Matt_T

Just like a Ginsu Miracle Blade? I bought a Hiromoto carbon-steel gyuto recently and have been experimenting with sharpening techniques. Out of the box it came with about a 70/30 bevel, and I wanted to try and maintain that. I picked up a 1000 grit waterstone to practice with on some old knives for when the time comes, but the Hiro hasn't needed anything like that grit yet...instead I've been adapting the technique I use to hone it on my Spyderco Sharpmaker. You probably know the Sharpmaker is a ceramic-rod system that can hold the rods at either 30 or 40 degrees (total angle, so each rod is 15 or 20 d from vertical). For the asymmetrically bevelled Hiro I put my fine rods in the 30 degree position, and run the larger, right-side bevel down the rod normally, with the blade vertical. For the back side I tilt the blade halfway between vertical and flat against the rod....I figure this gives me an 8 degree bevel on that side, and a more-or-less 70/30 bevel with 23d total included angle.. It's been working great! First time I did it the knife came out noticeably sharper than new. Then I bought some of the Ultrafine rods Spyderco sells as an upgrade for the Sharpmaker. They arrived the other day - they don't feel abrasive at all, almost glassy. "What and edge these'll make!" I thought. But no....I honed the knife with the ultrafine rods before cutting up a few lbs of veggies for a curry yesterday and it was noticeably duller. Just before finishing, frustrated, I decided to try again. This time I paid closer attention to my angle on the back side and presto! the edge became razor sharp again, practically falling through ripe tomatoes. I realized that in my previous effort, while minding my vertical swipe on the front bevel I had been inattentive on the back side. The back bevel is so tiny I'd considered it "unimportant," and been a little sloppy with my honing angle - but with hindsight precision on the back bevel is probably just as important to the final edge. By the way I've used a bunch of santukos including the highly rated MAC SK65 and have to agree they're not "all that." Now that I have one I much prefer the longer gyuto - in fact I'm kind of wishing I'd gone 270mm instead of 240. - MT

I have both a couple of knife safes and edge guards and prefer the simpler solution. The simple slip-on guards actually stay on my blades more securely when jostled around than the more engineered (and more expensive) knife safes do. MT

Well it's a slow day here so I just spent some time playing around, putting a 70/30 bevel on my cheap old santuko. I used the coin-stacking method to set my angle and got a sharp edge over the full length, though I can see the bevel is still uneven. Getting better though. On the subject of stone quality: the King brand "Extra Large Deluxe" I bought is not a premium item I guess but it was the most expensive stone in the store I was shopping. Well, about the same cost (high $teens, depending on grit) as some Suehiro stones but those were smaller and came on little plastic stands; I guessed better to put the money into the actual stone and just set it on a towel. The King brand was also on the recommended list (for a few more $$) at Soko Hardware in SF's Japan town, where I was talking about knives last week. Bob cautioned about cheap stones dishing out but the King seems pretty tough. I've been rubbing this stainless santuko against it long enough to form three edges and haven't worn all the way through the logo on the stone face yet. The comment about dishing out reminded me of a cheap stone I bought at another Asian market when I bought my first Japanese style, single bevel santuko, a couple of years ago maybe. It looked like natural stone, dark greenish, almost the size of a brick with uneven edges and faces. I evened it out by rubbing against a coarse whetstone and tried to sharpen with it, but it didn't cut metal worth a darn and wore away very quickly - I know exactly what you mean by dishing out. Not worth the $4 I paid. I haven't had the need or desire to try my stone skills on my Hiro HC gyuto yet, but I did "steel" it before cutting up some broccoli and onions for lunch today. It's building up a funky patina already and I figured that was on the edge, too, so thought I'd try cleaning it up. I used the fine rods in my Spyderco, in the 30 degree slots (that's total angle). For the back side I held the knife at an angle halfway between vertical and right against the stone, which I figure is about 8 degrees. For the front side I went vertical for 15 degrees. I should have tried the "magic marker trick" to check my angles but didn't think of it. Anyway a few strokes each side cleaned the bevels up nicely....they looked like fine silver wire shining out of the dull patina. And I must have gotten the angles close to right because man, did the knife cut. Definitely sharper than OOTB, just with this little treatment. It just slipped right through thick broccoli stems. Since this method seems to work pretty well, after lunch I ordered some ultrafine ceramic rods for the Spyderco off Ebay. According to a grit comparison chart I read somewhere they're supposed to be equivalent to #4000 waterstone, and I'd like to see what kind of edge that makes for. Since I already have the Sharpmaker it was very small investment. Thanks to Bob and everyone for all the tips, I'm really having fun learning this stuff. Please excuse if I don't take all your advice to the letter, right away - sometimes I have to test my own theories, just to prove you right. MT

I didn't measure but the Bon-60 is listed as 6" and the CL-6 is 6.5". The Hattori FH series is beautiful, not too early to make a list for Santa I guess....timing might be perfect. MT

Update on the Tramontina Deep Saute....I made some sauce yesterday and I think it's a keeper. Very even heating on my big gas hob - butter came to foam, and over medium heat a thin layer of sauce came to simmer all across the bottom of the pan at about the same time. The pan took a long time to heat, too, which i think indicates high heat capacity and bodes well for searing and browning. The higher than normal sides (3 1/8") prevented even a speck of simmering tomato sauce from splattering onto my stovetop, and allowed me to stir two helpings of gnocchi into the sauce with vigor without flipping them any out of the pan. When my wife gets off her current meatless kick we'll see how the high sides affect browning, but with the high sides and slightly domed lid it should be a nice pan for stovetop braising. I happened by Target recently and checked out the Chefmate copper-bottom skillets. They look ok, I like the handles but I'd really prefer a rolled lip. The bare stamped edge is pretty rough and will scratch other pans and cabinetry. Target also had a Revere 12" for a few dollars more that appeared to be better made and had just as thick a bottom. It doesn't have copper but the Chefmate label says "two ply bottom with aluminum and copper" so I'd guess the copper outer layer is only a fraction of a mm thick - how could it be more, for $20? If the copper is only a skin the Chefmates should cook about the same as aluminum disk pans of similar thickness that lack the copper pretense. The Costco Tramontina is better made than any of the stainless pans I saw at Target. Made in Brazil, too, which made me happy - I try to avoid products from mainland China. I'm beginning to think this pan is a real steal at $30. MT

Well I took the plunge on an extra-large 1000 grit King brand waterstone yesterday. More than $10, but not much more. For years I've relied on the various sharpening gadgets, never mastering the old Arkansas stones for more than rough shaping or a few swipes of final finishing. But now that I've got an asymmetrically beveled knife I figure I've got no choice but to learn the right technique with the stones. Figure I'll start with the 1000 and continue to use the Sharpmaker for the final stages, then when I get the hang of it convert to waterstones for the finer grits too, and upgrade the quality. I'd guess stone quality is most important in the finer grits anyway. (?) After re-reading Chad's tutorial I was able to get an edge on an old Wal Mart santuko I picked out to practice with, but it's quite uneven from point to heel. Practice, practice! Anybody have a copy of the Korin DVD that they've watched enough times and care to part with, cheap? MT

Yesterday I got to handle (in a shop) a honesuki that hasn't gotten much attention here: The MAC BON-60: MAC Knife Page This is in their "Japanese" series, and is single-beveled. It's a heavy knife, I'd guess 3mm spine at the bolster, and feels like a little pointed cleaver (which I guess it is!) The point is clipped a bit, which I think makes it a little stronger than some honesuki's I've seen at Korin that have almost needle points. Fit and finish were excellent. I believe MAC's Japanese series uses their original stainless alloy, which they say is hardened to 58 rockwell. That's lower than a lot of general use knives discussed here but maybe not a bad choice for a boning knife/light cleaver? Bob, you'd spec no lower than 60 even for this application? List price is $90 but the seller where I saw it (Kamei on Clement St in San Francisco) had it tagged at $67.50. I didn't buy as my budget will probably keep me away from such specialized tools for a while, but thought it deserved a mention. The same dealer also had the unusual CL-6 in Mac's Original series, a double-beveled 6.5" "medium cleaver" in the triangular pattern of a honesuki, but with a curved tip. I'd think a point would be desireable on a boning knife, no? If not, the CL-6 might be a deal at $47, with no bolster and a little lighter construction, but also 1/2" more length than the BON-60 or most more tradition honesukis. I guess it wouldn't be too hard to grind the back of the curved tip into a clip point.... MT

And by the way I have seen the quick rundowns manufacturers provide on the applications for the different types....for example this page from Wusthof. I'm wondering more about personal experiences, reasons why I should shop for more paring knives to try new tricks with. MT

OK, collected wisdon says you can get by with two knives: a large cook's knife of some type, and a paring knife. The various types of cook's knives - French, German, Santuko, Gyuto, Chinese cleaver - have been pretty well covered here. But what about the paring knives? What's up with all the styles? Why would someone want a sheepsfoot paring knife? It looks like it's meant for chopping on the board....by someone without knuckles. The birds beak I think I understand, but what about these newish parers that look like tiny santukos? I've probably bought a dozen parers of various shapes and sizes at the discount store in recent years, for my home kitchen and for work, and have decided my personal favorite for what I tend to use a paring knife for is a spear or clip point about 3.25" long. But I'm wondering about these other shapes....there must be some techniques I've never heard of that they're intended for. Anybody care to run down the uses for the various types of parers, or point to an article somewhere that discusses them? MT

Anybody seen one of the pans in Cuisinart's new Multiclad Unlimited line? From the description, sounds like straight-gauge aluminum with anodized exterior and stainless lining. It looks like a copy of All-Clad's LTD....the "Unlimited" moniker even makes it sound like a spoof of AC. http://www.cuisinart.com/catalog/category.php?cat_id=345 I haven't seen it in any stores yet and wondering about thickness of the aluminum substrate, and overall quality. Cuisinart's Multiclad Pro reputedly compares well to All-Clad Stainless and maybe this Unlimited stuff is a good value too. I like the idea of anodized exteriors, as our Calphalon Commercial has held up very well under regular use and very hard well water at our home - looks better now at ten years old than our stainless pans of various makes, most of them much younger. But if the pans aren't thick enough to cook well, looks don't mean much. MT

continued..... One area I steer clear of in the Asian markets is the seafood section. The live rockfish that are popular at markets near me are usually caught by trap. As practiced commercially this kind of trapping goes beyond non-sustainable and has done massive damage to local fisheries in recent decades. Dungeness crab are considered a sustainable fishery when regulations are obeyed, but in the live crab tank at my local Asian markets I often see many obviously undersized crabs. As far as I know Dungeness crabs are not farmed and the small crabs mean fewer crabs next year....if I'm wrong about that please correct me. - MT

My wife is of Chinese descent and so we've been shopping Asian markets in the San Francisco and Sacramento areas for years. You can find great deals but don't expect to find a lot of sustainably grown or organic foodstuffs. Part of the difference in price compared to Western markets I think derives from what culturally is considered a staple, and what is exotic. How often do most white American home cooks buy a lime? For most it's an exotic, associated more with cocktails than cooking. 50 cents doesn't seem like a lot to these customers, so it's a chance for the market to score some markup (not saying there's anything wrong with profit). However in Southeast Asian cuisine it's a basic ingredient in common sauces and dishes....Asian customers who are going to buy limes a dozen at a time are going to walk away if they see 50 cents each (after laughing). Fresh produce in general is considered more of a staple good, I think. If my wife and her family are any indication, fresh vegetables bought from local market are the main course at most meals, supplemented by rice and maybe a little meat. A lot of white Americans have the "meat and potatoes" mentality, and were raised in northern climes where vegetable were usually canned or frozen....fresh veggies are more of a "luxury/health food" item for these customers and so the market that caters to them can charge a bit more. - MT

On the subject of budget stainless pans.....yesterday I picked up a Tramontina 5 qt Deep Saute at Costco. For about $30 you get what looks like a well-formed stainless pan with a very thick, full diameter clad aluminum bottom. Flared pouring rim with rolled edge. Riveted, cast stainless stainless stay-cool handle. Diameter close to 12" but with the flared rim should cook more like a 11" saute. 3 1/8" deep. Haven't cooked with it yet but the nicest-made product I've seen near this price. I think Amazon has the same pan for $50. MT

Thanks for the info, I'll check those leads out. At our firehouse I'm the guy responsible for stocking the pantry, keeping our small appliances in service...and sharpening knives. I've had to deal with lots of nicked and rolled edges as a result of helpful "sous chefs" cutting directly on stainless countertops, tossing dirty knives into the sink, loading improperly in the dishwasher and etc. (To my mind any loading of a knife into the DW is improper, but I've given up trying to police that policy). For a while I was working out the nicks on Arkansas stones until another member brought in his Chef's Choice electric sharpener. It was a three-stage, one of their higher end models, maybe the one referenced in the knife sharpening tutorial. Worked like a charm restoring damaged edges and resetting the bevel. It'd take a good number of passes to grind past a very small nick - Not too aggressive, so I didn't feel I was taking too much out of the knife. The final edge was only ok - most users were happy with that level of sharpness but I would generally finish up manually, on a hard AK stone, those knives I use myself and keep in a seperate drawer for the handful of firehouse cooks who appreciate a better blade. But the CC did a great job rehabilitating damaged and extremely dull knives... after the time another helpful member took several of our knives to the coarse wheel of our bench grinder, for example, the CC was able to bring a few of them back to serviceable condition. When the guy who owned the CC moved on to another assignment I picked up one of CC's manual sharpeners, the things that look like door handles you hold on the countertop. I started with their cheapest and that didn't work too well, but moved myself up to their top manual model - the one with little wheels that spin on the top, about $25 bucks - and that actually does a decent job. In between I tried a few other door-handle style manual sharpeners from Wal-Mart and elsewhere (because I like to buy things several times before spending for quality ), and none worked nearly as well as the better CC. One model that used short segments of ceramic rod worked ok at first for final touchup, but wore out very quickly. Now instead of the AK stone I use the Spyderco for final touchup on our better knives, and this system works well and is a lot faster than my clumsy hands on the old series of stones. A big downside to the CCs is they (all models I've used) tend to leave permanent streaks along the sides of the blade parallel to the edge. As a result I wouldn't use them on my nicer knives at home but for a busy kitchen I find it's a good, economical solution. Don't expect I'll convert any of the real knife fanciers here to the CC + Spyderco approach and I'm looking myself for a fine waterstone to take my home knives to the next level. But thought I'd post my own experiences, and who knows - maybe there's another reader more interested in a quick, fairly inexpensive, and easy-to-learn way to maintain a number of knives that see hard use. MT

How important is stone thickness? I have read that ceramic stones are very long wearing....so for most users would the Shapton M5 series be the best value? From Japanwoodworker: The Shapton model M5 is 8¼" x 2¾" x ¾". However, only 5/16" is abrasive material. The other ½" is a ceramic supporting material which is laminated to the #5000 grit material. This stone is intended for kitchen and/or light use. It comes in a plastic storage case which also acts as a stone holder during use and folds away for very neat storage. Almost 30% $$ savings over the full-thickness M15 series, at JWW. - MT

Yes, the Kanji is engraved....maybe I'll go back for a matching petty before they sell through the old style. Hida Tool is a small shop, I'd guess the entire space up front is 12x25 feet. But it's stacked to the gills (very neatly!) with cool edged tools. A bigger assortment than at Soko hardware in SF, the only other Japanese hardware store I'm familiar with. Kitchen cutlery only takes up maybe three feet of linear shelf space (by 7 feet high) but there is a big selection. I didn't look too closely either in the shop or on the web at makers I wasn't familiar with, so can't say for sure if there was more or less selection - I'd guess about the same. They do stock the Hiromoto AS line and I was tempted. I'll probably get an AS once I decide what style and size I really want, but I thought the softer and high-value HC made more sense as a first gyuto and first carbon blade. I worked on those burrs this morning. They were tiny, something felt rather than seen, and I thought a few passes with the fine Spyderco rod would knock them down. But it took a good while with the coarse rod to take off the burrs and soften the corners just the slightest - this is a much harder steel than I'm used to! When I get home I'm going to use my diamond EZ Lap to round off the spine a bit more. On another front, I'd been thinking of taking advantage of the Mac double-bevelled deba on sale at Korin. But then I realized I have one already, sort of: one of the first "good" knives I thought I bought a few years ago was a 7" Calphalon Contemporary Santuko. It's big and heavy, as thick along the spine as my chef's knife. When I realized it was not a very good representation of a santuko I brought it to our firehouse where cutlery sees some rough treatment. Today I looked at it and except for the edge it's still in good shape, despite a year or two bouncing around in the sink, misuse as a meat cleaver, and scores of trips through the dishwasher. So I guess I can endorse Calphalon's durability! But anyway I think to myself, here I have an approximately deba-shaped knife in soft steel that doesn't seem to care if it's asked to split chickens or cleave ribs. A little while on the Spyderco and Hey, Presto! it's got a decent 40 degree edge again. It's coming back home with me to do some heavy work, maybe then I'll be able to keep a better edge of my chef's knife. MT

Bought myself a 240mm Hiromoto HC today, at Hida Tool in Berkeley. I really want to try carbon steel and the feel of this knife is much more to my taste than the Tojiro DP I tried a few days ago. Besides being more rounded, as has been noted here, the handle on the Hiro is much more "woody" than the Tojiro, which I found quite slick. Also, the handle is smaller which I've found I prefer on knives where I pinch-grip the blade and wrap just three fingers around the handle. I started with the 210mm, having liked the 8" Mac gyuto I'd handled a few days before, but the 240 won me over as soon as I gripped it. The balance of the 210 was very "neutral," as though the knife disappeared in my hand, while the 240 is just a bit more blade heavy andfelt great. I can't wait to cut with it! By the time I got home, though, my wonderful and talented wife already had dinner waiting. Maybe I should go out and buy some fruit to slice for dessert? Fit and finish around the handle are excellent, but there are a few burrs at the base of the spine, which is quite sharp. I'll be working over these spots a bit with the fine rod from my Spyderco Sharpmaker tomorrow. Price was within a couple of dollars of JCK, including shipping, and the service was excellent. The seller told me when it needs sharpening come back and they will teach me how to do it properly! Hoping to sell a nice set of waterstones, no doubt...but still. Speaking of waterstones: I have gotten pretty good putting a variety of different angles on other knives with the Sharpmaker and its ceramic rods. Any reason not to use it with the carbon steel Hiro? I was thinking I could get a 70/30 bevel pretty consistently by holding the blade at an angle while it work it in the Sharpmaker with the rods in the 30 degree setting. I'd still get a 30 degree total included angle, but instead of 15d/15d I could get 10d/20d. Any reason not to use the Sharpmaker as a shortcut/economy measure for the rougher grits even if I obtain and learn how to use a fine waterstone for final polish? Best of both worlds? About the Tojiro DP 270: I didn't find it heavy in an absolute sense, compared to a Wusthof Classic or something, but it was heavier than I expected....my previous experience with Japanese knives being limited to 6.5" Santukos and a very slender discount-store slicer. Of course I should have expected a longer, deeper knife to be much heavier, but despite all my internet shopping that just did not compute. Glad I had the chance to shop in person. MT

I have a Weber kettle I will not part with but finally added a gas grill last week. A "Thermos" brand (made by Char-broil, I'm told) from Target on sale for $250. It has a fancy-dan stainless exterior that reviews say is low-grade steel and will discolor quickly, but who cares? In a few months it's premature patina may fool some guests into thinking I'm a seasoned griller. I was more taken by the four burners for good indirect heat, heavy porcelain-coated iron grates, and a 12,000 btu side burner. I've used it 3 times already and it seems to be a winner. Watch the "scary" high heat settings on your Char broil, though. We have a Char Broil "Commercial" LNG grill at our firehouse. It was rated at 64,000 btu and I think they achieved that gaudy rating for marketing purposes by using burners too big for the rest of the grill. After two years the stainless lid is near black, the rubber grips on the knobs have shrunk and peeled back, and the grill is basically a wreck all I think due to overuse of the high heat setting by enthusiastic firehouse grillers. I'd say stick with medium heat on a Char-broil except for brief efforts at incineration. MT

It's a regular anodized pan (not nonstick) with sides about 3.5" high. That's about the same height as the Falk but lower than the All-Clad, which I think is 4". I haven't tried that pan as a saute in a while, having pretty much given up and used it as a wide saucepan. Based on this discussion I'll go back and try again...that 5.5 qt All-Clad looks like a very handy pan for making sauce and then tossing vegetables or pasta but it'd be a lot easier to pony up the cost if it could serve as the effective 3 qt saute I need, as well. Near the other end of the pricing scale, I saw an interesting pan in Target the other day: a 12" Kitchenaid shaped like these sauciers (I forget whether they called it a skillet or whatever) with a thick (apparently) copper-clad disk bottom. No idea how much actual copper there is (at $50 I'm sure the disk was mostly Al), and I'm going to hold out for a straight-gauge pan in this type in any case, but thought some might be curious. MT

I hope it's appropriate to bump this old thread rather than start a new one... I'm wondering how the high sides of the saucier pans popular here work for browning meat, and making pan sauces. I have a Calphalon Commercial 4 qt "chef's pan," similar in shape to these sauciers, which I bought a few years ago with the expectation that it could serve as a saute pan. But it doesn't brown very well, even though I'm careful not to overload it. It's about 10.5" in diameter and I treat it like an 8" saute in terms of capacity. I don't think it's an issue of Calphalon inferiority or my unfamiliarity with anodized pans, as I have Calphalon Commercial skillets that I think brown and deglaze very well. But the chef's pan just doesn't do as well here....I've always suspected the high sides interfere with evaporation, or hold steam, or something. Any comments on how the large sauciers discussed here (like the Falk 11" or the All-Clad 5.5 qt) do with browning and deglazing, compared to a low-sided saute or a skillet? Hope this hasn't been asked before.....I've read through the thread but don't recall this issue being discussed in detail. MT

Received my Wusthof model 7263 22-slot block today. I was eager to see it as I had read in a review (at Amazon I think) that it would not take cleavers longer than 6", but that turns out to be incorrect - my wife's 7" Chinese cleaver fits with room to spare, and even 8" would be ok. The largest top slot would take a 11.5" blade with 2.7" heel, and my "oversized" 10" chef with 2.2" heel actually fits fine in the second row. 8" filet and bread knives fit in the third row.... in a flash I've gone from having badly outgrown my old block to having room for new additions to the collection. A nice block for people with an assortment of knives. Fit and finish is not perfect but pretty good, better than my old $20 "Henckels" branded block from the kitchen outlet store. The new block a good value I think at $40 plus shipping on Ebay. Thanks for all the suggestions! MT [edited after I double checked the slot sizes with a ruler]

Thanks Bob! That's your version of quick and dirty, huh? I think I need to re-read your post and also Chad's sharpening symposium to get a better grip on the subject. Are there any tutorials out there on sharpening asymmetrical angles? IIRC Chad didn't get into that subject though I haven't read his article in months, maybe I just skipped over it. Meanwhile I stopped by a couple of Asian shops in San Francisco today and got to see a few knives, including the full MAC line and also the Tojiro DP 270mm. The latter is a lot more knife than I realized....more heft and bulk than I expected since I've been using a 10" western Chef for a while and am used to the Japanese knives being so much lighter. Of course I'd never handled a >10" gyuto before...with hindsight of course harder steel doesn't mean lighter or otherwise magical. Fit and finish on the one I handled (the only Tojiro in the shop) were excellent, though the scales were more plasticky than I expected. Another knife I handled was the MAC BK-80 8" "French Chef," in their standard 58 rockwell stainless. Neat shape, reminds me of a long Santuko more than the other gyutos, and nothing like an actual French knife. I probably should have bought that one instead of the widely reviewed SK-65 santuko, which is just a bit too short to rock very well even on garlic and shallots. The only thing I actually bought was one of those little "fruit knives" with wooden sheath included....cute, sharp as heck and too cheap to pass at under 7 bucks. I'm holding off on the gyuto until I handle the Hiromotos at another shop that I expect to visit next week. Eventually I have to get to Japanwoodworker's shop, too....I just noticed they're within my range. MT

I have been asking about chicken prep, but another thought occurs....what about carving? Is it adviseable to carve a chicken or turkey with a 60 rockwell gyuto, where you're not trying to go through bones but will have to go through cooked joints? Or will I need to replace my old Calphalon carver (sold at last weekend's garage sale)? edit: And one more question for Bob or anyone else with experience: in an old thread I read that the Tojiro honesuki (and Hiromoto HC gyuto, another knife I'm interested in) have asymmetrical bevels. I believe you're talking about the larger bevels that extend well up the blade....the edge is still sharpened symmetrically, with equal angles on either side, right? I had a single-bevel Santuko (one of the cheapies from the Asian grocery store, still a decent knife) and never could sharpen it properly on stones. Finally I reground it as a double bevel and could put a decent edge on it that way, but I'd want to keep a better knife closer to "stock." MT

Not sure how on-topic this is but thought some might enjoy watching as blender maker with an offbeat marketing plan takes on the latest tech icon: Video Scroll down the page for more scientific tests. That does look like a heckuva blender! MT

Thanks Varmint! MT