09:08 – It was 65.5F (18.5C) when I took Colin out at 0630, partly cloudy.
I’ve hated our kitchen knife arrangement for at least 20 years. It’s basically a little drawer organizer with a bunch of knives in it. Given her penchant for organization, I’m surprised that Barbara seems perfectly happy with it. But I wanted an organized collection.
So I started checking for kitchen knife sets on Costco, Amazon, Walmart, and so on. I found knife sets, all of which appeared superficially similar, ranging in price from $1,500+ down to an Amazon Basics set for $21. When they were up Friday, I got Frances aside and asked her what she thought. She has a background in professional cooking, and has a collection of high-end cooking equipment from that premium French cast-iron stuff on through all her other gear. So I was kind of surprised when she told me that she was perfectly happy with her set of Cuisinart knives that she’d gotten for $75 in a 50%-off sale at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.
If she’s happy with them, that tells me that a decent set of knives should be available for well under $100. That was borne out by several articles I read about good-quality knife sets that wouldn’t break the bank. I dithered around because there were so many choices, but I ended up buying this set for $60 on Amazon, which was actually noticeably less expensive than on Walmart.
It’s made by Chicago Cutlery, which is apparently a major name in knives. The company has been around since 1936 or something, and still manufactures their products in Chicago, China.
Barbara said she didn’t want yet another thing cluttering up the kitchen counter, and said it was okay to order this set only if I agreed to stop saving 2-liter bottles. To that, I replied, “Never mess with a man’s bottles,” and referred her to a recent episode of Heartland where Lisa threw out the bottle that Grandpa Jack had been using for decades to make up batches of his barbecue sauce. Never mess with a man’s bottles.
We keep our knives on a magnetic knife holder mounted above our kitchen counter. They are inexpensive and work well. Amazon has them https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Innovations-Stainless-Multi-Purpose-Functionality/dp/B016ISHAC8/ref=sr_1_5?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1499088652&sr=1-5&keywords=magnetic+knife+holder
We got ours at Ikea. They’re $9/each there. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60238645/
Sharp knives in a drawer is a a bad idea.
Rick in Portland
My Solingen-made Goldhamster (Ebehard Schaaf) kitchen knives live in a wooden block on the worktop, so they’re always to hand and they don’t get blunted or risk accidental cuts. The only downside is that the hole in the block it a tiny bit small for the sharpening steel, so it lives in a drawer.
Goldhamster don’t make knives anymore, but even twenty years ago, one of them would have cost more than your “Chicago” set.
At the moment, I think the best value in kitchen knives are the professional range butchers’ knives from Victorinox or Landig/Diamant. Really good steel, and reasonably priced. The Landig/Diamant knives can be had for about 15 bucks each, for example.
Dick butchers’ knives are the de facto standard: http://www.dick.de/en/tools-for-chefs-and-butchers/products/knives-for-butchers
Amen to not messing with a man’s bottles; someone who will remain nameless “recycled” my favourite jam-jar for making salad dressing in… what a disaster!
I got a Calphalon knife set from BB&B on sale. I like them. I also got the Chefs Choice electric sharpener reco’d on Cool Tools and re-edged them. A quick run through the honing slot really puts the edge back on.
I have some Chicago Cutlery knives. They are OK, but don’t hold an edge as well as the ones from Henckels and the Japanese companies. You’ll end up sharpening them quite often.
My recommendation is to go to a restaurant supply place and buy 4 knives: a chef’s knife, a paring knife, an offset serrated knife, and a boning knife. A sharpening steel works, but I have an electric sharpener. With only a steel, you will need to have them professionally sharpened every year or so.
I had a Chicago Cutery 10″ chefs knife I bought at walmart years ago. I used it daily, and when combining our households, it went into daily use here. Somehow or where we ended up with a mid-priced set of Henkel (in one of the many brand variations, not the super good stuff.) That’s the “set” that lives in a knife block on the counter. I continued to use the CC and the Henkel chef as my primary knives. The bread knife, the 10″ chef, and the paring knife got the most use followed by the ‘tomato’ knife -small serated, forked end.
I noticed that the CC did not stay sharp as long as the Henkel, nor did it cut as well when sharp. Eventually, it cracked across the blade and the handle broke off. I do think that CC is good value for the money.
I think blocks with steak knives are unneeded expense though, if you already have steak knives. I use the scissors daily, and the steel never. I keep the knives sharp with a ceramic rod set.
If you don’t know WHY you would used different styles of knives, you probably don’t need them. A bread knife, a 10″ chefs, a paring knife, and possibly something long and skinny (carving knife) are all most people will need.
If something needs reconditioning (gets a chip) I’ve got diamond plates for sharpening. This includes ceramic knives.
Since I scored a really nice japanese chef knife at the airport surplus I’ve been using that and the Henkel stays in the drawer.
Note that your needs are different if you process a lot of bulk meat, or practice a cuisine with special requirements. Then you need a cleaver and a butcher knife too.
nick
Oops, replace Henkel in the above with Wusthof Trident Classic made in Germany.
Both Henkels and Wusthof have several lines with different levels of quality and expense, so they can leverage the name into any budget.
Costco has a decent looking block set on sale at the moment.
n
Also, RBT I second the reco to just buy from a restaraunt supply and buy several. After all, your gotohell plan has you cooking for a dozen people. You will need more than one knife set.
I’ve bought 2 sets of the NSF rated chef knives costco had on sale last year. They are in my offsite storage, with the kitchen stuff. Cheap but good daily use quality.
n
Add my recommendation to purchase knives at a restaurant supply store.
An important note when storing knives in a block, the edge goes up so as to not ruin the good edge you put on your knife.
WRT Chicago knives, they use a none standard edge angle so when you use an electric or manual sharpener and hone you basically ruin the knife and you will never get it to hold a good edge.
Just one of many references WRT knife sharpening angles:
https://www.sharpeningsupplies.com/Detailed-Discussion-on-Knife-Sharpening-Angles-W28.aspx
And one more:
http://kitchenknifeguru.com/knives/knife-edges-101/
What happened to Lisa?
For types of knives:
https://www.cutco.com/products/knife-types.jsp
https://www.williams-sonoma.com/shop/cutlery/cutlery-shapes-uses/
Many people have taken to using carving, butcher, etc interchangeably, but they are not. They are distinctly different styles for different jobs.
See also the influence of Japan on the kitchen knives- the Santoku Knife shape has become very popular and trendy, as has the honesuki to a much lesser degree.
For butchering there are additional styles, notably a skinning knife.
n
For us noobs, my Calphalon set has the type on the end of the handle.
“What happened to Lisa?”
What do you mean? She’s fine as far as I know. Probably busy with holiday stuff.
@Mr. Atoz, “4th of July”
https://xkcd.com/1858/
I never dreamed that the singularity was so close !
“Hawking attacks Trump: US president will cause ‘250 degree temperatures – like VENUS’”
http://www.express.co.uk/news/science/824088/Stephen-Hawking-Donald-Trump-climate-change-venus
“In an interview to mark his 75th birthday, the world famous physicist told the BBC: “We are close to the tipping point where global warming becomes irreversible.”
“”Trump’s action could push the Earth over the brink, to become like Venus, with a temperature of two hundred and fifty degrees, and raining sulphuric acid.””
Stephen Hawking is still alive. Who knew ?
Hat tip to:
http://drudgereport.com/
“Justice Kennedy Tells October 2018 Clerkship Applicants He’s Considering Retirement, Right Before 2018 Midterms”
http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93506
Go man, go !
Hat tip to:
http://drudgereport.com/
I never dreamed that the singularity was so close !
I love drones! Skynet is coming!
Stephen Hawking is still alive. Who knew ?
I think Hawking is being manipulated by the Progs. How can President tRump destroy the World without launching on nuke? Hawking is brain dead.
I was referring to Heartland:
“To that, I replied, “Never mess with a man’s bottles,” and referred her to a recent episode of Heartland where Lisa threw out the bottle that Grandpa Jack had been using for decades to make up batches of his barbecue sauce. Never mess with a man’s bottles.”
“I was referring to Heartland”
Me, too.
Did she suffer any consequences from grandpa for throwing out his bottles?
No, all is well. I like Jessica Steen a lot.
speaking of knives…
http://www.kiwireport.com/these-people-had-one-job-to-do-but-failed-miserably-to-our-enjoyment/11/
“Kori Doty, who identifies as a ‘non-binary trans person’, wants Canadian authorities to issue ‘non gendered’ birth certificate for eight-month-old child”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3934423/gender-unknown-baby-registered/
You know, at first I was wondering what a “non-binary trans person” is. Then, I realized it means “absolutely crazy”.
Do I have a black cloud over me ? My new WD 8 TB external drive keeps on dropping the USB circuit and re-registering itself. I wonder if all of the helium leaked out already ?
https://www.amazon.com/Book-Desktop-External-Drive-WDBBGB0080HBK-NESN/dp/B01LQQHLGC/
I just permanently archived a WD 4 TB external drive like I do every six months and this is the replacement.
@lynn – could your problem be cable or connector/port related? That is where I would start.
@lynn … remember one of “Pournelle’s Law”s ? — 90% of all problems are cables (paraphrase).
I get USB charger cables at the Dollar Store. They usually last about 3 months until they start failing. But they are cheap, so I just buy several at a time to have spares around the house.
@lynn – could your problem be cable or connector/port related? That is where I would start.
Yup. Tried USB2 of the case front (no USB3 port on front). Worked fine but slow.
Tried a different USB3 port on back with a new USB3 cable. Works fine. I am throwing away the old USB3 cable since I have been using it for a couple of years and I read recently that the USB plugs are designed for 50 insertions only.
And yes, all of Pournelle’s Laws are awesomely true.
I have kindles that will only charge with quality cables, particularly kindle ones. Lots of cheap “almost meets spec” crap out there.
n
Did I mention that it’s reading 107 in the sun on my driveway? with Feels Like of 115?
Sun went behind clouds and wind sprang up so I did a couple of easy chores in the yard. A little pruning on the citrus trees, some weed pulling, a bit of watering…
Sun came back out and fried my brain.
Ordered some more electrolyte replacement tablets from amazon, got another couple jars of the powdered heavy cream too. It was featured as an “add on” at half normal price. Got some sutures and single use triple antibiotic too as they were on sale.
Ordered more of the meat bars I’ve mentioned before. Wife and I both like the bacon best, so that’s all I’m reordering. Great low carb alternative to power bars.
Thanks to Greg? for the free data cell service linky. I’m gonna put one in some yard sale phones and put them in my vehicles. Any old phone will call 911 even without a plan, but it’d be nice to have some backup data plan too.
So freakin hot today, I think I’ll do some stuff inside for a while.
n
I wear a straw hat in the sun. Makes a big difference.
Thanks to Greg? for the free data cell service linky. I’m gonna put one in some yard sale phones and put them in my vehicles. Any old phone will call 911 even without a plan, but it’d be nice to have some backup data plan too.
Just remember — if the dollar cost is $0, the company’s product is you.
I haven’t looked much into FreedomPop and how they’re making money. Private equity throws money at anything right now. It is an interesting concept to experiment with, however, until the Fed finally yanks away the punchbowl.
Did I mention that it’s reading 107 in the sun on my driveway? with Feels Like of 115?
We are 94 F out here in the sticks with a heat index temperature of 104 F.
https://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=KSGR
I did some tree trimming yesterday at 7pm for an hour and just about died. I went back inside, watched a movie, and then went for my two mile walk about 10pm. I pulled my dog for about a mile before she wanted out. I swear, about every 100 ft she gained another pound.
Our neighborhood is “maturing”. They pulled the five temporary classroom buildings from the elementary school behind our house over the weekend. It was wild seeing them move one out, they are double wides (20+ ft wide) and do not split them. A lot of police escorts at 1030pm.
I need to get to my cart at Monoprice to complete my order for two USB cables, both A male and C male but different lengths.
I do remember the “…cables, cables, its always the cables…” from the Hardwareguys.com site.
Am I being cheated, only 72F here?
Go man, go !
I’m guessing Kennedy was floored by the Chief Justice’s last minute change of heart and political antics with regard to Obamacare. He will create a political circus of his own, but I doubt that the Senate will change hands the way the map currently looks.
“Florida’s ‘stand your ground’ law ruled unconstitutional by judge”
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/07/03/floridas-stand-your-ground-law-ruled-unconstitutional-by-judge.html
“A judge in Florida ruled Monday that the state’s updated “stand your ground” law, which required prosecutors to disprove a defendant’s self-defense case at pretrial hearings, is unconstitutional, setting up a showdown that could make its way to the state’s top court.”
Uh oh.
but I doubt that the Senate will change hands the way the map currently looks.
“10 Senate seats that could flip in 2018”
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/306210-10-senate-seats-that-could-flip-in-2018
“It favors Republicans in a big way. The GOP will be defending just eight seats, while Democrats must fight for 23 — plus another two held by independents who caucus with Democrats.”
I suspect that Trump will get more Repuglican help in the Senate in 2018. Maybe 5 or 6 seats.
“and how they’re making money. ”
I assume they’re looking at browsing and search, and location data, but I figure they’re probably looking to sell upgrades based on the push. Lotsa companies do that, so it’s a known model. Should have good data on their conversion rate too.
n
It’s in NO WAY any-mouse….
“A judge in Florida ruled Monday that the state’s updated “stand your ground” law, which required prosecutors to disprove a defendant’s self-defense case at pretrial hearings, is unconstitutional, setting up a showdown that could make its way to the state’s top court.”
…..I hear the train a’comin’, rollin’ around the bend, I ain’t seen the sunshine since I donna’ when, I’m stuck in Folsom prison…..
There’s less there than meets the eye.
What constitutes “quality”? I know from experience that simply spending more is no assurance of quality. Aside from staying away from super-cheap cables, how do you choose? TIA.
Name brands? Direct from the manufacturer? Use the one that came with the device?
also, it seems that some of the cheap chargers for automobile use are so noisy in RF that they drown out the tire inflation sensors….makes for a very intermittent and hard to diagnose problem.
n
What constitutes “quality”? I know from experience that simply spending more is no assurance of quality. Aside from staying away from super-cheap cables, how do you choose? TIA.
I use the cables that come with the WD external hard drives. They seem to work ok for quite a while. I haven’t done any testing to figure out yet if it was the cable or the port on the back of the pc.
I suspect that Trump will get more Repuglican help in the Senate in 2018. Maybe 5 or 6 seats.
Bill Nelson is definitely vulnerable in FL. Republicans will turn out to make Governor Opie (Adam Putnum) a done deal after 20 years of prep work.
The problem is that Rick Scott is wildly unpopular even if he has the money to self finance.
I nearly worked for Rick Scott back when he ran Cyberguard. It still amazes me he was elected Governor.
Update: I’ll catch up with y’all later at some point this week; wife’s uncle passed a few hours ago just when we thought he was outta the woods. Wife and MIL devastated, and a LOT of emotion up here about now. Got the week to get through, plus logistics, plus wake on Friday and funeral on Saturday and then getting wife to her next gig in NH on Sunday, immediately after all that. And her pay checks are late again.
When it rains, it pours.
So later, folks.
Pax vobiscum
@ofd,
I’m truly sorry for your loss.
Good luck with keeping the balls in the air, I’m sure that you will manage somehow.
What is the saying? Be of stout heart….
n
I’m sorry for your loss OFD, buddy. Hsng in there.
It’s hard to beat 4″ Victorinox paring KNIVES, serrated for tomatoes and (relatively small) bread, plain edge otherwise, typically about $10 each. The sanitary handles are a good feature, with good grip. Easy to sharpen (try a bit of 400 grit emery paper on a very flat surface; don’t take away much metal). Use a steel (Case XX, an old one, works well for me) for minor touch-ups. (Oh, serious sharpening of a serrated blade is a further discussion, but you can touch up serrations if you are careful with a steel.)
I need to try a larger Victorinox; I have a couple of similar stainless steel cheapo knives that are not bad for design, but the Victorinox (still Swiss, maybe) steel would be better, I bet. Note that Sam’s (and Costco?) have similar restaurant type knives, but I don’t really know about the steel quality. I’d bet they are good for the price, but I think I want a wide Victorinox 6″ blade for when I actually need such a thing.
Lately, I have been playing with Morakniv Swedish KNIVES, the smaller ones in carbon steel (yep, they rust; discolor if you look at them funny). Supposedly “woodcraft” KNIVES, but good for a lot of kitchen and food uses, or for simply splitting the molecules as you swing them through the air.
Also… look at some of the super cheap ($2?) folding KNIVES (often in a set) that can be used for emergency tools [no occifer, it ain’t no weepon] when tucked into nooks in backpacks and glove boxes and such. Touch up the edge a bit. Some sort of threaded hinge pin (not a rivet) makes them easier to adjust. There are 2″ half-serrated lock-blades that can cut you out of a seatbelt or turn a roadkill squirrel into food.
There are some $2 range Walmart or dollar store paring KNIVES, too, some with a plastic sheath, that would be good in your kit, just in case.
“Is America still a nation?”
http://www.wnd.com/2017/07/is-america-still-a-nation/
“Pat Buchanan: ‘Are we passing on the house we inherited – or observing its demolition?'”
“We no longer have the same ancestors. They are of every color and from every country. We do not speak one language, but rather English, Spanish and a host of others. We long ago ceased to profess the same religion. We are evangelical Christians, mainstream Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Mormons, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists, agnostics and atheists.”
“”We long ago ceased to profess the same religion.””
Yeah, just acknowledging that I was “raised” in one of the five (or so) major Southern U.S. Christian Protestant cults [“but I don’t profess”] has gotten me bashed by the other four or so major Southern U.S. Christian Protestant cults… to say nothing about the Wiccans and Rastafarians and other militants.
Is the Nation defined by religion, or by language,
or by the Constitution ?
RBT wrote:
“No, all is well. I like Jessica Steen a lot.”
No, all is well. I like any XX a lot.
There, FTFY.
Dave, Barbara’s and my thoughts are with you during this difficult time.
@OFD, prayers for strength and comfort for you and your family. You are a survivor and you know how to persevere. You are a master at handling chaos.
Thanks for the good wishes, y’all.
We are endeavoring to persevere, and today is a little better than last night, which was pretty bad. Logistics being handled between VT, NY, VA and CA currently, which keeps various people very busy and may be helpful accordingly. Wife will do one of the three eulogies and during that time at the funeral, it will be rough. I hope someone manages to include some humor, which I’ve found is a great relief during these things.
Depending on other issues, I may or may not continue on with her to her gig in NH, but we’ll see. Lot of balls to keep in the air this week and next, and the point man here is guess who.
Third gorgeous day in a row for weather, can’t be beat. 70s/80s w/sun and blue skies and our A-C breeze off the bay from the south.
@Dave, I am sorry for your loss. Past missives have sounded like he was a great guy and will be missed terribly.
He was a great guy and fun to be with; I knew he was OK back in 1998 when he loaned us his pickup truck and I found a paperback biography of Goering in the driver’s side pocket.
Also a tough old bird; refused respiratory assistance or morphine at the end, and was surrounded by wife, kids, and grandkids at the hospital.
Hope I am a tenth as tough when it’s my turn. (already whining about my sciatica today, what a snowflake; I tell myself: ‘rub some dirt on it, cupcake and get the fuck back out there!’)
Hope I am a tenth as tough when it’s my turn.
Me too. My maternal grandmother died of lung cancer in her bed at home in 2007. No drugs. Mom and her two sisters had to swear that they would not call for help. My brothers and I had to swear that we would not call for help.
I am walking wounded also. I messed up my back last Friday and cannot sit for ten minutes or more. And my wife gave me the gastronomical disease and I’ve been running for the pot quite a few times. My day off sucked.
The mortars have cut back severely. We were getting ten mortars a minute for a solid hour after sunset. The wife and I went out for our two mile walk and the dog rode in her sage wagon over half the way. Lady does not mind the mortars and can actually hear them when we are under them. Sugar Land is annexing us in December so I guess the fireworks in the hood are going away.
Sorry about your back, Mr. Lynn; it can really be a bear sometimes and you discover pretty quickly how many other parts of your body are affected. And then the gastro stuff on top; that really sucks. Hope you feel better ASAP.
Mortars around here tend to die out after 10 PM or so; peeps who still work at jobs have to go to work in the AM. Always impresses me, though, how so many peeps have the dough to buy near pro-level fireworks and then light ’em off when the local police chief says they’re gonna crack down on illegal works, etc., etc.
We had grilled sausage and German potato salad, which wife made, including peas from our purple pea pod peas in the garden and it was outstanding.
She is better today but says she has just felt stunned all day, operating on automatic.
Logistics still being worked out; she and I and son from Kalifornia will stay at a hotel in Glens Falls on Friday night after the wake, and then it’s still kind of up in the air what we’ll do after the funeral on Saturday. And she has to get to NH with or without me on Sunday. Meanwhile it appears that all my dress shirts and ties have somehow disappeared. So I’m winging it. When it rains, it pours.
CowboySlim (soon to be underwater) wrote:
“Am I being cheated, only 72F here?”
Algore has plenty of excess AGW for you.