely. It is made for carrying — lifting on and off the fire — and is not used for tossing or shaking food in the pan.

Three claws hook the rim — it does not lock on

This is a tool for hooking the rim of the plate and lifting it. There is no clamp or locking mechanism joining it to the plate. You can support the plate on one claw or two, choosing whichever grip is stable for the situation. With the Large, flipping the handle over and supporting on two claws is steadier. Once you have the hooking point and angle settled, it becomes easier to lift the plate off the fire bed and to fine-tune height and distance over a fire stand.

A self-contained gripper with a maple grip

The part your hand meets is maple. Pairing a wooden grip with the iron body gives both a secure hold and easy handling. The Dish Handle is complete in itself; it does not need to be fitted to anything else. You can pick it up quickly at the fireside and concentrate on the movement of lifting the plate.

How it differs from the Dish Joint

There is another part for handling the Frying Pan Dish, the Dish Joint, but that one is an attachment you swap onto the tip of the Breath to Fire bellows. The Dish Handle, by contrast, is a standalone handle with a maple grip and cannot be mounted on the bellows. It came about in response to requests to handle the plate while still working the fire, so that operating the bellows and handling the plate stay separate.

Fits all three sizes: Small, Medium and Large

It is adjusted to hold the Small, Medium and Large Frying Pan Dish alike. One handle covers the whole range, so you can cook, serve and manage the fire without adding more tools. The claw adjustment can also be changed by the maker. Note that the contents are one gripper — the plate itself is not included.

Getting the most out of it, and what to avoid

Because it does not lock onto the plate, where you hook it, at what angle, and where you take the fulcrum all bear directly on stability. Catch a solid part of the rim, put a little weight on it just before lifting to confirm it is steady, then move — that makes it easier to handle. Keep the use to carrying, that is, lifting on and off the fire. Do not use it to toss, shake or sharply tilt the pan.

The finish, and why no two are alike

The Frying Pan Dish began as a forged piece: steel plate heated in a coke furnace until it glowed red, then struck with a hammer to draw out the curve. Each plate went through four or five rounds of heating and forging. Forming has since moved to pressing, but the hand-finishing stages remain, which is why each plate varies by roughly 5mm in dimension and differs in surface texture.

For the finish, oil is applied and baked on to form an oxide coating. That coating comes up as a black lustre, and depending on how the light falls you may see iridescent colour in it. Rather than industrial uniformity, each piece carries its own character as a tool. The Dish Handle itself is the same: hand-finishing at the final stage leaves small differences in appearance.

The makers behind it

TAKIBISM began when outdoor life advisor Hajime Sangawa and iron artist Noboru Makizuka (Makizuka Ironworks) set out to make the tools they needed themselves. Sangawa says he likes fire because it cannot be owned, and he values a "small fire" built from thin branches rather than thick logs. Tools made to face the fire honestly, rather than chase convenience alone, are what produce the minimal, dependable function of something like the Dish Handle. Production is by Makizuka Ironworks in Kagawa — a workshop that handles everything from architectural metalwork to fire tools — giving shape to the brand's world alongside other makers of the Setouchi region.

Specifications