Sometime back in the late '90s (if I remember, back in college), I decided I needed some decent knives.  The Food Networkwas still in its nacent days, as was America's Test Kitchen. Julia and Jacques, Cooking at Home was on it's first run on PBS. I loved that show... Halcyon days...

I opted for a small set by Henckels. Not a less expensive forged line they had at the time, but a stamped set were made out of better steel. At least I think that's why I got them. I still use them all the time.

I've since picked up a few more, and now am pretty much set.

Recently on America's Test Kitchen (which, compared to the food porn that is the ever-pornier Food Network, is still a very staid New England production) they reviewed chef's knives, again, and again the top knife was the stamped 8" Victorinox.

So got one (3rd from the left, above), and love it. It doesn't look as sleek as the Henckels or Wusthof to its left, but it's very light and incredibly sharp. The blade is also a bit thinner than more expensive knives, and the shape rocks back and forth on the board really well. For the price, and even for any price, really can't go wrong.

In the fall I'm looking to start doing some knife skills / boning skills / cutting board maintenance classes, using my cutting boards and these knives. Stay tuned...]]>

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Just about set with this cooped-up-post-fest. Back in the shop tomorrow.

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All in all, pretty tame. A small few branches down, but that was about it. So much for my plan of slicing a roast on my roof in a flapping yellow poncho.

These were all taken around 930am or so, between Carroll St and 3rd St. I was looking for drama, but didn't find much, as you can see...

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Will take some more once the rain stops.

[caption id="attachment_1552" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Looking south from Carroll St - Gowanus Grove underwater, 830am-ish"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1551" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Looking north toward Union St"][/caption]

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This is Gowanus Furniture Co., after all.

Not Gowanus Cutting Board Co.

This is the beginning of a new system of shelving - in process. They'll be relatively simple shelves, in a variety of lengths (8"-24"), ranging from 8-10" deep.

The shelf is the vertical portion to the left, the horizontal part will be against the wall. They'll be strong enough to hold some books, or are great next to your bed.

This prototype is made from 4/4 walnut, so it's about 7/8" thick. The final version will be 5/4, so a little more than 1" thick.

You can see the two pieces joined together with a walnut spline. Will be pretty strong, but will find out exactly how strong...

The shelf will be mounted to the wall in a similar way to the cutting boards are - two rubber bumpers - very easy to mount, dismount, it'll be sturdy, and look cool too.

In this picture you can see a little lip on the bottom:

It's that little bit to the left of the "Y" in Bessey. That lip will fit into a notch at the top of anther shelf, so that you can stack them up your wall without gaps between them.

Great shelves you can buy as needed, arrange, rearrange, and keep from apartment to apartment.

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Wow! Saturday was my 2nd highest day for hits ever - 2nd only to the day w/ Tasting Table. Clearly we're all a bit cooped up...

Well, if you're tired of watching the news and finally want some cutting board satisfaction, shoot me an email.

All products 15% off until the MTA has regular service running again. Sunday eve? Monday eve? Who knows!

New single letter monogrammed boards, end grain boards, lime boards, and more.

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