D. Martell Washington DC and/or NYC Sharpening Workshop?

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Dave Martell

Dave Martell

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Hey folks, I had a friend mention that I should do a large sharpening workshop/class type thing like I used to do years ago. I like this idea. :)

He suggested NYC as a potential and I threw in Washington DC knowing how many knifenuts we have down in that area these days.

Since this would mean me travelling and needing a venue to conduct the class we both thought it'd be wise to post on it here and see what ideas/suggestions people could come up with and judge interest.



My thoughts...

Day(s) - 1 or 2 day workshop

Day of Week - Monday (for the Pro Cooks) is a must this time, they always get screwed. If a second day is added in then it'd be Sun or Tues.

Curriculum - Basic gyuto/santoku/etc small bevel sharpening. The main mission is that everyone in attendance for the basic class goes home feeling confident that they can sharpen their knives on a level they only dreamed of. For a (potential) second day, this is where we could do wide bevel gyutos/nakiris/etc, single bevels, and repairs.

Venue - Need enough space for 11 work stations to spread out comfortably. Tables at a good sharpening height. And water all over everything OK. Any ideas?

Cost - $200 per person (per day) would be what I'd need to charge to make it happen.

Attendance Req. (min) - 10 students (per day)


Please add in anything you like here, I want to hear all ideas and thoughts you have!

Thanks,
Dave
 
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I'd love to particepate. Must create a GoFundMe account to make it happening.
 
Could be interested if the program fits my needs. I can definitely make my knives push-cut paper, although I imagine I need more practice dealing with the tip, as they’re sometimes a bit less sharp than the rest of the knife, and I’m not very good at maintaining a sharp point. The second day activities sound very interesting to me, too... I have some wide bevels, would be interested in learning how to do a better hamaguri, and I’m working on a repair of a .5 cm chip at the moment, so it would be nice to see in retrospect what I did wrong. :)

It would be useful if you had a more detailed schedule of events, and if you let us know how long the workshop might be each day. For instance, it’s not clear to me who your target audience is when you say “sharp beyond your wildest dreams”, and that can mean very different things to different people. E.g. would we be spending a bunch of time just learning to feel an existing bevel? I know the answers here depend on who ends up coming, so maybe I’m also hoping that more interested parties will contribute something like my first paragraph.

In short, I think it’s a great idea in principle, and I was excited to see the post. I just want to make sure it’s the right fit before committing to travel to NYC from Boston + childcare + class fees. (I would only come to a NYC class, not to DC.)
 
I’m interested, and in dc-ish. I have just the space for …4 students. Let me talk to the restaurant next door.
 
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ianbiringer said:
It would be useful if you had a more detailed schedule of events, and if you let us know how long the workshop might be each day. For instance, it’s not clear to me who your target audience is when you say “sharp beyond your wildest dreams”, and that can mean very different things to different people. E.g. would we be spending a bunch of time just learning to feel an existing bevel? I know the answers here depend on who ends up coming, so maybe I’m also hoping that more interested parties will contribute something like my first paragraph.
Click to expand...

I always expect to push each sharpener beyond his current skill level regardless of the skill level of anyone else in the class.
 
Dave Martell said:
I always expect to push each sharpener beyond his current skill level regardless of the skill level of anyone else in the class.
Click to expand...

Sounds good. Didn’t know how personal the instruction would be. Got any idea how long the workshop would be each day, though? Like, 1 hr vs 7 hrs?
 
ianbiringer said:
Sounds good. Didn’t know how personal the instruction would be. Got any idea how long the workshop would be each day, though? Like, 1 hr vs 7 hrs?
Click to expand...

The individual instruction will be as much as possible but it won't be anything like a 1-on-1 class would be here in my shop.

Class length each day would have to be at least 7 hrs, with an extra hour for lunch.
 
Working lunch?!? With the chefs/ cooks in attendance, they should be testing their sharpened edges by slicing. dicing and chopping, and then showing off their mad cooking skills :D Lunch each day should be an epic adventure.
 
I would give it a couple more days. You only posted on Sunday, and NYE and NY Day fell in between then and now. I imagine many of the pros were pretty busy, and not online much.

That being said, I am not sure how popular DC would be. There really aren't many pros on KKF that I know of, although if you add in the ones from Richmond, Charlottesville, Baltimore you might get enough students. I am not sure about us 'civilians'; if it were on a Sunday I could probably do it, but a Tuesday would be a no-go for me.

The bigger challenge is a space. Not many places would have space for at least 10 sharpening setups, without disrupting ongoing operations. I can't imagine any of the restaurants could to this, and it may be a bit much for someone to host at their house. You would probably need to find someone who can volunteer a garage that can hold temps in a comfortable range in the middle of winter (I only have a carport, so I cannot offer anything).
 
So, we've got a few people interested for NYC, but one is in the EU and needs a GoFundMe to make it happen. :D Oh well, it didn't hurt to ask.
 
That’s a shame. I was looking forward to taking another class. It helped me so much the first time. Ryan
 
How many people do we need to make it happen in DC David ?
 
I'd also be interested in something in DC. But it would have to be in DC (not Virginia or Maryland).
 
stevef said:
I'd also be interested in something in DC. But it would have to be in DC (not Virginia or Maryland).
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Why in DC vs right outside? Got warrants in Va or Md? :D

(yeah, I had a friend in DC who had a Va warrant from a speeding ticket. He went a couple of years without going to Va).

kostantinos said:
How many people do we need to make it happen in DC David ?
Click to expand...
His initial post says 10 minimum per day.
 
Well two things,

I use Metro, cabs or Uber. Car rental for extended trips, but for a one/two day course, no.

Also as a 39 year resident of this city, it ticks me off when people don't respect the fact that reference to DC should mean the city and not something else. Would you advertise a class as being in NYC and holding it in Hoboken? (No offense to NJ, I grew up there!).

Steve.
 
To make it happen we might have to throw some ideas together . Wildboar is close . We can start reaching out to people in the area.
 
Getting a space is the biggest challenge. Not sure if you have access to a room in that place where you worked last year.
 
It'd be great if we could work out a DC class.

And just to note, anyone who provides a location or any help with setting this up will be compensated.
 
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