Treat yo'self ! -- Black Friday Edition

[charliedid]

I got some socks

[lavi]

I have 3/4 of an Ekar build.

And sold a bike.

[Andy sti]

I ended up getting a new alpine touring set-up. Need to get the bindings mounted and I’ll be ready to go.

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by ColonelJLloyd

Oooooh naaaaaas. His skinny stays and sweet paint work are slick.

My kids don't know it yet, but their gift to me will be a new Takeda knife and Hasegawa cutting board. I'm in the kitchen every day for them so I reckon I deserve it.

That is awesome. What do you use a knife of that shape for? Slicing veg?

I'm thinking about upgrading my knife game this Christmas. Cook every day. Don't eat out anymore. Figure it's a worthwhile investment...

[mtechnica]

Originally Posted by charliedid

I got some socks

Good call

[martinez]

Originally Posted by pottshead

Time to stop spending money and ride.

100%
I think the kits that I picked up is gonna push me to start putting in the miles again. I’ve been only doing short commutes and a 15-20 mile ride once a week, or the occasional gravel ride.
Coming up on a break for school so planning on really pushing myself!
The holiday food (and the subsequent/ongoing winter weight gain) will a tough challenge to get me out though. Lol

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by lavi

I have 3/4 of an Ekar build.

And sold a bike.

Huh.. I bought a bike. What a coincidence.

[superbowlpats]

I splurged on myself a bit and supported small biz/USA made:

Abbey Tools Decade Chain Tool (will sit next to my HAG and Crombie/Whip)

Mad Alchemy Embrocation and Chamois Cream

Horst Engineering All Conditions Ti Cross Spike kit - cuz Cross is always coming!

[Likes2ridefar]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

That is awesome. What do you use a knife of that shape for? Slicing veg?

I'm thinking about upgrading my knife game this Christmas. Cook every day. Don't eat out anymore. Figure it's a worthwhile investment...

Mines for veggies. His posted looks bigger though.

I think it’s worth it. One chef knife I own is over ten years old and like the first day I got it, and the other is a tank that’ll probably last foever. I always suffer when I go pretty much anywhere else and need to use a chefs knife. Hotels are no surprise, but I don’t know why people use flimsy chef knives that are dull. Part of the reason many claim to hate to cook, I suspect.

The board too..I use a boos block and that was a game changer. It’s huge and heavy but again worth it!

[wallymann]

"some fine leather goods"

Originally Posted by azrider

love the reference

[ColonelJLloyd]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

That is awesome. What do you use a knife of that shape for? Slicing veg?

Thanks. I plan to use it for most things just as I would a western chef's knife. It would certainly seem to be a veg killer, yeah. I only started using non-Western knives about a year ago. I've been using German stainless for 20 years. Over this past year I've been sort of designing a knife in my mind for the ways I mostly use a knife and I'd never seen just what I was picturing (>200mm length, >60mm height, 50/50 grind, relatively flat profile, kiritsuke-ish tip, carbon blade). But, I found this Takeda and it was really, really close.

Originally Posted by Clean39T

I'm thinking about upgrading my knife game this Christmas. Cook every day. Don't eat out anymore. Figure it's a worthwhile investment...

It's certainly not required, but it's like anything else that you spend considerable time doing, if it improves your experience in a meaningful way it has value. A friend and riding buddy who has more experience with Japanese knives told me this knife would hold or appreciate in value over time. This wasn't a consideration of mine, but there you have it. Also, it's a pretty low entry fee to get your feet with with decent non-Western carbon or even stainless knives to see how you feel about them.

The blacksmith is highly regarded. This knife, for me, is sort of like if Bishop, Kirk, Sadoff, or Sachs had an off-the-shelf model.

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by ColonelJLloyd

Thanks. I plan to use it for most things just as I would a western chef's knife. It would certainly seem to be a veg killer, yeah. I only started using non-Western knives about a year ago. I've been using German stainless for 20 years. Over this past year I've been sort of designing a knife in my mind for the ways I mostly use a knife and I'd never seen just what I was picturing (>200mm length, >60mm height, 50/50 grind, relatively flat profile, kiritsuke-ish tip, carbon blade). But, I found this Takeda and it was really, really close.



It's certainly not required, but it's like anything else that you spend considerable time doing, if it improves your experience in a meaningful way it has value. A friend and riding buddy who has more experience with Japanese knives told me this knife would hold or appreciate in value over time. This wasn't a consideration of mine, but there you have it. Also, it's a pretty low entry fee to get your feet with with decent non-Western carbon or even stainless knives to see how you feel about them.

The blacksmith is highly regarded. This knife, for me, is sort of like if Bishop, Kirk, Sadoff, or Sachs had an off-the-shelf model.

Any recommendations on where to purchase or shop for such?

[ColonelJLloyd]

There are many here and across the hall that have a lot more experience buying and using non-Western knives than I do. I don't want to present myself as an authority. I graduated culinary school nearly twenty years ago and consider myself very proficient with a knife, but my experience with non-Western knives is relatively recent and I am not a collector or someone that buys a lot of knives. Several of my closest friends are in the industry and use CKTG among other vendors. CKTG is a husband/wife operation that is well-respected and are very good at answering questions; my experience has been 100% positive. I have also heard good things about Carbon Knife Co.

If you had a shop/seller near you I think it would be very helpful and edifying to speak with someone there and hold some knives.

[cgolvin]

Originally Posted by chismog

New arm warmers. I picked Gore and LG, thinking they were different weights. mmmaybe. But they'll definitely stay up on my arms, where my old Pearl Izumis would not.

I finally bought some Rapha merino arm warmers, so sick of having to continually reposition my PI ones (they're available in the good karma thread if you want 'em).

Bought new cables, hoods, and a chain and cleaned/tuned my wife's old Univega. Probably should invest in some aluminum polish to really make it spiffy.

Like others have said, trying to reduce purchases to necessities. But I'm likely to buy a Mac mini before year end since my Macbook Pro is from 2012 and I can deduct the purchase as a business expense. Figure a mini makes more sense than a portable since I don't travel that much and, when I do, I can still use my old Macbook.

[makoti]

Originally Posted by cgolvin

I finally bought some Rapha merino arm warmers, so sick of having to continually reposition my PI ones (they're available in the good karma thread if you want 'em).

A bit late with this helpful advice, but if you need others, try Snek. Light, warm wool, stay put. Very nice.