Sunday, June 15, 2008

Now that's a knife!

Fortunately, after years of buying me stuff I don't need, or want really, my new more-than-moderate passion for cooking and grilling has given my dad good opportunities to buy me gifts. So for Father's Day this year, blessed with reverse gift-giving, I got an incredible Japanese chef's knife from my dad.

knife 002 (Large)

He got me a Ming Tsai ceramic knife by Kyocera a few year's back, which is great for slicing, but pretty fragile. They've come down in price considerably over the years, and my wife picked up one for maybe $50 about two years ago that she uses for almost everything. I sent mine in for sharpening a few months ago, and got back a different knife - I wasn't thrilled with getting a replacement, but it was sharpened nicely. Then, after two or three uses, the tip chipped off, which is somewhat common with ceramics.

Then, my dad watched a Discovery show on Japanese knife and sword makers, and what a craft and art that really is. So...

knife 003 (Large) 

It's got a full tang, and is simply beautiful to look at, and even better to hold. Getting my Henckel and Global knives sharpened was well worth it, but I'm not sure I'll ever go back to them. This knife feels like it weighs a pound or two, so there's a lot of heft to it, and it just goes through onions like a laser (that's all I've tried with it so far). So this is what it feels like when you watch the cooking shows and see those chefs slice through food like it's made of jello!

It really is a piece of art:

knife 004 (Large)

Thanks Dad!

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