Today, the top 3 on my list, in no specific order, are (no big originality there, I’m sorry):
Heavy tinned copper, with a special fondness for saute pans
Carbon steel frying pans
Old CS and SS Nogent/cuisine massive and Sabatier/ideal forgé knives
10 years ago, this list would have included ECI, notably my vintage LC dutch ovens designed by Enzo Mari. But the criterion of regular use firmly disqualify them today.
I clearly don’t plan to get rid of my tinned copper and CS pans anytime soon but I can’t say for sure that I never would consider selling them at some point. Cooking on gas might cease to be an option in the future. And heavy pans might one day become too heavy. So maybe I should strike both cooper and SS pans off my list…
That would free some slot for more original items like my old trustworthy cast aluminum garlic press cum olive pitter cum nut cracker cum bottle opener which is for sure the one essential tool every cook should seek to obtain, maybe second to none but a good long pair of finely silicone tipped tongs.
Fire King 4 quart light green mixing bowl. Found at a garage sale for $1.00.
4 items from Grandma:
her stainless steel 2 part strawberry masher with red wooden handle ( although most of the paint is gone)
a collapsible folding aluminum measuring cup that looks like camping equipment, except she and my grandfather hated camping and they never went camping.
Texas Ware speckled mixing bowls in different sizes: one brown, one green, that she used exclusively for tossed salad and Jello desserts- larger bowl for Jello and the smaller one for salad. Made of thick melamine or something similar, probably from the 1940s-1960s.
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CCE
(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
53
I’m in the process of clearing stuff from my MIL’s house and ran into this one, dated Christmas 1937. So the knives above might be from the 1950s as I (my wife) originally thought, but they might be quite a bit older, too.
It’s the only one of his that I’ve seen stamped or engraved, so it may be that this was a first effort, or it just might be that it was a “special” gift, given that they were dating as of Christmas `37 but I believe not yet engaged (they got married in 1938).
It is fun to see this thread pop back up and remind me to add how much I love my old appliances: a Russell Hobbs kettle and a Kitchen Aid lift bowl mixer, both bought in the 1970s; a Dualit toaster from the early 1980s; a Landers Frary waffle iron new to me NIB from the early 1960s; and an Elektra Micro Casa a Leva from the late 1960s. Appliances dating from those days were built to last and, just in case, repairable.
The shorter, wider clip point reminds me of the famous Kabar. There were many knives like this that were homemade gifts to our fighting men in WW2. Sort of the ultimate “Come home safe” gesture–hard to defend yourself with a fruitcake…
CCE
(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
59
Sweet! I found this one while thrifting that’s in perfect condition for 5 or 6 bucks, and spent another $12 I think it was re-wiring it. The cord would get hot - too hot to touch - near the plug end. I gave it to my GF daughter so she wouldn’t have to share a toaster with her roomies.
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CCE
(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
60
Coroner’s Inquest indicates the victim was done in via blunt force trauma.
That one is my favorite - I use it mainly for fishing and camping, and also for very tough stuff to cut like rutabagas, because the blade is very stiff. Note the absence of rivets - I guess he just force fit it and I don’t know how far the tang goes into the handle, but it’s rock solid.
I’ve seen many of his knives, at a rough guess ~ 40 or 50 between what I and my daughters have, what’s at my MIL’s house, and other of my wife’s relatives’ homes we’ve visited, and I’ve yet to see another one of his in that style.
Speaking of 80+ year old knives, and specifically WW2 knives, I don’t think I’ve shown this one before because I couldn’t find a photo of it on my phone. When my mom died (25 years ago) I got a $2 bill and this knife, which she had described as a “deer skinning knife”. I just use it for camping and fishing like with the other, and didn’t bother to trace its provenance until a year or two ago.
It’s styled the “Cattaraugus 225Q”, with the Q meaning “as specified by the US Army Quartermaster Corp” which commissioned the Cattaraugus Cutlery Company to produce them. First issue was 1942, but apparently there was considerable surplus still in stock and being sold even after the war. Not sure you can tell in the photo, but the handle is stacked leather “coins” or rings which are still in good shape.
I bought a cloth grinding wheel and rouge set but haven’t “gotten round tuit” in terms of cleaning up the blade.
(Note some of the users on that forum I just sort of randomly grabbed to describe the knife dispute the titular “Special Forces Knife”, arguing it was more just general issue. But another P.S. - the Gettysburg Museum says it really was an SF-issued knife. Who knows? (the “museum” appears to be mostly a military antique shop.))
No seams or steel visible anywhere? It doesn’t look cast to me, so yes, he probably dr/milled out the handle to mate with a hidden tang and then drove the handle down over the tang.
My mom had that exact set! I’m not sure whether to hope she still has it (for sentimental reasons) or pray she’s gotten rid of it (because if I inherit the set, I don’t think I’d be able to toss them for sentimental reasons).
When other cleaning methods fail, Mrs. ricepad uses what I have been calling her Magic Goo. She makes a paste of coconut oil and baking soda (roughly equal parts), then rubs it with her fingers on whatever she wants clean. She uses it on everything except a few things like baking pans (since ATK said that a patina on baking pans is preferable to new and shiny).
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CCE
(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
64
No seams visible on any of the aluminum handles. Even those which do have the rivets, they are solid aluminum blocks that he must have milled out.
I wonder if he also used hot/cold (handle/tang) style shrink fitting on that knife and felt it was secure enough without placing rivets.
I assume you like the way it works. I just hold the egg in a napkin and whap it above the midpoint at the smaller end with the edge of my knife. My method is usually, but not always, successful. It has never been irretrievably bad, but hey, you never know.
Agreed. The only issue I sometimes have with the “clacker” is that sometimes the edge created has some tiny bits of loose shell you have to check for. Otherwise it’s really easy and helpful.
I searched one out in Paris after seeing one on museum display that belonged to a recently-departed French chef in Seattle. His little placard said he estimated he’d opened over 18,000 eggs with it!
I had a hard time choosing between three different models offered at A. Simon. But mine looks very much like yours.
Yes, there’s definitely knack to be (easily) acquired for clean results.
