Happy Holidays!

Whew, the holiday season is coming to a head and things are hopping at the Cutlery. We posted over a hundred packages within the last couple of weeks, which is quite possibly a new record for us. Our in-person business is keeping us on our toes, as well, and very very busy.
However, this blogger will be on break until after the new year, (though she might get pressed into service wrapping presents at the store, if she's not careful!). I'll talk to you all in a few weeks.

Have a wonderful holiday-of-your-choice, and hope we keep the snow off until after everyone finishes their holiday driving!

Holiday Gift Guide, vol. 2

Scissors, perhaps?
The Slip-n-Snip folding scissors are very useful things to have around and make a wonderful gift. As scissors go, these are some of the more child-safe that we sell, provided that child has enough strength to unfold (them and enough sense not to try and swallow them). A person can run their finger over the edge safely, and not have to rush for bandages. I used my pair mainly to carry for my knitting and embroidery; the Slip-n-Snips fit nicely in my pocket and I didn't have to worry about accidentally poking a hole or catching the yarn with sharp edges tumbling around in my bag. Comes in a gold gift-box. $7.95


On the other hand, if you wanted some folding scissors that are sharp and slick, these beauties from Dovo would be right up your alley. Unlike the Slip-n-Snips, these fold up in a way that protects the edges of the blade, as well as the points. Comes with a fitted leather sheath. $60.00


Kitchen Scissors are always useful. Our favorites are the Tricky 777s. This scissor comes apart for easy cleaning. It also makes it easier to use the scissors to curl ribbon. Other features are a cap lifter, bottle opener, jar lid gripper, and cutting notch. The notch works really well for cutting flowers, though it's designed for chicken bones. My mom prefers the red ones, because they're easier to spot on the counter. $34.95


Speaking of flowers, do you have a florist in your life? Or someone who does flower arrangements or wreaths and needs a good sharp pair of scissors that can cut things from slender stems to tough wire? If that's the case, then these forged shears from Cutrite would be ideal. We're not just putting this up here because it's a pretty picture that we were the hand model for, honest. $29.95

Holiday Gift Guide, vol. 1

Gifts for Guys


Sometimes, it's just hard to think of what to get people for Christmas (or the holiday of your choice). The next few weeks I'll be posting some ideas to help you with your shopping.

Two popular items for Stocking Stuffers are the Photon Microlights and the Handy Clip staplers.


The Photon II Microlight is a LED flashlight that fits handily on your keychain.It has a super tough glass filled polyurethane case and an unbreakable LED bulb that will never burn out. It's visible for up to one mile! My personal favorite is the turquoise, which I've had for seven years. I've only had to replace the battery once and the bulb lasts forever, which beats the pants off of those cheap freebie flashlights. Comes in a rainbow of light colors, which affects how long the battery lasts. For continuous use, this ranges from seven days (green) to 12 hours (white). $19.95

The Handy Clip is an innovative staple-free stapler which easily binds 3 pieces of paper without traditional staples. It holds sheets together with a buckle stitch, punched out of the paper itself. This "staple-less stapler" never needs refills. It is safe for children, and great for the environment and avid recyclers. Out of all of the things we sell, these are my second favorite to demonstrate for customers. They're just fun to play with! Comes in assorted colors. $5.95.

Personal Grooming
If one of the men in your life shaves,then Colonel Ichabod Conk glycerin shaving soaps might be just the thing you need. This company has produced quality gentleman's grooming products for over the past 150 years. These fine soaps are designed to be used with a shaving brush, preferably with genuine badger hair which easily absorbs hot water, and is softer and more comfortable on the face. When you are ready to shave, just soak your brush in hot water, allow the excess water to drain from the bristles, then gently work up some lather with the brush on your soap. These fine soaps brush on as a thick, rich, opaque layer of lather. This Old World touch adds luxury to a daily ritual.
The travel soap (pictured here) only comes in almond scent, but we also sell bay rum, lime, and amber, in two different sizes. My favorites are the almond and bay rum. Prices range from $3.95-$6.25.

We also sell a variety of shaving brushes, shaving mugs, razors, and other accessories.

We have several manicure kits that are suitably masculine, though only a couple that are specifically designed for men. These are larger set than those linked to above, but they include a very handy scissor that can be used to trim mustaches, and ear and nose hair. The second set also includes a cuticle scissor.

Mustache scissors are a very popular item for us; we also sell them separately, available with regular and rounded points.

News!

It's getting to be that time of year again, holiday shopping season, which means that our decorations are up and we're wrapping gifts like mad.

It also means that it's time for customer appreciation. Around this time we break out the coffee and the cookies, homemade by Glenna Heimerdinger, my aunt. Try the butterscotch haystacks, they're my favorite. Hm, on second thoughts, maybe you should just leave them all for me! ;)
This year we're also having a Customer Appreciation Night on December 13th. If you're on our mailing list, you'll probably get an email with more information. I'll post details when I get them, but you should come by and see us!

Another reason to come see us is the annual sale we're having right now on Wusthof knives. I can't say enough good things
I'll post other specials, as they come along.


Coming soon:
Holiday gift ideas.

Our Salad Years

An alert reader of the Courier-Journal has pointed out to me that the exquisitely made Kentucky Springs salad tongs were featured in yesterday's Scene section. We've been selling these for years at the cutlery and using them at home, too!

What's wonderful about these tongs is the design. Unlike a lot of tongs out there, these are designed so that they can be used in just one hand. It works, and far more stylishly than those cheap metal lunchlady tongs! Each pair of tongs is hand steamed and bent into shape until cool to create the distinctive springs. The springs keep the salad tongs open for the user, and when flipped inside out, they allow the salad tongs to fold flat for storage.

The tips of handcrafted Kentucky Spring salad tongs are curved to fit the rounded bottoms of salad bowls. A slight curve is bent along the entire length of handcrafted salad tong piece so the tips meet perfectly, which allows you to get a really good grip on elusive bits of salad or pasta. The types of wood vary from unstained wild cherry, to sugar maple or black walnut.

Another item Kentucky Springs makes that I love (and only received a brief mention in the C-J article) are their cheese slicers.

They are available in the same woods as the tongs, and come in two varieties: straight or Ripple. The latter is the one shown to the right. If you slice at the right angle, you can get a piece of cheese that's as wavy as a potato chip! The cutting wire is especially effective with soft cheeses, but also cuts softer hard cheeses. Works on butter and chocolate, too. You can get different thickness of slices by just changing the angle you hold the slicer at.

I think these make great hostess gifts or stocking stuffers. The tongs in particular would be a good gift for someone who is just starting out with their own apartment (hint, hint!).
You can drop by our store and get them, or order them online. Of course, if you get them in the store, they can be wrapped in our traditional silvery paper with your choice of ribbon colors. It's a very popular option, this time of year.
How do you think I learned to wrap presents so well? ;)

A Classical Education

Wusthof knives has a new line out this fall, called the Classic IKON, which is now available for purchase at select stores.

The Classic IKON updates the standard pattern of the Classic, which is Wusthof's best selling line in the United States. The handle and bolster shape have been modified, with no impact on the high quality that Wusthof is known for. I am proud to announce that Heimerdinger Cutlery is the Exclusive Louisville Independent Dealer for this line.

Here is an interview by Cooking.com at the 2007 Home & Housewares Show, Chicago, that introduces the line and gives more information on it differs from the Classic.



A classic is classic not because it conforms to certain structural rules, or fits certain definitions... It is classic because of a certain eternal and irrepressible freshness. -Edith Wharton

State of the Store Address

There have been a lot of changes at the store in the past few months.

One of the biggest is the permanent retirement of Henry Heimerdinger, the former owner of the store (and my grandfather). He handed control of the business over to Carl in 1991 and semi-retired. Despite that, he still came in a few days a week to help with sharpening items customers brought in (mostly knives, scissors, and gardening tools). His last day was the twenty-ninth of August.

Another big change at around that time was that the clipper repair room was converted into a shipping room. The room has its own computer workstation and plenty of counter space for organizing and wrapping shipments. We've been getting enough online business that Carl decided we needed to dedicate some space to it. Never fear, we still repair clippers and supply repair parts for you to fix it yourself.

Since we lost the elder Mr. Heimerdinger's work back in the shop, we hired a new employee who has been trained in the fine skill of sharpening knives by hand. An interesting note is that some of the grinding wheels used in the shop had their design adapted particularly for this purpose by Henry Heimerdinger, who is a graduate of UofL's Speed School of Engineering. They work as well today as they did twenty years ago.

An Introduction

Hi!

This is the blog for Heimerdinger Cutlery in Louisville, KY. It's a family owned and operated business, since 1861. The store, as a cutlery, sells mainly things like knives, pocket knives, and scissors. However, it also has items such as manicure kits, shaving accessories, magnifying glasses, and a few works by local knifemakers. It is currently owned by Carl Heimerdinger, the fifth generation of Heimerdingers to work in the store.

Who am I?
I'm the oldest of the sixth-generation.
I'll be posting about all sorts of things relating to sharp items and the cutlery store. Every so often, Carl will post information about the care and feeding of knives or scissors.

For the moment, that's all I have, so here's youtube video of how to dice onions and shallots easily.
The knives used are Kershaw Shun Classic knives. Yes, we sell them. ;)