Where did the thin, smooth plastic spatulas go?

The old thin utensils were made of Nylon.

The reasons they are hard to find is that traditional Nylon is difficult to manufacture within food standard guidelines for PAA (Primary Aromatic Amines) migration, and does not bio-degrade or burn safely. For relevant references, your local government health department will have papers on PAA migration.

Given that, many utensil manufactures have moved on to other plastics, mostly silicone. Though some use PA66 (Nylon 6,6), which is that thick chunky black plastic stuff.

Try wooden spatulas. They are simple, clean, disposable, and you can get them in thin wedge shapes (e.g. at Asian supply shops).

You can't find them because this isn't nylon at all. The new ones - which you say you don't like - are indeed nylon. Rough, somewhat bendy, heat-resistant up to 220°C.

The spatulas you linked - stiff and shiny - don't look like nylon to me. They look like melamine resin. This is a cheap, hard and shiny plastic. It looks a bit like ABS, but is more brittle. You can still find utensils made out of it, and they are still quite cheap. Here in Europe, they are sold in 1-Euro-Stores, but I found this spatula on amazon.com:

I don't know the real reason why they aren't popular any more, but here are some thoughts:

• People prefer spatulas which are slightly bendy - or even completely bendy, like the silicone ones linked here. It is hard to get a stiff spatula below an egg, because the pan wall gets in the way.
• Melamine resin used to be a fashion fad in the 60s, but it isn't by now, and maybe customers today connect it with their granny's kitchens or similar.
• If the bendy nylon spatulas are made too thin, they could be too soft to hold their shape - getting way too bendy.
• Customers feel that spatulas whose edges get damaged by pan heat are inferior.
• Heating melamine resin could be dangerous, because melamine itself is toxic, and it could release the melamine. That's why melamine resin dishes are stamped as "not microwave safe".
• Manufacturers want to sell products at a higher price. Customers who pay a high price for a utensil want a solid thing, not just the cheapest thing made of the thinnest plastic. So the current thickness and surface sells better.

All that said, the modern rough black spatulas I have are much thinner than 4 mm, more like 2 mm, and they are beveled, so they have a very thin leading edge. I don't think they are bad, but then, I don't have experience with your old spatulas.

I remember those. The problem is that they always melted or broke and were useless after a short time. Good riddance, IMO.

For pancakes, crepes, etc., I use a metal fish turner. It's very thin and flexible, and has a sharp, turned-up edge that works very well for sliding under things. I think it's from Oxo.

Eggs are all I use a non-stick pan for, and I use a very thin metal turner that has a layer of silicone covering it. That seems to work pretty well for fried eggs. The metal core means they can make the blade a lot thinner than many plastic-bladed tools, without it being too floppy. Make sure your eggs are sliding around in the pan on their own before you try to slip it underneath, though.

When I make an omelette, I use a silicone scraper. It's shaped like the old rubber scrapers for scraping down your mixing bowl, very thick in the middle and tapering to the edges. I never "flip" omlettes, though; I just use the tool to pull the edges of the eggs back and to poke it into shape as I roll it against the side of the pan. I use this for scrambled eggs, too.

I, too, long for a very simple spatula/turner. I do have some OXO and other silicone wonder-spatulas, but I've found that silicone can actually be rather sticky on teflon, and is both too thick, and too flexible to get under some foods.

Here is an unlikely source - IKEA, of all places, has the closest thing I've found to the old-style thin plastic turner, their RUFSIG 2-piece utensil set. It comes with a masher/whisk-ey thing that is entirely useless. The material is reinforced polyamide, making it a relative of nylon, but it is flexible enough to get around in the pan, but with a sharp enough edge to get in under thin foods easily. It is not as thermally resistant as silicone, but it has a respectable temperature limit of 428°F and I've used mine for a few years now without noticeable degradation of the edge. Of my 5 turners (some quite fancy), this one is actually my favorite, and only cost $1.49. Unfortunately they don't sell it online (only through the store).

I found this question while looking for my favorite type of spatula, which looks like the light blue one in your picture. Mine say "LOPOL product by Hutzler no.717" on the back, and so far, I have found them on ebay and at gourmac.com.... it says they are fiberglass and nylon, BPA free, and made in the USA.
I am thrilled to have found them- I have had 2 of them for YEARS and constantly go to them for almost everything.... they are stiff enough to stir a huge pot of food and scrape the bottom/make sure nothing is sticking, but thin enough to not be all clunky and awkward. I have never had trouble with them melting or anything, but maybe you were talking about the other one in the pic.
Hope this helps you find what you are looking for!

http://www.usimprints.com/store/all-promotional-products/product/thin-slotted-turner/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=product%2Bsearch&utm_campaign=base

this is a link to the closest I could find by your description and photos. I find bendy non-silicone/melamine spatulas at the dollar store or in large "first apartment" style sets from big box store like target and stuff like this:

http://www.target.com/p/Chefmate-51-pc-Kitchen-Gadget-Set/-/A-10717429 I am not privy as to why these spatulas have gone out of vogue, I too find them remarkably handy.

I usually find them quite easily at thrift stores. that is where I got my last couple.

I'm pretty sure you've answered your own question. "These spatulas were not very durable (leading edges tended to melt)". In our litigious world, I'm sure manufacturers' lawyers consider the possibility that you will be consuming particulate plastic matter more important than much anything else.

It's also likely that manufacturing capabilities have improved to the point that the bulk of the cost to get a spatula to you is in the transportation and logistics, so a few extra cents to make a spatula that shows better on a store shelf just makes sense, better utility or not.

That said, I'd bet you could still find a spatula like that in Chinatown, or your local equivalent.

I have "OXO Good Grips Silicone Flexible Turner" (silicone with very thin metal inside - check amazon.com) but am looking for one myself that's slim/narrow. So far here are what I've found on my search "Chef Craft 21313 1-Piece Flexible Turner, Blue or Gray, 10-Inch" or "Epicurean Gourmet Utensils Nylon Turner" or "Tool, Turner Flexible Nylon" OR "Joseph Joseph ELFLT0100SW Elevate Flexible Turner" .... also check homegoods.

The spatula on the right is from Hutzler; they have a website where you can order them. Best spatula ever!

THEY ARE STILL AVAILABLE!!

Tailormade.com $1 each!!

I know the ones you're talking about. I haven't been able to find them either. This is the nearest I've been finding:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00004SZ6Q?qid=1320181838&sr=8-2

Thin, but not as flat...

Or... If I'm not using Teflon, I'll resort to a thin metal one, but I prefer the old fashioned ones too.

While these types of spatulas are not available online, they are available in Indian local markets. It will cost you only about $2 or $3. These types of spatulas are still in use here. Sorry, I can't send you a link as they are not available online. I don't know if it's feasible for you to import one from India. You need to contact some Indian counterpart for that, if you are really interested.

If you do a search on Google Shopping, there are several options, from the looks of it...

Google Shopping Search for Melamine Spatula Turner

Several of them were quite cheap, for instance, a case of 24 for $27. That should last anyone a while!

Look on eBay for Foley Spatula. This is exactly what you're seeking.