Unconventional kitchen utensil you can't live without?

I sometimes find these two in a box in my kitchen, does that make them utensils?

The top one is obviously tech support for your appliances. Why else would they be wearing a headset?
- True, but she doesn't always give the best advice..

A coffee grinder. Freshly grinded beans taste so different from normal preground coffee.

What kind do you have?
- I have the cheapest manual grinder I could find in my local supermarket. It does the job

A safety can opener that doesn't create any sharp edges, like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_mLxyIXpSY (a LONG video, but quite an interesting one IMHO).

It's nor even funny how much this thing is better than any other opener I've ever used, it's just so bloody amazing!

Knew what video it was before I clicked the link. We bought one because of that video!
- It's amazing how someone can just tell when it's going to be a Technology Connections video. Such great videos on so many different topics!
I have an OXO Good Grips one that has been great for 25 years.
Ordinary wheel-cutting can openers get used wrong - they should be cutting the side of the can and not the lid, with the knurled wheel flat and pressed against the rim of the can.
No sharp lip, and you don’t need to fish a lid out of the can. Downside is you can’t use a lid cover to “save” the contents if you don’t use them all.
- see, i've tried using them the "right" way, but i've found that i'd rather have the lid be sharp than the can most of the time.

A Marijuana grinder. I like foraging for foods, so I tend to use the grinder on things like Staghorn Sumac, or Spice Bush to make a course grind. It allows a lot of control on how much you want to use and how fine, unlike a blender.

Before it's asked, I actually have never smoked weed. It was listed as a "spice grinder" and I never thought it was for weed when I got it.

Unconventional in what sense? For westerners? A wok probably

I used to hate wok because it is so big to wash, but then I started understanding its versatility. I still hate washing it tho.

Wok is pretty standard here in the UK.
You gotta be careful with that purchase as wok cooking is usually meant for very high heat which a lot of kitchen stoves can’t provide—those folks would be better off with a tradition pan & a lower, slower heat when trying to make a stir fry. Here, most woks at attached directly to a propane tank to generate that level of heat.
I feel this. I use my wok for everything. Would like to upgrade to a carbon steel one.

Did I miss it or did no one say Rice Cooker yet? A good rice cooker makes rice texture so much better while simplifying the whole process.

Someone gifted me a Le Creuset rice cooker. I use it at least once but often twice a week.
- Oh my partner's been trying to convince me to accept one because I make so much stovetop rice, but don't want a digital rice cooker with plastic and circuits and all that.
  How does it do?
A pot is IMO sufficient for single use cooking (maybe once every 1-2 weeks of cooking) if you are not a primary rice household.
- I mean I eat rice more days than I don't and I use a pot. 15 minutes + mostly unattended, while I'm prepping some protein or whatever.

Osthyvel (a cheese slicer). I kinda miss it every time I'm on vacation and I have no means to get the expected thickness of a cheese slice.

This is the epitome of first world problems.

Yesss! I grew up with one of these and didn’t realize it was unconventional until I lived on my own and tried to find one in a store. Had to buy it online. I use it nearly every day.
- It blows my mind that the ostehøvvel is not a common utensil in most countries. How else would you enjoy brødskive with brunost?

I have a tiny whisk instead of a regular-size one, and I have convinced myself it is objectively superior in every way

If you hold your pinky finger out when you use it, then it definitely is

Small set of whetstones so I can keep my kitchen knives absurdly sharp. Sharp vs "meh" vs dull knives make a huge difference in speed, comfort and safety. I've scuffed my knives a bit getting into things, but at least they're sharp as hell and touching them up only takes a few minutes.

Also it's hardly unconventional, but a quick read thermometer (fold-out type) is almost a must.

Weirdly, a dough scraper. It's not because of the measurement conversions, I don't think I'd ever noticed them up until now actually. It's just a really solid dough scraper. I use it for dough, but I've also used it for so many other things, like assembling/disassembling furniture, patching holes in the wall, wrapping furniture in a vinyl sheet. Loads of various tasks.

Every so often you find that you need a solid, flat, steel thing, and this comes in handy every single time.

Yep! Great for so many things, though I don't think I've ever used the measurements on mine.
That doesn't sound very food-safe...

I use a mandoline. It used to take me easily 5+ minutes per onion to dice. Now I can get 2 onions diced in about 2 minutes. Less dramatic time savings are available for other veggies too, depending on how finely I want them chopped up.

A garlic press - saves so much time and effort over mincing garlic with a knife because I'm not a pro chef, and can be used in about 95% of situations where you need garlic. I don't use it when I want the garlic texture, but otherwise I just adjust the amount or the cooking time versus minced garlic. There's some hate floating around from professional chefs, but I bought one a few years ago to try it and haven't looked back.

The taste you get is radically different though. A press vs chopping is not a convenience issue as much as a recipe one.
I bought one and hated it. How do you even clean it? The garlic gets everywhere except the dish I want it in. Maybe I'm using it wrong.
Do you peel the garlic first? I peel by squashing the garlic with the side of the knife to crack the skin and let it peel off, so I'm half done by that point.
- I use a toothbrush to clean it
- Mine goes in the dishwasher after you reverse-press the fibers into the trash. I do peel the garlic first.
  Now to be fair, I hate chunks of garlic, I just want some garlic flavor in the food if it's supposed to be there. So I'm never going to just smash or coarsely chop it. I'm also a garlic-sweater so I don't use garlic at all if it isn't necessary for the dish. But some delicious foods require it, and I just have to try to plan them so I don't have something important the next day.

Egg slicer.

Can't get medium eggs in nice slices on sandwiches so well with a single point of pressure on the egg. That is even with a really sharp knife cutting soft-ish eggs is annoying and just not as good.

Everything else, knife.

That's considered unconventional where you are? I don't think I've ever seen a kitchen without one here in the Nordics.

My tiny 1" silicone spatula is one of the handiest utensils I own.

A microplane grater - it's been really great for dealing with ginger, and even garlic (although for garlic I mostly prefer to just squish it with the flat side of my knife). I've also used the slicer end to make chips out of baby potatoes and turnips.

Another go-to for me is a conventional pressure cooker - I use it when I'm feeling lazy, I just chuck everything in it - lentils/beans + rice + veggies + condiments, and it's all done in one go, only takes 15-20 minutes and there's no need to soak stuff beforehand. The best part is that I put all my ingredients in just a single ceramic bowl, so cleaning the cooker is super easy (just rinse it with water), and I can eat directly off the bowl, which saves me from having to use a separate dish.

Steel tea pot - I drink a pot every day but last couple pots were both glass and only last a couple months before breaking (both my fault) so upgraded to steel and so far my clumsiness hasn't yet managed to break it

If you are into tea, you might want to consider an electric kettle with variable temperature. Nothing is more of a shame than burning good leaves or having to be limited to leaves that can handle a near boil. It’s tricky & a futz to watch a thermometer for boiling water to a specific temperature for your tea—especially if you are relying on that cup to help your mood & concentration.
- Yep! I have a Cosori kettle that's been working great (and outlasted my first two pots lol)
- Kettle != tea pot
You must be Elizabeth from Keeping Up Appearances!
This! I recently got a steel French press and it's fantastic! The best part is I'll have to drop it off a cliff to break it.

I unironically love cooking with my steel chopsticks.

I use the longer steel ones that are used for deep frying foods. They are about 12-14" long.
I'm not as confident with chopsticks so I use a long set of stainless tongs and find them quite useful

A measuring jug (from oxo) that allows you to see the marks when looking at it from above.

Also I have two timers, and I need and use both.

Are the timers for timing two things at once, or for something more unusual?

Souper Cubes, which are basically silicone containers with a lid for freezing food. I’m trying to do more batch meal prepping, and 1 cup sized blocks are waaay easier to store in the freezer than a bunch of freezer bags whose contents may or may not have frozen completely flat. It makes portioning easier too. I haven’t tried baking in it but I do like that they’re oven safe too if I ever want to do that.

A standalone egg steamer / boiler / poacher (like https://www.sunbeam.com.au/kitchen-and-home/cooking/pie-waffle-snack-makers/poach-and-boil-egg-cooker )

Yes I can boil or poach eggs on a stove or in the microwave, but the sheer ease of use and that it's always perfect is a life changer.

Basically the only kitchen utensils I use regularl are a cast iron pan, and a Vietnamese knife forged from a truck's leaf spring.

Electric knife sharpener.

Maybe more of a splurge purchase and it works so much better than those janky acoustic sharpeners.

What? It in no way works better. It's faster, and takes less attention, but the edges they give are crap, and don't last well.
Even the workshop belt systems aren't better than stones.
Hell, if you want to factor in damage to the knife, any of the motorised home sharpeners are horrible. Until you get into stuff like a tormek, you're heating the edge as you work, and that means you have to sharpen sooner, which can reduce the life of the knife by years over time.
I'm not saying you can't do what you want with your knives, but there's too much actual data on the various sharpening methods to call any of the available electric sharpeners better by any criteria other than speed.

Grapefruit knife!

I'd think a knife made out of steel would be more practical, but I'm not an expert.

My boiled egg slicer. It seemed really frivolous when I bought it, and I probably only use it five or six times a year at best but man if it doesn't cut down prep time for any salad with boiled egg in it, it also works with avocados!