Midwest Knife Get Together Fest Hoedown and Wine Drinking Party

I'm trying to gauge interest in who might want to attend a midwest knife gathering in the new year. Tentatively, the dates of 20-22 February 2015 seem to work, and the 22nd is my birthday, so I have license from my wife to have WHATEVER party I want.

I've only mentioned this to a couple others so far, but we can usually dig up some knife knuts here in Minneapolis. Of course, it is winter and that adds some variability, so I am initially thinking of a two-day affair. It gives some flexibility for weather and if someone just wants to pop in for a day and boogie, then that'll be fine too.

I'd love to see some Chicago and WI crowd make it, or even a Canadian or two. And if there are any makers out there, they are more than welcome. Randy? Or maybe Ric Furrer or Delbert -- who knows. But everyone is welcome regardless of location. Just book your tickets to arrive at MSP on the coldest f**king month of the year.

I do have space to stay at my house for a few people. After that you are on your own. Maybe Chuckles, Heldentenor, Customfan, or Justin0505 can spot you a couch.

Just think about it, and if you are interested post here or send me a PM. There are some great restaurants here in town, and we always have a good time with good food. Bags of veggies and cutting boards will be provided for chopping.

And even if a big gathering doesn't happen, I will likely have something smaller as we tend to have a few get togethers per year anyhow. The odd interloper is always welcome.

Cheers,
Karring

Hmmmm....I'm tentatively interested, will be down to timing with my personal sitch. Would be nice to see you guys again if nothing else!

Hmmmm.... maybe I can talk Randy in to a road trip! :doublethumbsup:

cheflarge said:

Hmmmm.... maybe I can talk Randy in to a road trip! :doublethumbsup:

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Just tell him that he needs to re-etch my meteorite blade if he comes. I used a scothbrite pad to polish it up the other day

k.

Now that's funny!!!

Here it is.

Damn, K, that is frickin beautiful. What is the handle material? Jr's damascus isof the hook! 😀

It is stained black…something. As Randy knows, I like things simple and dark looking. I think my description for what I wanted included Darth Vader. I'd have to check on our e-mails way back when, but it might be stained redwood.

k.

With the selected, Fn FRIGID, dates, not sure if you are trying to keep people from coming or you are going to have some seriously good party.... And I doubt your wife knows what she is getting into inviting a bunch 'ol Rustys

If I can make it, at least I can being really good wine...

Maybe a knife or two.

I have more airline points that I could ever spend, now I i just need the time to go so ewhere for fun.

I'm very interested!

Vesteroid said:

If I can make it, at least I can being really good wine...

Maybe a knife or two.

I have more airline points that I could ever spend, now I i just need the time to go so ewhere for fun.

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Well, the only thing that is better than knives, is knives and wine. That would be great if you could make it. You could also be my better judgement so we don't baby kill too many bottles along the way. That has happened in the past. Guilty.

stereo.pete said:

I'm very interested!

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No better place to show off those knives of yours. Chuckles and I are counting on it.

k.

I know I may not know everyone really well but I would be super excited to meet some fellow knife nuts. Even in these high end kitchens here it's tough to find someone who knows or appreciates fine knives and makers. I had a depressing conversation with a new co-worker just a few hours ago about some Takeda AS knives he had.

Hey what is the cladding on these? Oh they're aggamni super! Yeah but what's the cladding. 😒 I dunno?

So yes I would love to get to know you guys!

I am of course in for this, and really excited.

I can assure you all that Mr. Drinky knows how to host a killer shindig. This will be a very good time!

longhorn said:

I know I may not know everyone really well but I would be super excited to meet some fellow knife nuts. Even in these high end kitchens here it's tough to find someone who knows or appreciates fine knives and makers. I had a depressing conversation with a new co-worker just a few hours ago about some Takeda AS knives he had.

Hey what is the cladding on these? Oh they're aggamni super! Yeah but what's the cladding. 😒 I dunno?

So yes I would love to get to know you guys!

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Excellent longhorn. It would be great to have you here. I hope you can make it.

I'll start sending out the feelers. Even if only 3-5 extras join up, it will add to the normal gatherings we already have. And I think I just dug up the elusive Sasquatch (Justin0505). He's great to have around and knows his sh!t.

Just a little primer for what to expect.

I love to talk knives, show knives, sharpen knives etc, but food and drink are extremely important too. We won't have the vendors that one would get at an ECG. That is for sure. But we crack good bottles of wine, have fun, usually have some amazing charcuterie, and depending upon how motivated I am I cook a bunch -- or not so much. We usually stay up late and have 3-4 knife interludes mixed in with food and drink. It is a relaxed environment and not intimidating, so even if you are a novice don't worry about it.

I'll keep bumping this thread until the first half of December, and then try to get a somewhat reliable list of who may or may not come. I might even start posting some menu items, wines, and knife pics to entice people -- maybe even a prize!! Imagine that, 1 of 10, 15, 20 people (however many people come) can take home a blade. We'll see. Those are better odds than on the forum.

Cheers,
Karring

mr drinky said:

Just tell him that he needs to re-etch my meteorite blade if he comes. I used a scothbrite pad to polish it up the other day

k.

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Dang.

Thanks for the invite. Let me talk to Chef Large and see if we can work out a road trip! Would be fun to meet some of the KKF crew.

I will be there if my project schedule allows me the weekend away.

Will bring a case of the good stuff so we can stay out of your cellar...most of my friends are not wine lovers so I don't often get the opportunity to crack grat bottles.

Even have a really nice bottle of scotch I could be convinced to bring

This sounds fantastic! I'll bring some cool beers and some bourbon.

I'm very interested. I have friends on the way there, so I could turn this into a week's vacation. Considering that I have 527 hours of vacation saved up, I really need to start taking some.

A place to crash would be good. The house hunting should be starting up again by then, so I might have a limited budget...

I'm in, of course. If you haven't made it up here, take my word for it: Mr. Drinky, Justin0505, and Chuckles are awesome guys with great knives and generous hearts. It seems almost certain that my new Martell--which has some very special features--will be done and dusted by the time this rolls around. Might need to borrow a tomato or two from Chuckles.

If someone is coming up from the south and can pick up a guy on the way it may be doable.

Salty dog said:

If someone is coming up from the south and can pick up a guy on the way it may be doable.

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What part of the south?

Come on back up this way, Z. By the way, how're you liking Little Rock? Went down to see a friend a month ago and ate at South on Main--pretty good stuff.

Salty dog said:

If someone is coming up from the south and can pick up a guy on the way it may be doable.

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I hope it works out. I know you have unloaded a bunch of stuff in the last year or two, but my mind starts swirling with some of the goodies you have: scimitar, Masamoto love, and even that four-sided strop intrigues me.

k.

If someone is coming up from the south and can pick up a guy on the way it may be doable.

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Doesn't Mario live just south of you? Sounds like a killer carpool to me!

I hope you can make it.

Put me in for a maybe. I am still in my first year of my new CFO gig and not sure how busy we will be. I may be able to swing it with a trip up to our cabin 50 miles south of Duluth though.

I think that I'll be in Minneapolis for work around that time

heldentenor said:

Come on back up this way, Z. By the way, how're you liking Little Rock? Went down to see a friend a month ago and ate at South on Main--pretty good stuff.

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That's definitely one of the best places in the city right now..creative and skillful. Did you make it across the street (ish) to Loblolly creamery? Best ice cream in town in terms of both technical skill and flavor profiles...actually, I think they have it on the menu at SoM too.

Still love living here in Central AR...but with the complications from my recent divorce, I'm going to move to dallas for a few months to work out my finances. So, if anyone is coming to the metroplex, holla at me!

Just a bump and update.

Several people have mentioned that they are going to try make it in-thread and through PM, so it should definitely be a bigger gathering this time despite the cold weather.

A couple of knife makers have also expressed interest in making the trip, which is very cool. Of course, there is still time for more to try make the visit or plans to fall apart for the others -- either way it will be a good time.

One maker who couldn't come did offer to send in some tester knives for us to play with, which I thought was a great idea. So if you are a hobbyist/craftsman or vendor and would like to send some 'representation' in the form of a knife, feel free to send me a PM. I'll be sending out PMs regardless, but I thought I would mention it here too. Good idea, and I will personally guarantee that the knives will get back in a timely manner.

Of course, we will have a lot of private knives for show too. Between Justin, Chuckles, Heldentenor, Customfan and myself there will be a nice selection on hand. And that's just the local crew. I am fully expecting Z to load up his motor home with a bunch of goodies and straggler knife knuts

I'll also be starting a couple of other posts about wine, food, and maybe restaurants in town. Minneapolis has some of the best eats in the country IMO. The latest frothing of mouths is over the new Spoon and Stable with a couple chefs from Cafe Boulud. But there is much more to offer if you want some good food or even a juicy lucy burger (right knyfeknerd?) You're going to make it right?

So I will keep bumping this over the next couple months and posting some related threads about the gathering and MSP in general.

Cheers,
karring

Chuckles said:

Doesn't Mario live just south of you? Sounds like a killer carpool to me!

I hope you can make it.

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I do live south of Salty.....I am always up for a Party!