Traveling…

[Gib Curry]

I am very fortunate…..

My wife and I just returned from a cruise for the 21st anniversary of her 39th birthday (as Jack Benny used to say)!!

We traveled with our 14 year old grandson and 11 year old granddaughter. We visited France, Spain, Croatia and Montenegro.

My original plan was to shop for knives as my “souvenirs” but, obviously and immediately realized that to be impractical with today’s security issues at airports, Customs, etc.

OK, that only stopped me from buying! I still shopped.

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We ate at several (supposedly) 5-star restaurants. We ate at several 4-star and many 3-star establishments. We also ate in a variety of neighborhood brasseries & sidewalk cafes. In each and every one I made sure to try to get to see the chefs or prep cooks using their knives.

At the famous Le Jules Verne in the Eiffel Tower, we had lobster & a prime rib prepared flambe at our table. I was actually a little embarrassed for them. The cook stood there sawing and I could see his white knuckles from the hard grip he had to take. For what turned out to be, upon chewing & ingesting, a very tender slice of beef and a buttery lobster!!

I almost asked who sharpens their knives but my French isn’t that good. Nor was I looking for work!

At the other 5-star, we had again lobster and this time Chateaubriand. The final preparation, including flambe, at the table. Again, watching them saw and struggle was almost hilariously excruciating.

Every restaurant was the same. Every brasserie; every cafe. I saw one, ONE knife being used that looked reasonably sharp.

Next time, I’m taking my WE with me!! Seriously.

Actually, I realized I really am going to take it with me wherever and whenever I travel. The friends and other people we visited could be given the gift of a sharp knife. I would not try to get in to the restaurant business over there. (though there might be enough work to make it worthwhile!)

But, the idea of leaving a few sharp knives able to adequately perform their intended function would be a nice gift.

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As far as buying knives, I’m still shopping. I do want a blade from each country but I need to decide the functions I need: slicing, chopping, everyday carry, fixed or folding or simply collecting?

Any recommendations for brands to look for from any of these countries? Meanwhile, I’m using Google and Bing to do my shopping/searching….

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For Now,

Gib

Φ

"Everyday edge for the bevel headed"

"Things work out best for those who make the best out of the way things work out."

[Leo Barr]

http://www.fontenille-pataud.com/indexuk.php
http://www.couteaux-berthier.com/boutique_us/liste_produits.cfm?type=46&code_lg=lg_us&num=201
http://www.sabatier-shop.com
Here are a few French websites that pan out & cover most of the quality knives both for cooking or for everyday use etc
They all deliver overseas .

Sounds like you had some great travelling.

As for the knives I imagine many of the places are like here in Mallorca they have a relatively short season and have to make their money during the season to survive the rest of the year .
I find that the native businesses struggle the most . The foreign owned be it Swedish or German restaurants fair better since there are many wealthy Germans / Swedes that will go to these restaurants out of season whilst the native ones suffer out of season so they will not spend money on knife sharpening since often their knives come free from the wholesale food supermarkets and are not good quality . Especially here most of the Spanish restaurants do tapas or estufados so there is little need for a sharp knife barring one for Jamon Serrano where as the other restaurants do more fusion foods which require sharp knives. It is different in major cities . There are however a lot of sushi places springing up but any half descent sushi chef should be doing their own knives.

[Alfredo Luna]

Any recommendations for brands to look for from any of these countries? Meanwhile, I’m using Google and Bing to do my shopping/searching….

Congratulations on your trip!
From Spain I really like the Muela knives http://www.muelaknives.com, I own a couple and really appreciate them.

[Leo Barr]

I forgot to add this bespoke Mallorcean knife maker his knives are mainly hunting knives I have not dared to ask prices there are non given he uses high speed tool steel for all his knives but the web site is pure eye candy!!

http://www.2gknives.com/index.php/en/

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[Mark76]

Sounds like a great trip, Gib! You definitely enjoyed the food over there.

If you’ve been to France, I’d say a Laguiole knife is almost a must. Leo already posted a link to Fontenille Pataud, but there are many other Laguiole knife makers. I visited them two years ago: http://www.wickededgeusa.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&catid=4&id=1672&limit=10&limitstart=10&Itemid=271&view=topic

Or if you want to go cheap, an Opinel knife: http://www.wickededgeusa.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&view=topic&catid=33&id=8506&Itemid=271#8520

And Spain, Navaja knives or Muela (like Aelt recommended) are traditional knives.

Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

[Author]

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