A meeting of seven local chefs, one master bladesmith and lots of knives, part two

Stuart and I had lined up some great ingredients to cut and put our knives to the test: a side of hamachi, fresh porcini mushrooms, onions, squash and some hard carrots for good measure. But Bob brought out the ingredient that he thought we should cut first: a 1/2” thick hemp rope.
I looked in horror as he proceeded to punish a beautiful 8” chef knife with an iron wood handle, sawing off pieces of rope. He was putting a knife (with a pricetag over $1000) through the Ginzu test. Yikes. He then put he knife on a sharpening steel and purposely made the knife’s edge roll to one side. You could feel how the sharpness had disappeared and this masterpiece was more like a cake spatula. Wow. And with a few soft strokes and some stropping on a piece of leather he assured it us it was as sharp as before. “Try it on your arm, I don’t have any hair left on mine”. I did. The blade shaved a spot off my forearm the size of a half dollar. Cleanly. Wow again.
Through the afternoon and evening the questions poured out as we went along and cut things, now food. In the end, as we sat down ate, Bob asked the question “How do you find balance in life?”
Chefs are probably not the right people to ask that question. When you become so dedicated to your craft, you sometimes have to sacrifice a lot to drive your passion. Bob makes 250 knives per year and he has one person working with him in his blacksmith shop in Olympia, WA. He’s backlogged for 14 months and is not taking any more orders. And this why a true craftsman makes a difference. You will make a connection with the person who is dedicated to make you a tool that will perform day in and day out without fail. As well as the connection made between farmers and chefs.
Knowing the person or knowing the dedication behind the tool or produce in some way strengthens my own dedication to my own craft which to me becomes more and more important the longer I do this. I asked him if he was going to resurrect his waiting list again so I could put my name on it and he gave a vague answer and a smile. I hope he does, but I also hope he can take a well-deserved break. Todd’s article made the demand and prices for Bob Kramer’s knives skyrocket and Bob is a busy man. It was truly a pleasure to spend a Sunday afternoon and evening with fellow chefs and friends and meeting a craftsman so dedicated to not only making functional tools for cooks, but also true works of art.
As we parted, I handed him my card and he said “ Why don’t you write down what kind of knife you would be interested in. Who knows.”
Well, one thing is for sure. I’m patient and I’ll wait.