Photo via kramerknives.com
A while back I got a call from my friend and colleague Stuart Brioza and he asked if I wanted to host an informal meeting and knife discussion with master bladesmith Bob Kramer. Being a complete knife geek I said yes before any details were revealed. The meeting was organized by writers Jordan Mackay and Todd Oppenheimer. Todd’s article a couple years back in the New Yorker was the spark for the idea, and the meeting took place last Sunday here at Perbacco.
We sent out invitations to like-minded chefs in SF and ended up with a small group of guys who wanted to know more about the allures of well-crafted knives and the best way to maintain them. The group included Brioza, Mourad Lahlou of Aziza, Daniel Patterson of Coi, Laurence Jossel of Nopa, Chris Kronner of Bar Tartine, Charlie Kleinman of Wexler’s, whom I met for the first time (he’s my neighbor for the love of God, I felt slightly embarrassed for not knowing him and he’s a great guy. Sorry Charlie.), and myself.
We stood around our large wooden table in the front of the kitchen while snacking on goodies and imbibing on choice wines and beer. Bob started to tell the story how he began in the kitchen and then how he started sharpening knives for restaurants. But he wanted to take his interest in knives further, so he embarked on a life journey that would take him to where he is today: one of only some 100 or so Master Bladesmiths.
Soon enough the questions were flying.
Bob created a line of knives for Shun which are available at good retailers. These knives are beautiful and a joy to work with for avid cooks.
And then there are Kramer Knives. Each knife a work of art in itself as well as a tool made to be used and enjoyed for its intended purpose.
A lot of chefs I know have evolved from utilitarian knife owners, spending a $150 to $200 for the initial investment for their tool collection to owning handmade knives costing close to $1000 per piece and more. Much more.
Are these knives better than a knife that cost $20? No. And yes. They are still knives made for cutting. But it’s like asking if a Bentley is better than a Ford Pinto. Both are cars that take you from A to B. But how’s the ride? A higher quality knife lasts longer and is usually easier to work with. There is more care put into the making of the knife; these knives are not just pumped out by the thousands at some large factory.
Last year, I bought a Japanese yanagi, a sashimi slicer made by Mr. Kenjiro Doi. It was the 60th anniversary edition of his dedication to the craft. He is now 83 and still making knives by hand. The knife arrived from Japan in a special case, the blade numbered. Mine is 004 out of 20 blades made for this occasion by Mr. Doi himself. I only use it once in a while. There is the connection with amount of work put into the knife and the blade smith’s history and dedication to the craft. You guard your precious knife. I guess in my case there is some kind of reverence and awe. It changes how you do your work. Sounds strange, but oh well.
So, back to the meeting with Bob. Bob and Todd pulled out an impressive array of knives. Bob explained how he made these knives by layering different types of steel, sandwiching pieces and fusing them in a forge. The steel is then drawn out with a hammer, then folded onto itself, and the process is repeated until the desired number of layers are achieved.
The end result is a blade that isn’t shiny, but soft hues of gray with layers of patterns. This is called Damascus steel, a technique that originated in the Middle East hundreds of years ago. Since the steels in the layers are of different hardness and composition — additions of alloys, etc. — this gives the blade different characteristics. Softer carbon steel that is sandwiched between harder steel with addition of chromium becomes easy to sharpen but also stain resistant and so on.
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