Greetings from Illinois!

Hi everyone,
I'm a professional musician and an enthusiastic home cook from suburban Chicago. I'm just starting to develop an appreciation for quality knives. Right now I own a Shun chef's knife and a have a Tanaka santoku and an Iseyu petty knife on order, and plan on adding higher-quality knives to my kit once I become more confidant in my free-hand sharpening. I look forward to learning many tips and gaining valuable advice from all of you.

-Chris

Welcome Chris.
I'm a new guy to the forum as well. I'm a Sous Chef but also a musician. Played in bands since I was 15. Nothing better than food and music... and knives. What kind of music do you play?

Welcome, Chris! I hope you enjoy here as much as i do!

Hi AC
I play classical guitar. I teach and perform, and own a music school. One of the things I find interesting about artisanal knife production is that the process seems so similar to the way classical guitars are made. The variety of possible woods, the various methods of cutting, gluing, and finishing the guitars, and the skill and inspiration of each individual craftsman leads to limitless variety. I love using a beautifully designed tool.

Welcome Chris!! Taking your guitar analogy on a different tangent. I found that the better I got at my work/skill the more I appreciated skills in other fields. Once you know how hard it is to get really proficient at turning out great work you can see it in others work. Hope that makes sense!

Well said, Bill. I couldn't agree more.

welcome ! you picked a solid forum, since ive joined ive had my faith in humanity restored by these folks !

I was just thinking the other day about the knife/guitar analogy. Another similarity i noticed was that in both guitars and knives, the more finely crafted (and often expensive) they are the more skill, knowledge and care they require from the user to reach and maintain their full potential. For example, my Martin D-35 Johnny Cash is a heavenly sounding and playing guitar but it comes at a price, especially in these winter months. It sounds so great because it is more delicate. The top wood and bracing are thinner and if it is not properly humidified it will shrink and crack, completely ruining the sound, not to mention it will cost you an arm and a leg to have a luthier fix it. This seems to be the same with more expensive knives. They often have harder steel which can chip if not used with skill. The have intricate geometry and specific grinds which provide great cutting ability but that geometry can be ruined by someone who is inexperienced with sharpening. I guess that can be true of most things but for me finely crafted guitars and knives are teaching me to respect my tools and the craftsmen who made them which is a good thing.

Welcome!

Absolutely true, AC. I sometimes will have a beginning guitar student who is eager to buy a very expensive, hand crafted guitar. I try to discourage them because they need to build their skills to the point where they are worthy of such an instrument. In order to care for a fine and delicate guitar, you not only need to know the "rules," but you need to be intuitively responsive to what the guitar needs from day to day, and that can only come from years of experience. As for knives, I do not plan on purchasing any "advanced" knives until I am very comfortable with my hand sharpening, cutting technique, and maintenance.

Ah, I got my guitars from a guy on Greenwood Ave many many years ago (you may know of him) . . . now I'm just a kitchen knife freak. Welcome!

Rico, are you talking about Richard Brune? He built my main guitar and sold me several other guitars, including a Maurice DuPont flamenco. He is one of the worlds premier luthiers and a great guy.