On another thread there was a nice digression into whisks. There are so many kinds, and I really enjoy having a variety of whisks for a variety of jobs. The balloon whisk makes easy work of beating egg whites. The flat whisk is darned close to being the fait tout whisk. The Delbor is terrific at making roux or gravy. The visp, a bundle of thin birch twigs, makes things even smoother than the Delbor does. The “regular” whisk gets the least love and use. The miniature whisk is invaluable for tight spaces, like making an impromptu Bernaise in a double boiler. What is your take? Do you have whisks you prize, or whisks you ignore? Do you use coated whisks because of tinned pans? Got any favorites, or ones to avoid? I learned quickly that a very flexible coated whisk, especially one with coatings in bright colors, will not last long. There are so many jobs that could be done with a whisk, an IB, a hand mixer, or something else. Despite a pretty serviceable bunch of whisks, I still grab a fork to make scrambled eggs or an omelette.
I use my Danish dough whisk for most breads and yeast doughs.
The double balloon whisk is my favourite for making bechamel, Avgolemono Soup, and Hollandaise.
I use the medium balloon whisk for omelettes or batter.
I use the smallest whisk for Greek Frappe iced coffee.
The tiny wooden one was the smaller of a pair. The larger one did not make it through a full use. I keep the little one to remind me not to go there again. I never use it.
Teeny whisks for salad dressing made in the bowl- like Caesar dressing. Size of your wooden one but not wood. I think I had a wooden whisk once; I tossed it. It took up valuable space that could be assigned to another deserving useless implement.
I found this at Goodwill a while ago. I thought I would find a lot of uses for it, but I didn’t. It works great – maybe I’ll try to make a whip cream for a dessert with it??
The one next to the Delbor is small enough for me. My DB is small, and it works really well in it. I make up a lot of random emulsified sauces to top both meats and vegetable. Some are actually good like my orange version of Hollandaise.
Some models of immersion blenders have whisk attachments (mine doesn’t, alas).
I have a long, and two ‘short’ standard type ss whisks.
bought a balloon type 'cause ‘you’re supposed to have’ . . . don’t care for it, sits in the not used box…
the shorter one I use on small pots/dishes/blends, but the longer one where one gets more-aggressive whisking for a given wrist action . . . even for a ‘small dish’ ala whisking egg yolks for (an egg sauce) the more aggressive whisk action is a boon.
our ‘hand mixer’ came with a single whisk plug in - veddy handy for 1-2 egg white whip ups / smidge of whipped cream / etc.
big batches of egg white (souffle…) / whipped cream / butter / etc. get the KitchenAid stand mixer with whip attachment.
never been attracted to the multitude of ‘other designs’ . . . I have a fairly low tolerance for tiring hand whipping of (anything) . . .
I find that hand whisking egg whites for soufflés is the best way to control it so you don’t overwhisk. That said, I have not done it in years; it’s KitchenAid time.
I won’t quibble with that -
using the KitchenAid, I basically stand there and watch - turn off as it progresses to judge soft/stiff peaks . . .
definitely not a thing where one simple sets a timer and walks away . . .
That open coil whisk (top row two on the right) is the one I grew up with but with a thicker handle — absolutely the best for beating and aerating eggs for omelettes and scrambles with very little effort!
I use the tiny whisks (but with a longer handle) and the sauce whisk (2nd from right in @Vecchiouomo’s pic) for sauces, a single egg, and so on. Indispensable.
@Desert-Dan I have an immersion blender whisk attachment like what you bought, and use it to beat eggs and sugar for baking. Very effective, and goes faster than by hand.
My beloved Mueller has one, but I rarely use it. I’m good with hand-whisking most anything, but I rarely make whipped cream or meringue, or other things that would require hi-speed whisking.
I find beating egg whites with a balloon whisk therapeutic and relaxing. It may be the anticipation of the soufflé, it may be the martini or wine I would be nursing, or it may be a deep connection with doing things the same way for decades. Even though my Hobart dates to the seventies, it would never occur to me to whip an egg with it. My wife loves it for baking, but I really enjoy it more without the aid of planetary action.
@Vecchiouomo My dad whipped egg whites to peaks with just a fork — his 1 egg omelette always looked like at least 2 
