Laboratory spatula
A small hand held tool for picking up, transferring and dispensing small amounts of solids such as powders and granules, occasionally for stirring (combining) powders, and for scraping. Usually manufactured from a thin metal rod with both ends flattened to form blades.
Horn, bone, platinum, steel (Chemical and pharmaceutic manipulations, by Campbell Morfit, Alexander Mucklé, pub Lindsay and Blakiston, 1849, p80-81)
Platinum (Chemical manipulation, by Michael Faraday pub J. Murray, 1842, p39-40)
Nickel-stainless steel. Can be found PTFE coated.
One blade end is usually squared off, the other rounded. The rounded end may be bent slightly to afford greater proficiency in scraping material off a surface to which it adheres. Usually the blades are otherwise flat to afford moving small amounts of powder off the blade with a tapping motion of a finger. Battery powered vibrating spatulas, or those having a toothed wheel turned by finger or thumb tip, are available. Occasionally one blade is made concurve to prevent accidental loss of material from the spatula, i.e. to better contain powder while being moved from one place to another. Another variant employs a tapered blade to impart a degree of flexibility to the tip.
Most commonly used to transfer small amounts of a chemical from its container to the analytical balance.
Typical length is around 9 inches. A smaller version is known as a micro-spatula, of overall length typically less than 3 inches. Spatulas of intermediate length are referred to as "semi-micro".
See also Scoopula See also Laboratory spoon