Here’s another story of “the kids these days have it so easy, when I was a kid…  <grumble grumble grumble>

  For e’s 5th birthday, we got her a bike and scooter.  Finding a bike isn’t as easy as it seems.  Sizing is now based on the diameter of the wheel, so in her case, a 16″ bike is apparently the right size.  When I was a kid <grin> it was “hey let me borrow your bike and see if I can reach the pedals!”

  There’s also a wide range of bikes to consider… Tinkerbell bike, princess bike, Bratz bike, cream soda bike, etc.  When did bikes become cross promotional marketing material?  When I was a kid- it used to be “girl bike or boy bike?”  “1 speed, 3 speed, or 10 speed?”

  We also had to get her a helmet, elbow, knee, and hand protection.  Ok, I understand the safety aspect.  It saved her from tears after falling- the pads did their job and took the scrape instead of her knees and elbows. 

  I learned to ride a bike being pushed down a gravel alley… no helmet or pads, no training wheels, and needless to say I fell and got scraped up pretty good.  I remember picking bits of gravel out of my scraped up elbow/knees, pushing my bike back up the alley and trying again.  Maybe part of the motivation of learning to ride quickly (without protection) is that falling hurts so I better master this quickly! 

  I’m sure it’s more sheer luck, but I’ve done so many stupid things on my bike (without a helmet) that it’s a miracle I didn’t break my head or any bones… and become a poster child for the pro-helmet supporters.  But it’s a different world now, and if I can spare my kid a scraped knee or a bonk on the head, then that’s a good thing.

  I’ve taken e out a few times, and each time she’s gotten better and stronger.  I just might be able to bring my bike out and ride around with her instead of trying to chase her around.  There are a few things for her to master however, and near the top of the list is to never let go of the handlebars, even if there is a wasp flying by you!

Anyways, fast forward to a few months ago when our neighbour, who’s a really nice guy, called to see if he could do a demonstration, with no obligation to buy. Sure enough, it was Cutco.

The demonstration was pretty standard- what are the qualities of a good knife, the warranty, ergonomic handle, the 3 sided serrated edge, cutting tomatoes, etc.  The big test is where you pit your best kitchen knife against the Cutco to see which can slice or saw through a corded rope the fastest.  I picked our standard 6″ straight edge knife, gave it a few with the steel hone, and of course the serrated Cutco kicked its butt.

The whole demo took about 2 hours, which is about 1h 30min longer than it should have been; but he was new and had to walk through the demo step by step.  Of course when it came time to buy, we took a look at the premium prices and the various packages, and tried to pick something that wasn’t too expensive and something that would be useful, given the fact that we already have a full set collected over the years.

Paring knife- got one… Chef’s knife- check… boning knife- check… utility knife- check… bread knife- check… steak knives- check… cleaver- check…  Small Santuko- check…

In the end, E selected a vegetable Santuko trimmer as she does a lot of that sort of prep work.  I will say that their scissors is pretty kick-ass, but it was about $115, which is a bit much for a pair of scissors.  

We got the trimmer, and tried it out for a bit, but she wasn’t happy with it.  There wasn’t a lot of space for your fingers when chopping; unlike a true Santuko or chef’s knife.  Imagine chopping with a steak knife- every time you pushed down, your fingers would hit the board.  The blade, handle, and overall construction were pretty solid, but I decided to do some research into what else you can get at this price point… and we returned the Cutco.

I read that Cutco is a decent product, but at their price point, you can start to get into some really fine blades- Global, Wusthof, higher end Henckels, Kershaw Shun, MAC, and a few quality Japanese brands that I had not heard of before (Misono, Sakai Takayuri, Moritaka, etc).  It was a bit of an eye opener for me- learning about the qualities of higher end blades and how it makes kitchen work that much easier.

I learned that there are differences between the steel (Carbon steel, molybdenum, blue carbon steel, damascus steel, VG10 stainless steel, etc), the way it’s sharpened (some edges are 50/50, meaning it’s a v shape if you look down the blade.  The Japanese blades can be 70/30 or 0/100 so that one side is straight, and all the sharpening is done on one side).

One very cool thing is a Damascus blade.  They are made by folding steel, hammering it flat, and folding it again so that you end up with layers.  This technique goes back centuries and so when you sharpen a Damascus blade, there’s this unique wavy pattern when you view the blade from the side.  Anyone who watched “Highlander” will be familiar with this concept

After doing the research on the technical stuff, we ordered a Misono 7.1″ Santuko from a Canadian website- http://www.paulsfinest.com/Misono-Knives-Canada/ for a few bucks more than we spent on the Cutco.  When we received the knife, it was apparent that this was different from anything we currently have.  You can feel the difference in your hand, and when I looked at the blade, it was scary sharp!  Very much like a 7″ razor blade.  E uses the Santuko the most, but when I tried it, it slide effortlessly through any vegetable- with the real test being carrots and potatoes. 

In turn, it made me think about my preference for using the paring knife and 6″ utility for all the prep work. We have a larger 8″ and 10″ Chef’s knife, which I previously thought was too big for everyday use.  I was wrong.  I tried the 8″ Chef on carrots, and I diced it all in record time, with a LOT less effort than using the smaller knives.  I admit I suck at dicing/chopping, but I found using the Chef’s knife or the Santuko made a difference in the effort, precision, and time it took to do Onions, Carrots, and potatoes… to the point where it’s almost enjoyable!

No disrespect to the Cutco, but there are other options at that price point… and I didn’t know the difference a quality blade can make in kitchen prep until I tried one.  We highly recommend the Misono!

taken with the 70-200… a polarizer would have helped cut out the haze