Toys and Gadgets

Number one,

The knife

These need to be sharp.

The Steel which is quoted frequently is a very hard tool to master,
And even the most capable will send their knives away to be “Reground”,
As the edge dulls even with the constant tuning.

I personally use various methods,
But the constant is that all my methods use “Diamonds”,
From the Steels, Stones, to the pre-set sharpening systems.

My preferred for easy use and superb results is
OZITECH™ Knife Sharpener

Read the instructions for the first time,
Be gentle, too much pressure makes a bad edge and ruins an expensive tool.
Patience will out.
Then use it every time you use the knife, just a stroke or two no more.

Most demonstrators show how easily a their knife cuts a tomato,
Why do they do it is it hard?
Must the knife be razor sharp?
No it is technique the knife moves with a slicing action at an angle,
Often a slight sawing action is used to get started.

Every person I know who has used a properly sharpened knife for the very first time is most impressed as to the ease of cutting raw potatoes not the ubiquitous tomato.

Whenever I visit I am always asked to tune up their knives,
Don’t tell them it is easy for me,
As it gets me out of more arduous chores like washing up.

I was taught by an expert in the scouts.
And after more than a few failures the skills clicked and have stayed with me ever since.

(As an aside sheath knives are now banned and all utility pen knives are held by the leader until used under supervision.)
(When ever I was at a camp all the boys brought knives to be sharpened and the uses demonstrated one on one.)

My knives at home were held on a magnetic holder six feet (1.8 metres) high up.
And all my children taught to use them when they could reach them unaided.

Nowadays they are mainly stored in one of two knife blocks on the work top,
With a few on the holder.

Knife skills are not so hard but you need to be patient in learning them and gentle in their use.

It is pressure that causes a blunt knife to slip unexpectedly,

It is pressure that causes a blunt knife to slip unexpectedly,

It is pressure that causes a blunt knife to slip unexpectedly,

Necessitating the use of at least a plaster,
Blue so it can be spotted if it falls off and into the soup etc.

There are many knife skills videos on the internet.

Watch a few and follow the one you like best.

Well this is longer than I expected.

I hope it helps you to use a knife with more confidence with a safer and a more positive attitude.

Seezya Les