Patent ID: 8235435

Claim:
A handle ( 10 ) comprising: a shaft including a valley ( 25 ) arranged and designed to conform generally to at least a portion of a user's closed hand, said shaft characterized by radial cross-sections along its entire length, each radial cross-section having an outer surface defined by an ellipse having a center, wherein a straight longitudinal axis passes through each center of each ellipse, and wherein said radial cross-sections change as a function of length, thereby forming a floor ( 64 ), a push slope ( 62 ) which slopes up and forward from the floor ( 64 ), and a pull slope ( 60 ) which slopes downward from an end ( 27 ) of the shaft toward said floor ( 64 ), wherein a cross-sectional area of an end of the pull slope ( 60 ) and a cross-sectional area of an end of the push slope ( 62 ) each are substantially larger than a cross-sectional area of the floor ( 64 ), a utensil mating section ( 40 ) arranged and designed to connect said shaft to a utensil ( 50 ); and a ring stop section ( 30 ) disposed on said shaft at a location remote from said utensil mating section ( 40 ) and forward of said valley ( 25 ), said ring stop section ( 30 ) including at least one ring ( 33 ) having a raised surface above a surface of the shaft and arranged and designed to allow contact with the user's thumb and at least one finger when the user's hand is closed around said valley ( 25 ).