dcarch

Thanks Rotuts. Regarding EP, the stones are 1 inch in width, my stones are about 3 inches wide. That works out to three times the pressure on the knife's edge. In any case, if you hand sharpen your knives, I don't think there is a way not to end up with a convex edge, because there is no way to keep your movements absolutely constant. dcarch

Is thickness of aluminum the only criteria? How many pliers/layers? Because the difference of metal's thermal expansion coefficient, I would assume the thickness of each layer of metal is carefully designed to minimize warping, in addition to thermal conductivity, dcarch

DaveB, I apologize if you find it annoying and absurd about my curiosity regarding sharpening stone geometry and it's relationship to knife edges. I do want to point out, if you read the posts of this thread, that it is not I who started to talk about dished sharpening stones, and it is not I who said that it can take hours to flatten a stone. While I don't have your knowledge on the various aspects of knives, I do want to learn about some of the details and mechanics about knives and sharpening systems. You see I do make my own knives. Since I suspect that EP uses thin and narrow stones and thin structural components, there may be a possibility that significant force might be placed on knife edges, especially on thin blades, causing uneven angles to happen while sharpening. So I made my own sharpening system, which using wider, thicker and longer stones as well as much sturdier components. dcarch

You should be able to, or someone else can, use stainless steel wire to solder a repair. You will need plumber's solder (no lead metal), and stainless steel soldering flux. dcarch

Let me see if I can be more clear, using a stone which is not flat: Once the sharpener determines the desired angle for a knife, on the curved stone, lets say using the Sharpie method, he keeps the knife at that angle and starts to sharpen. Left-to-right, right-to-left, doesn't matter where the knife is on the dished stone, the only possible shape for the knife's edge to take is to conform to the profile of the stone, which will be a slightly convex edge. It has nothing to do with how fine or coarse the stone is. Sharpening knives on a curved surface is done all the time on a belt sander, and to a lesser degree on a strop. Quality sharpening stone is very expensive, why waste a good part of it away by grinding it flat? dcarch

My point is not to compare hand sharpening with mechanical sharpening. My point is that I don't understand why spending hours to flatten a stone when a dish shaped stone can do no harm. Hand sharpeners do change the angles they hold the knife based on that particular knife's edge angles. I suppose you can use the Sharpie method to determine the desired angle for that particular knife, then hold that angle when you grind, the dished stone should not be a problem to give you the desired sharpness, unless the very slight convex edge is not what you want. dcarch

"----and many others have come to the opposite conclusion: that micro-serrations, in the right context, can be a very good thing.---" I am surprised that no one talks about what kind of steel. With very brittle high Rockwell hardened steel, the broken edges can be as sharp as broken glass, which is one of the sharpest edges known. dcarch

"--"dished" stones - yup, they will not maintain a consistent angle. " ​I am not sure I understand. If you hold the knife at a consistent angle while sharpening, you will always end up with a consistent angle on the edge, regardless of the shape of the stone. dcarch

1. Isn't it a nice thing to have a convex edge? You get that with a curved stone. 2. Besides, if you look at the geometry, a highly curved stone will give you almost imperceptible angle change on the knife's edges. dcarch

So what is the problem with curved stone? dcarch

The sharper the edge, the quicker it gets dulled, and the easier it can be damaged. Don't need to go sharper than sharp enough for your kind of cutting. Some knife sites have a tendency to advise you to make your knives "scary sharp" dcarch

Tasty turkey? No such thing. It is all about the gravy. Last year it was free turkey with $100 purchase. dcarch

It's all in your mind. You smell the aroma, aroma permeating in the air, your anticipation builds up. You wait, and you smell more, you get more hungry. Still you wait. You are starving, you are salivating-------------. 10 hours later ------- THE BEST MEAT SAUCE EVER!! dcarch :-)

Cook them all in the microwave for one to two minutes to stop them from aging. dcarch

Don't use a full tank. It will work better. dcarch

Thanks guys. Come to think of it it does have some artichoke-ish flavor, and artichoke heart/potato-ish texture. I was thinking, if I had some bone marrow to put on them, it would make interesting eating. dcarch

Thanks Smithy. They taste the same as normal Brussels sprouts, except a little fresher than loose sprouts. Actually, I didn't get a chace to tell the whole story. The outer part (skin) is kind of thick, but peels off easily after steaming. good for making smoothies for soups, etc. the whitish part is very woody and tough. dcarch

Patrickamory – Your bean dishes got me started to cook with more beans. Paul Bacino – Nice German Tomato soup. I don’t have pretzel buns, I will use bagel instead. FauxPas – I see nothing wrong with your photo. Mm84321 – that is a very dramatic autumn vegetable dish. Scubadoo – Professional looking scallops. Franci – Great meals. Better than most restaurants in Brooklyn. Huiray – Elegantly plated salmon and asparagus. Dejah – The orange & ginger marmalade sounds very good. I think I will do some wings that way. Prawncrackers – I wish the stores around me have sardines as nice as yours. Amazing grill work. Not easy to grill fish. Shelby – Happy Birthday. Why not. :-) Kim – I love bacon. Never had Gypsy bacon before. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have no idea what I was doing. No recipes, no pre-planned dishes. Whatever I found in the kitchen, I cooked. dcarch B. sprouts on a stalk Steamed B. sprouts stalks Rice noodles yuzu SV chicken breasts Kabocha squash with shrimps, fried tofu

Just about any kind of tomatoes. I even use somewhat ripe ones. To prevent them from getting too watery, I first put them through the dehydrator then waffle iron. dcarch

Green tomato slices, wasabi bean powder, garlic powder, Parm cheese, little sugar, a few minutes in the waffle iron, and enjoy. dcarch

It will be interesting to try this. Put the brad in a curved thick aluminum foil tray and Searall. Don't melt the aluminum. The infrared reflected from the aluminum may cut the time in half. dcarch

Here is the technique i can share with everyone. A very useful one if you have to have a very large bag, or special shaped bag. 1. Cut the bag(s) to size. 2. where you need to seal, use a flat metal plate to put on the area to be sealed, leaving about a 1/4" of plastic on one side of the metal plate. 3. Use heat to melt and seal the 1/4" of plastic. The metal plate prevent the other parts of plastic from melting. dcarch

Do you get fresh foods in restaurants on Sundays and holidays? dcarch

First high heat, the chaffs will immediately come off and actually burned away into ash. Then less heat for the first and second crack. possible? dcarch