Karring's photo says it all--it's hard to imagine that so many excellent knives have ever been assembled in one room. I'd like to thank everyone who attended for making last night's get-together a truly awesome event. Karring brought steel from almost every custom maker and major manufacturer, whatever few things he didn't have Jason supplemented (and gave me a CCK cleaver--thanks!), and Charlie provided the space, an incredible spread of cured meats, gougeres, and other delicious food. At eight bottles of wine for the four of us, we didn't go home thirsty, either.
Some specific observations:
1) The best part of the evening (other than meeting folks) was taking about forty pounds of produce from Charlie's kitchen and really putting some knives through their paces. This is the kind of opportunity that rarely comes along, and I now have my sights set on an AM Marr poultry knife, anything from Rader or Devin, and a slicer made out of Will Catcheside's subtle and beautiful feather pattern damascus. Also, waiting for my Martell gyuto has become even more difficult after using Karring's and Jason's--as Charlie put it, if you have a Martell and you run a restaurant, the only thing you want on your menu is soup so that you can cut onions and potatoes all day long.
2) Most makers' knives look even more spectacular in person than they do in photographs. I was blown away by how well made and beautifully finished the Martell, Devin Thomas, Tsourkan, Rader, Mario, and Fowler knives were that I got to play with. Randy's meteorite damascus also has depth and dynamism that's impossible to appreciate in two dimensions.
3) Charlie's food is the best deal in the central United States. I might move simply to be in walking distance.
Again, a sincere thank you to everyone who attended or planned to attend (Scott, DeepCSwede, and Customfan, you guys were missed). This was the most fun I've had in a long time. For those who didn't make it, Jason's got about a thousand pics.
