Knifelore from a Grimore

Hey folks,

Something that you'll be seeing from time to time are bits of knife trivia and folklore. Sometimes they'll be their own entry, sometimes they'll slip into the end of a post about something entirely different.

Keep an eye out!


Knife Folklore Fragment of the Week:

The gift of a knife can cut a friendship.


Very common up until the last couple generations, this bit of folklore explains why a couple of pennies would be included in every gift of a knife. After the present was opened, the pennies were then returned to the giver, to pay for the knife so it wasn't a gift.

Video Time!

I really liked reading the excerpt from Anthony Bourdain's book that I linked to in the previous post, so I went out and found you some videos of him to watch.

Here's a couple from his TV show, No Reservations, where he travelled around the world trying out local cuisine.
The first one is in Spain, talking about jamon serrano (serrano ham). Which really is very yummy, definitely try some if you have a chance.


And here is part 1 of his show on Indonesia.


This next video, in interview, definitely showcases Bourdain's salty sense of humor. It's also features a much more entertaining video of how to chop an onion than the one I posted earlier on in this blog. The knives used in this video are from Global.

Back and to the Point

or, On Practicality



Some of our alert readers in Louisville might have caught the article "A Cut Above the Rest" in the Scene section of the C-J, on January 5th. It was about the Dexter Russell Sani-Safe 9-inch scalloped sandwich knife, model number S163-9SC. Sadly, you did not see Heimerdinger Cutlery listed as a place selling the knife, even though we do indeed have it in stock.

But why should you be interested in this knife?
Dexter Russell Knives aren't like the flashing and slashing knives the chefs use on television.
They have sleek black handled knives, like this bird's beak paring knife (also called a peeling knife) on the left, that you'll have seen recently on Bravo’s hit show Top Chef.
Or you might imagine owning a Santoku chef's knife with a hollow ground edge (also called a Granton edge). If it's good enough for Emeril and Rachel Ray, it must something wonderful to have in your own kitchen. That's true, this knife excels at slicing, dicing, and mincing. The hollow ground bits on the blade allow you to slice things very thinly and they won't stick to the blade.

So, again, why would you want this Dexter Russell knife with that funny shape?

Marty Rosen, the guy who wrote the article for the Courier-Journal, restrained himself from asking his wife the same exact question when she gave it to him as a present.
Her book club had recently read the book Kitchen Confidential, by chef Anthony Bourdain. Anyone who has ever caught his TV shows or read one of his books knows that when it comes to kitchen knives, he's somewhat of a minimalist. He'd rather have one or two good knives that he can use for years, than a whole set of knives that are so pretty and expensive that he's almost afraid to use them. And he considers an offset handled serrated knife to be "indispensable"
The somewhat skeptical columnist found that this is indeed a very useful knife to have around. He said:

It's a perfectly good tool for all the usual tasks associated with serrated knives (slicing bread, tomatoes and the like). And, as Bourdain predicted, I've found myself grabbing it for nearly everything else as well. It slides gracefully through baked ham, roast beef and turkey breasts, and though I wouldn't use it to saw through, say, a melon, it does a fine job with less husky fruits and vegetables.

If you don't already have a serrated/scalloped knife, maybe you should try this one on for size. The offset handle and slightly longer length makes is more versatile than your average sandwich knife.

And unlike many of the knives you'll see chefs using on TV, this one is very affordable. Dexter Russell is the oldest and one of the largest manufacturers of professional cutlery in the United States. You can see their knives everywhere, if you get a chance to look. They're very popular with people newly graduated from cooking school, and with people who have been working in restaurants for years.

You can buy it from us online here, or come and see us in the store.