Yard Sale, Thrift Store, Junk Heap Shopping (Part 3)

[chromedome]

I can't answer for JNW, but personally I avoid knives with a bolster because it's a PITA to sharpen one after the first couple of years. 

 

That being said, for $2 I'd have bought it too. Bolster or no bolster. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

3 hours ago, Porthos said:

 

My estimate was correct. I normally can put a new edge on a knife in about 15 minutes. I had guessed that this Wusthof would take about a half an hour**, which it did. It is now in my DW's knife block. A $60 knife for $2.00 and a little labor. You betcha!

 

@JoNorvelleWalker What about the bolster do you not care for?

 

** There was no discernible bevel to the naked eye.  (edited to add this)

 

 

Just personal preference.  I checked my knife block and counted four knives with a bolster and thirteen knives without.  But for my bread knife I kind of like the bolster.

 

Though perhaps my terminology is wrong?  What I mildly objected to is the part of the knife Wusthof calls the "finger guard".  I had always thought of this part of the knife as the bolster.  Wusthof used to offer a line of forged knives without bolsters or finger guards or whatever.  They no longer seem to do so, or at least I cannot find it on their site.

 

Congratulations on your find!  Makes me want a new knife or two.

 

 

[chefmd]

Tortilla press that I immediately put to use.  It was 10 bucks at a thrift shop, brand spanking new and super heavy

 

[boilsover]

53 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Though perhaps my terminology is wrong?  What I mildly objected to is the part of the knife Wusthof calls the "finger guard".  I had always thought of this part of the knife as the bolster. 

 

Not wrong, but the terminology gets blurred.  A "bolster" is usually understood to be an added piece ahead of the handle scale or through-handle designed to buttress the handle and prevent corrosion.  It can be a separate piece, soldered, pinned, and/or glued on, OR it can be "integral" with the blade/tang, i.e., forged or ground into the assembly.

 

Bolsters can include finger guards or not.   And the guards can go all the way to the heel or not.  I agree that the classic Euro bolster that descends all the way to the heel is a PITA because (a)  sooner or later, successive sharpenings will result in a lack of board contact near the heel, leading to accordion cuts; and (b) the typical cook cannot properly reduce the mass of metal at the heel to fix it.  I have 4 paring knives out for professional sharpening because the bolsters also need taking down to make the edge profiles convex.

 

A full height bolster/guard also gives some added support to the blade when the knife is twisted.  But most modern steels, properly heat-treated don't really need this.

 

I think Big Knife persists with this full-height design mostly because people expect it in $$ cutlery.  They also do it as a risk management strategy.  They could simply put a large choil in the blade ahead of a minimal bolster and completely solve the resharpening PITA and have some safety insurance.  

Edited November 14, 2016 by boilsover (log)

[Porthos]

@boilsover I agree with the blurring of terminology. Part of it is how written materials on the subject present the information.

 

Because of my curiosity I just consulted 3 books on the subject of knives & knife Skills and a broader book titled Cook's Tools by Susan Campbell, copyright 1980. In her book she clearly differentiates between the bolster and guard.

 

The other three book were The Culinary Institute of America's The Professional Chef's Knife Kit, Knife skills Illustrated by Peter Hertzmann and our own Chad Ward's An Edge in the Kitchen. These three books, all with copyrights of 2000 or later, do not call out the guard as a separate part of a knife.

 

[andiesenji]

8 hours ago, chromedome said:

I can't answer for JNW, but personally I avoid knives with a bolster because it's a PITA to sharpen one after the first couple of years. 

 

That being said, for $2 I'd have bought it too. Bolster or no bolster. 

You can always grind the bolster down.  

This big knife, which I have owned for 40 years, had a "full bolster" which I had my knife guy grind it down and taper the blade edge so I could sharpen it myself in between times when he would take care of all my knives.  (he's gone now and I still miss him)

[chromedome]

A former colleague of mine did something similar with a Dremel, tapering the bolster to just about nothing for the last 1/8" or so. He did it in stages because he wasn't sure how hot the knife could get without ruining its temper. He was also the first person I'd ever met who rounded the knife's back edge to reduce wear and tear on his index finger. 

[Martin Fisher]

Just a plain old bastard file works great to file off the bottom of a finger guard — or bolster, or whatever the heck you want to call it.

Edited November 15, 2016 by DiggingDogFarm (log)

[boilsover]

15 hours ago, andiesenji said:

You can always grind the bolster down.  

This big knife, which I have owned for 40 years, had a "full bolster" which I had my knife guy grind it down and taper the blade edge so I could sharpen it myself in between times when he would take care of all my knives.  (he's gone now and I still miss him)

 

Yep, even though your guy took it down, you can see at the heel where the belt or stone has started it going concave again.

 

My solution would be to have a competent smith carefully (and cooly) grind in a choil about the diameter of a US Quarter, so that the edge can be sharpened all the way out to the heel.    There'd still be plenty of "guard" left.

 

[andiesenji]

5 hours ago, boilsover said:

 

Yep, even though your guy took it down, you can see at the heel where the belt or stone has started it going concave again.

 

My solution would be to have a competent smith carefully (and cooly) grind in a choil about the diameter of a US Quarter, so that the edge can be sharpened all the way out to the heel.    There'd still be plenty of "guard" left.

 

This knife was about 1/4 inch wider at the heel and has been ground down a lot over the years.  It is quite heavy and I used it for splitting tough squashes, dividing big root vegetable - like celeriac, etc.  The last time Neil worked on it, it had developed a concavity that was about 6 - 7 inches long and he evened it out for me.  I have take care to keep it even and have not used it near as much as I used to. It is carbon steel and takes a wicked edge.  You know the paper-cutting test?  This blade will swish through the paper silently, better than any of my other knives, including the Japanese.  It was made by the Robinson Knife co, in New York state of high carbon, "ice-tempered" steel.  I bought it at Star restaurant supply in 1972.  

[chromedome]

I think I might be today's winner...

 

 

 

It's missing the tamper, but aside from that is immaculate down to the seal inside the dome. It looks like it was somebody's impulse purchase, and spent the last 30 years in a closet somewhere. 

I honestly never use a blender, but for $25 I'll keep a Vita-Mix on hand just 'cause. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

On ‎11‎/‎14‎/‎2016 at 6:27 PM, boilsover said:

 

Not wrong, but the terminology gets blurred.  A "bolster" is usually understood to be an added piece ahead of the handle scale or through-handle designed to buttress the handle and prevent corrosion.  It can be a separate piece, soldered, pinned, and/or glued on, OR it can be "integral" with the blade/tang, i.e., forged or ground into the assembly.

 

Bolsters can include finger guards or not.   And the guards can go all the way to the heel or not.  I agree that the classic Euro bolster that descends all the way to the heel is a PITA because (a)  sooner or later, successive sharpenings will result in a lack of board contact near the heel, leading to accordion cuts; and (b) the typical cook cannot properly reduce the mass of metal at the heel to fix it.  I have 4 paring knives out for professional sharpening because the bolsters also need taking down to make the edge profiles convex.

 

A full height bolster/guard also gives some added support to the blade when the knife is twisted.  But most modern steels, properly heat-treated don't really need this.

 

I think Big Knife persists with this full-height design mostly because people expect it in $$ cutlery.  They also do it as a risk management strategy.  They could simply put a large choil in the blade ahead of a minimal bolster and completely solve the resharpening PITA and have some safety insurance.  

 

 

 

I persisted in my search for the Wusthof knives that I remembered:

 

 

Sadly it turns out Wusthof discontinued these somewhile ago, but look what was delivered to me this afternoon.  No choil.  These knives are now available at closeout prices (though I cannot top @chromedome for the best find tonight)

 

I bought this 12 cm primarily for use as a steak knife.  The functionality of which I am about to go put to the test.  If I'm happy with the performance I may spring for a paring knife as well.

 

[Lisa Shock]

Just got most of a Dippin Dots Frozen Dot Maker. It's missing a couple of the liquid tanks and the main machine (which was nothing but a support for the ice trays), but it doesn't really matter. Much of the activity that this is supposed to provide for kids was pretty silly. Essentially, it's a bunch of ice cube trays that make tiny spheres. The machine was supposed to let you freeze dots made from different juices into a pattern in the ice tray. -Which is made immaterial when you pop the spheres out to use them. I got about 90% of the kit, but will wind up just using the ice trays to make plain and flavored little spheres. The plastic seems harder than silicon, but softer than an old-school ice cube tray, so I do not know if it will stand up to being used with sugar work. That said, I have been cheerfully making cute itty-bitty ice spheres for cocktails out of various juices and having fun. I have 4 of the ice mold trays, a decent deal for $.99. If I can make tiny hard candy spheres, that will also be fun.

Edited November 18, 2016 by Lisa Shock
fixed amazon link (log)

[andiesenji]

2 hours ago, chromedome said:

I think I might be today's winner...

 

 

 

It's missing the tamper, but aside from that is immaculate down to the seal inside the dome. It looks like it was somebody's impulse purchase, and spent the last 30 years in a closet somewhere. 

I honestly never use a blender, but for $25 I'll keep a Vita-Mix on hand just 'cause. 

You can make a tamper.  The original is just a dowel with a smaller dowel through it at the level to keep the end off the blades.  The bottom end is cut down but you don't really need that.

I got my Vita Mix in the late '60s and the original tamper lasted about 25 years. I got a replacement from Vita Mix in the '80s.

I haven't used it for a long time, it is rather dusty.

[chromedome]

I'd recently bought one of these used from Kijiji (similar to Craigslist) for my parents. The woman selling it knew she had the tamper, but couldn't for the life of her remember when she'd seen it last. Finally she asked her kids, who didn't understand at first what she was describing. Finally her 9 year-old son piped up and said "Oh, you mean my sword!" 

 

He promptly fetched it from the basement rec room, and presented it to me with a flourish. 

[Cyberider]

I got one of the old-style Vitamix's at a yard sale for $10 about 20 years ago.  Used it for milling small quantities of grain before I got a dedicated grain mill. Now use it for occasional blending jobs.  Compared to the cost of the new ones, these are bargains.  And, according to the instruction manual, it's normal to see sparks coming out the bottom during blade reversal!!!

[boilsover]

On 11/17/2016 at 5:24 PM, chromedome said:

I think I might be today's winner...

 

 

 

It's missing the tamper, but aside from that is immaculate down to the seal inside the dome. It looks like it was somebody's impulse purchase, and spent the last 30 years in a closet somewhere. 

I honestly never use a blender, but for $25 I'll keep a Vita-Mix on hand just 'cause. 

You ARE today's winner.  If this is the 3600 Super, I recently found one at a grange sale for $15.  Like yours it probably sat unused since the 1970s.

 

Out of curiosity, is the shaft hexagonal or 12-splined?  If the latter (earlier models), you may need to buy an adapter nut to make the 12-spline beakers work.

 

The feature where you can instantly reverse at 100 RPS is totally amazing!

[andiesenji]

I got mine in 1969 - we went to the L.A. County Fair and there was a large booth with three people doing demonstrations of the "new" Vita Mix that could make hot soup and do so many other tasks that were impossible for regular mixers.

I think my husband stood there for almost an hour, while I wandered around looking at some other displays. The kids were riding the numerous rides.  

When I got back, Hugh was being allowed to play with one of the machines, under the supervision of one of the Vita Mix people.

He showed me a paper cup of hot soup he had "made" and asked me to try it.  (pea soup made from frozen peas) 

He was so enthusiastic about it, I agreed he could buy it.  He was a body builder and really into what we now call "smoothies" but in those days were just "protein drinks" - the demonstrator had assured him it would liquify raw liver - one of his favorite ingredients. GAH!  

So we bought it.  He had a lot of fun with it, made his protein drinks every morning and evening.  I used it occasionally for jobs that were too tough for my regular blender.

I got "custody" of it in our divorce because my friend Babs, who took him off my hands, was adamant that nothing that even resembled raw liver, or any of the other ingredients that went into his concoctions were going to have a place in her kitchen.  He was forced to buy the drinks at the gym where he worked out.  

I used it more and more, discovered the advantage of "cooking" cream soups in it without the threat of scorching on the stovetop.  I also used it for some fiddly sauces that can break so easily with just a bit too much heat.  

When I was catering, I used it to make large batches of mayonnaise - lemon mayonnaise especially for fish.  

I bought my newer one after I moved up here in 1988.  Service Merchandise was another member big box store that had just opened a store right next to the freeway in Lancaster.  They were offering the 5000 plus with the extra "dry grinding" container, at a very reasonable price.  And it had a larger capacity jug.  This is the shaft on the '69 model.

[chromedome]

16 hours ago, boilsover said:

Out of curiosity, is the shaft hexagonal or 12-splined?  If the latter (earlier models), you may need to buy an adapter nut to make the 12-spline beakers work.

 

It's the 12-spline version. Honestly, I doubt I'll use it enough to need another beaker. I use my immersion blenders fairly regularly, but I've probably fired up a conventional blender no more than three times in the last decade. It's mostly for when my daughter and her hubby come to visit. They're smoothie drinkers. 

[MelissaH]

27 minutes ago, chromedome said:

 

It's the 12-spline version. Honestly, I doubt I'll use it enough to need another beaker. I use my immersion blenders fairly regularly, but I've probably fired up a conventional blender no more than three times in the last decade. It's mostly for when my daughter and her hubby come to visit. They're smoothie drinkers. 

I was fine with immersion blenders too, until I got my Vitamix.

[Anna N]

This  might be one of the things I grab in the event of an emergency that threatens to destroy my kitchen.  I would be hard pressed to manage without it. And now I have two.  

 

Kerry Beal spotted this in a thrift store today. Yeah Magic Spoon. 

[Lisa Shock]

Just picked this up for $1.99, it's a great window into the past and almost as good as another old CIA text I have called the Book of Buffets. This book is copyright 1964, and MUCH thinner than the current edition. That said, it devotes an entire 20 pages or so to the world of pastry! (oh how things have changed, pastry is now its own 600+ page book)

 

Edited November 22, 2016 by Lisa Shock (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

6 hours ago, Anna N said:

This  might be one of the things I grab in the event of an emergency that threatens to destroy my kitchen.  I would be hard pressed to manage without it. And now I have two.  

 

Kerry Beal spotted this in a thrift store today. Yeah Magic Spoon. 

 

Fun for eating soup.

 

 

[Porthos]

Found these this morning for a buck apiece. I just need to get by Arrow Restaurant Supply to pick up a couple of lids.

 

[Porthos]

No picture but I just fed my cast iron restoration addiction. A Griswold #5 for $5.00. I don't have anyone to give it to so after I restore it it will probably end up on eBay.