Recent content by billmarsano

The rust problem isn't a red herring at all, at least according to carbon-steel advocates, who suggests the stuff will rust before your very eyes. Certainly the impression given by Chef Carbon, who delights to retail his efforts to baby his Misono.

Spicy Lee, but not hot. Or not hot-hot, anyway.

Gingerbread Jam (An accidental recipe) Here’s the story: My wife returned from shopping laden with five pounds(!) of white seedless grapes. She had wanted only two but had been bamboozled by a fast-talking, fast-moving sidewalk vendor and, as the British say, “there you are.” In salads and out...

Say what?

ChowderMan: I think Sabatier is for rent, so to say. That it, anyone can license use of the name and put it on his product(s), just as in the 1970s Yves St Laurent sold his YSL logo by the yard. Or meter. Some cutlers distinguish themselves from competitors by adding to Sabatier a name of their...

Not so far. But time will tell.

My sole object is to distribute my posts to as many people as possible, on the theory that no single site reaches as many as several sites do. I have no financial interest in any of the things or products I write about. I have thought about posting on FaceBook, but that site has too general an...

Agreed, Lee. I have a couple of carbon-steel blades. One I keep out of sentiment (it was my first knife, bought 1964) the I bought out of ignorance in the '80s. Each has its patina--of Film of Filth--and I don't use either anymore.

Carbon Steel and SeriousCooks The Internet containeth all things, both sense and nonsense. When it comes to knives, there’s plenty of the latter. A recent outbreak is “Why Serious Cooks Use Carbon Steel Knives.,” Really--using stainless means you’re not a serious cook? Serious cook—how to...

Brandless 8” Chef’s Knife ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged that a chef in possession of a good knife must be in want of a beater,’ said Jane Austen (didn’t she?). While scholars parse and prattle about the attribution, cooks debate the meaning of ‘beater.’ I’ve seen definitions ranging...

My name is Bill Marsano, and I’m going to try your patience here with occasional knife reviews. I’ll focus mostly on knives that have little public profile and may be, in fact, unheard-of. Naturally I’ll cover cheap ones to try to dope out whether they’re a) worth or not worth the money or are...