Chad

I apologize if this has been posted before, but I'm enthralled by the series "GRAPE" in the San Fransico Chronicle. Very cool coverage in an unconventional (these days) format. I like it. I found it through an article in Editor & Publisher: For the story about the story, see this article in Editor & Publisher. The entire series is available on the SF Chronicle website. Is anyone else following this? Chad

Ah, I didn't realize that they weren't hollow ground on the back. That's what threw me off. I haven't seen this type of edge geometry before. Interesting. And good advice on sharpening. Thanks. Take care, Chad

For your Globals, you might want to check out these Global Edge Guides. They're designed to keep the knife angled at the factory edge when you sharpen on benchstones. Personally, I don't object in the least to changing the factory angle, which on most western knives is an abysmal 20-25 degrees per side. Ick. As for your Misono, I'm at a loss. Most Japanese knives, in my experience, are either a single bevel with a flat back or double beveled with equal angles on both sides, like western knives. My Hattori, for example, is sharpened like a western knife. I haven't run across one with a primary single bevel and a secondary bevel on the backside. This is just my opinion, but I'd sharpen it like a yanagi-ba or sushi knife -- keep the primary bevel and flatten out the back. You'd sharpen the edge face as normal but only grind the burr off the back side by laying the knife flat on the stone for a pass or two along the stone. But that's just me. Chad

Howdy, Greg, thanks for coming to eGullet to explain the process to us. As you might have noticed, we're a pretty rabid bunch when it comes to food and food issues. I noticed the photo of the onion on your website. Is there a problem with the papery skin coming off and smudging/obliterating the laser coding? Take care, Chad

Durand-Wayland, a company that makes fruit packing & handling equipment, announded that they have developed a laser system to imprint product codes on fruits and vegetables. It looks a little weird, but if we can get rid of those damn stickers, I'm all for it. Go to the Durand-Wayland website to see pictures of lemons, onions, nectarines and other fashionable produce sporting their new tattoos. Wave of the future? Chad

Shiny metal? I'm not an expert about cast iron, so please explain. The only cast iron I've ever seen, whether it's old, long used and loved, or brand new and yet to be seasoned, is dark and dull. As far as I know, I've never seen shiny cast iron. Is cast iron shiny if someone scrubs off the patina? Note the bold section. I suspect that if Jensen's beloved was a machinist he probably bead blasted the pan to get rid of what looked like accumulated crud to him. That would leave a somewhat shiny surface. Chad

I have the Polder timer/probe thermometer thingie. Mine works pretty well. I checked the probe reading in ice water, boiling water and ambient temperature with another instant read probe thermometer and the temp/humidity gauge in my kitchen and it's spot on. The Polders do, however, have a reputation for the probe going bad, especially if you get the wire/probe joint wet. Something to watch out for. FG is right. If you're getting a timer/probe combo, you've got to check its calibration and really get a feel for how yours reads under real world conditions. Chad

eGulleteer rbm has done a tutorial on Sharpening with Waterstones in the General Cooking forum. He's done a great job and also covers sharpening single beveled Japanese style knives. Definitely worth a detailed read. Chad

RBM, thanks for the great information on sharpening with waterstones. Waterstones and single bevel Japanese style knives are two things that I didn't cover in sufficient detail in the sharpening tutorial. You've done a much better job than I could have. I'll put a link to this thread at the bottom of the sharpening Q&A. Chad

Snork! I like the Whine & Dine feature. Just too damn funny. The Wichita Eagle has a call-in "Opinion Line" where you can rant to your heart's content and see it in the paper. The nutcases that call in are always good for a chuckle. What I'd like to see, both in the Eagle and now the Chronicle, is a year-end review of all the opinions that were too whacked out to run in the column. That would be hysterical. Chad

I know exactly where you're coming from. We're saving for our annual trip to the beach, so our wine budget is one of the first things to get cut. We go through a case+ a week, so the savings add up quickly. For reds: Los Cardos Cabernet Sauvignon -- a truly decent (though one dimensional) Argentine Cab for about $7.00 USD Solaz -- a Spanish blend of Tempranillo and Cab Sav for about $9.00 USD. Wine Spectator or Wine Enthusiast, I forget which, gave this an 89 Taurino Salice Salintino -- a truly wonderful Italian red. Mark Somellier (an eGulleter who really knows his stuff) called this one of the undiscovered bargains of the decade. About $11.00 USD this is my favorite of the under $13 bunch. At $14 USD is the Marques de Caceres Rioja, which is pretty f*ing wonderful no matter what the price. My top cheeseburger to filet mignon wine of all time. For whites -- well, I don't know as much about inexpensive whites. I do know, however, that its a lot tougher to make a good, inexpensive white than it is to make a good, inexpensive red. Dunno why, but cheap whites just taste cheap. That said, a couple of good ones Morande -- a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc that is really pretty damn tasty for $6.50 USD RH Phillips Sauvignon Blanc -- a California white that just plain works with anything, about $12 USD Mud House -- a New Zealand (Marlborough) Sav Blanc that at $14 USD beats anything and everything up to the $35 USD range Chad

Red -- big, nasty, paint-stripping reds. Chad

Hey Now! I resemble that remark! Brooks, ya gotta read the whole thing. These are not your run of the mill pork rinds (which I dearly love) but pickled pork rinds that are basically chunks of pig skin in vinager. They look like something Hannibal Lecter might snack on. I really enjoyed the part where he tried to reassemble the skin back into a pig. I think I wrenched something permanently because I was laughing so hard. Chad

You might want to read and print out our very own eGullet Culinary Institute course Knife Maintenance & Sharpening. It's a pretty good introduction to the mechanics and art of knife sharpening. There's a wealth of information to be found throughout the eGCI. Take care, Chad

Screw that, just get some margarita mix! Ok, my weird food confession. One of them, anyway. Lunch today: Leftover chicken pot pie (cold) with kosher salt and tortilla chips crumbled on it. Leftover grilled hamburger with habanero sauce (homemade) and mayo (not homemade). Bread & butter pickles eaten from the jar and three sugar cookies my daughter made as a school project. Top that, Mr. Kimchee! Chad

God bless you Mr. Hamaker. (and five points to anyone who gets the reference). Chad

Motherf*er! I thought I was a barbecue fanatic. Grew up in Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina & Georgia -- I can tell what kind of barbecue you like just by the way you order your tea. But, damn, you guys are serious. I'll even let slide the delusion that hot cow in any way constitutes barbecue. This road trip is the most vicarious fun I've had since I first saw Deep Throat on Super8 projected against a bedsheet. Carry on, boys. The rest of us will ride drag and take notes. Chad

You might also read Varmint's Knife Buying Blog. After much angst and indecision he ended up with a 10" Shun. The blog makes for a great read. Chad

Jonathan & Moby -- that was a blast! Thank you so much. The man seems very down to earth and approachable. Nice last shot, Moby. Did anybody else catch that Adria is holding a copy of The Daily Gullet? Chad

Plane tickets are cheap. Need a photographer, general factotum, food taster and pot-watcher? Chad

Woohoo! This is gonna be fun. Thanks for taking it on, Brooks. I'm really looking forward to your version of gumbo. I just happen to have a couple of turkey carcasses in the freezer that I've been meaning to turn in to stock. Might do it this weekend. And then I, too, can cook along with Brooks. Chad

Samhill, you obviously have a lot of experience and strong opinions about knives and knife sharpening. I'm eager to hear them. Threads about knives and sharpening are some of the most read and long-running on eGullet. Tell ya what, start a new thread in General Food Topics. Do a detailed rebuke/rebuttal/analysis of my knife sharpening article or just skip my stuff altogether and post your own thoughts on the subject. I can guarantee you an enthusiastic audience. We can talk steel, metallurgy, edge angles, maintenance and everything else. This Q&A thread doesn't get a lot of attention. A new one will. Go for it. Chad

The knifemakers I've worked with -- who all use Scotchbrite pads, grinders, buffing wheels and, yes, Dremel tools to polish out their blades -- would be astounded to hear that. Chad

Thanks for the kind words! The Leatherman is a great tool. I carrry a Juice (the blue one with the corkscrew) with me at all times and have a Wave in the car. Your blade is getting harder and harder to sharpen because it is getting thicker as you go up. Remember this diagram? That's what's happening. Taking off the shoulder isn't going to remove enough metal to shorten the life of the blade significantly. You're just taking off the metal that's keeping the edge from contacting the stone at the proper angle. And don't worry about using a pocket knife for food prep. At our annual trip to the beach last year, the kitchen knives were in such bad shape that I ended up using a Spyderco Lum Chinese that I'd tossed into my luggage to do all the dinner prep work for 11 people . As for a good camping/fishing/outdoorsy type knife, the A.G. Russell folding hocho is pretty dang cool. ATS-34 blade, nice width, easy to carry -- just generally nifty. Tell ya what, I have a spare that's just hanging around in a drawer. E-mail or PM me your address and I'll send it to you. Chad

I'll assume you're kidding. In case you're not, you might want to read the exchange between me & Col. Klink (Matt) again, specifically this part .Yes a Dremel is overkill for an edge. On the flats, though, a polishing bob or wheel with rouge isn't going to do anything but clean up the blade a little. My gunsmith, on the other hand, wants to buy Dremels for all of his customers. He makes more money fixing their botched work than he does actually building pistols . Chad