How We Look at Knives

Photo: Kramer Knives

I don't look at a knife the way I used to. I'm more aware of what it is. I think twice.
         – Neil Young

Of course, Neil Young is looking at a knife differently than I do; not as a necessary kitchen tool for meal preparation, but as a dangerous item that could easily sever the fingers he requires to make his wonderful music. Had I turned out to be a musician I would have shared his concern. But I’m not. I do not view knives as an inherent threat.

When I was a kid I would accompany my mother to the grocery store and I would spend my time at the meat counter watching the butchers prepare and trim various cuts. I found the whole thing absolutely fascinating and dreamed that one day I might grow up to be a butcher. Fate would take me in a different direction. Yet even today, on a trip to the local Costco, I am drawn to the meat department where I observe the butchers and their knives at work.

I love to cook and prepare various dishes and over the years I have had a variety of knives of different sizes and purposes to facilitate my work in the kitchen – a good all purpose chef’s knife (commonly referred to as a butcher knife); a paring knife for smaller chores and to cut vegetables and fruit; a boning knife to fillet the occasion fish or to debone chicken or trim meat; and a serrated knife to cut bread and which is ideal to get better purchase when slicing tomatoes. A chef’s or cook’s knife is without a doubt the single most important tool in any kitchen, and it is used in the creation of virtually every dish. And a sharp knife guarantees more control and more consistent cutting and slicing. A blunt or dull knife is dangerous and is more likely to slip and cause an injury. On this point I share Neil Young’s concern. 
That said, I have to admit that I no longer look at a knife as simply a utilitarian instrument for the kitchen. It can also be a family relic or keepsake passed down through the generations recalling those who used it to prepare memorable meals in the past. I am reminded of an episode of the NBC series The West Wing (one of my all time favorite television programs) aired just before Thanksgiving, in November 2000. The story line of "Shibboleth" focused on the White House as the fictional Bartlet administration prepared to celebrate Thanksgiving. President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) sent his personal aid Charlie Young (Dulé Hill) to search for and procure the ultimate carving knife to be used to serve the holiday turkey. Young returned several times with what at first blush appeared to be just what the President was searching for. Perhaps a good Japanese knife; a 1985 Japanese "Cumin Yamado" with its lighter weight blade "which facilitates the cutting and reduces usage fatigue." Or perhaps a good German knife. Yet each time the selection came up short for one reason or another. Exasperated at the President’s inability to select a proper knife, Charlie pressed the point. "OK, Mr. President, I say this with all possible respect, but each of these knifes cuts. . . you know. . . meat. Why is it important?" The President interrupts: "cause it's something we pass on, something with a history. So we can say, my Father gave this to me, his Father gave this to him and now I am giving it to you." The President took a box containing a knife from his desk and gave it to Charlie. "Take a look. The fully tapered bluster allows for sharpening the entire edge of the blade." As it turns out the knife was made for the Bartlet family by a Boston silversmith by the name of Paul Revere. He wanted Charlie to have it. You get the point.

All cultural or familial significance aside there has long been a great deal of debate about the need for a high-quality knife in the kitchen. It can be argued that it will remain sharp longer and feel more balanced in the hand with less pressure on muscles and joints. President Bartlet seemed to understand this when his aid returned with various knives manufactured in Japan and Germany. Most quality Japanese knives can be sharpened to a much finer degree due to harder steel used in their manufacture. Unfortunately they are also more prone to chip or break. German manufactured steel knives are softer due to the lower carbon content in the steel and are therefore more durable and do not require sharpening as often. Each chef has his or her preference for whatever reason.

The preparation of food is an intimate thing that we frequently use to celebrate, to mourn on occasion, and as we have learned, to share family ties and to preserve cultures. In recent years, when I began to take cooking more seriously, I finally looked upon knives and other kitchen tools and implements with more appreciation and respect, not only for their utility, but also for the craftsmanship that went into their creation. Like President Bartlet I view a good knife as a piece of art with a culinary function.
 
Later, reading Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential, his 2000 memoir of his time as a line cook and chef, and his follow up Medium Raw (2010), my respect for a proper knife grew exponentially. One did not need a kitchen drawer full of useless sub-standard knives; just a few that accomplished what needed to be done and in an efficient manner. These knives did not necessary have to be fancy, or have long and illustrious cultural histories. They just needed to be well made; craftsmanship is a must.

Writing in his Les Halles Cookbook (2004), Bourdain preached the necessity of a proper and well maintained chef’s knife. It is one kitchen tool one cannot afford to be without and it should be treated with the care and respect it deserves. A knife of good quality and reputation is an extension of the self, and expression on one’s skill, ability and experience. Or the opposite. "A sharp knife is a must. A dull knife, as any one knows, leaves a bigger, nastier wound - and worst of all, does a lousy job." It comes down to a very simple adage. "If you cannot take pride in your tools, you are incapable of preparing food you can be proud of."

Bourdain perhaps took this necessity to an extreme as his fame and celebrity grew. He met Rob Kramer, a one time kitchen creature like himself, who went on to become one of the consummate bladesmiths in this country. Each Kramer Knife is made individually and there is a long waiting list. Bourdain, despite his celebrity, would have to wait his turn. When it finally came, Bourdain left it to Kramer to create something fitting. He spent two weeks in his shop to produce a 10-inch chef’s knife (shown above) from steel and meteorite with a handle and sheath fashioned out of durable cocobolo Dalbergia retusa, a traditional hardwood found in Central America which is known for it beautiful patterns of earth tone colors. (I have a money clip fashioned out of it.) Kramer spent hours melting and grinding and hammering in his shop to create what Bourdain would call "the most awesome knife in the world." Bourdain loved it, paid $5,000 dollars for it, and it would become one of his most prized possessions for the remaining two years of his life.

This past October over 200 items from Bourdain’s estate went on the auction block and the custom Kramer knife was one of the items most sought after and it was expected to be the highest-valued item prior to the auction. Lark Mason Associates, the firm that conducted the auction online (iGavel.com) predicted it would sell for somewhere between $4,000 and $6,000 given the fact the is was in good condition for a well-used knife with only minor oxidation and verdigris. Part way through the bidding process the bid had risen to $50,000. The auctioned items eventually fetched almost $2 million, and the Kramer Knife netted the highest bid of $185,000. Add the 25% buyer's premium and the final selling price was $231,250! I wonder how much Charlie Young might get for the Paul Revere knife if it went on the open market today? Probably quite a bit given that Paul Revere was a silversmith known for crafting spoons rather than knives. A set of eight spoon recently sold for $8,000.

I will never spend several thousand dollars, or even a few hundred dollars, for a good chef’s knife. I am not a professional chef responsible for a large commercial kitchen. But I do take pride in the tools that I can afford and there are a number of decent, good quality knives to be had for under $100, or even a few dollars more if one chooses to go that route. But let it be said that I do appreciate a good knife for all the reasons elucidated by the late Anthony Bourdain. I do not know if my knives will be passed down for generations. I seriously doubt it. But they do mean something to me in the here and now and perhaps that is the most important thing of all.