I quite often get emails from Red Apron members excitedly telling me of new products. The one from Anne a few weeks ago was no exception, but could the new knives from the American company MAC live up to the billing...
After a little searching I managed to get my hands on a sample, and very pleasing it turned out to be!. Babette has used them rather more than I have, but both of us share the same thoughts - fantastic if not conventional! Let me explain more...
Safer and Easy To Hang
Two great unique benefits set these knives apart as well as their unusual design. Easy to hang and store due to the hole near the tip of the knife, and safer as the end is rounded. Nice touches and well thought through, but are they good at their job? The short answer is yes.
They are a fine bladed Japanese design and hence are similar to Global knives. They are extremely sharp, but comfortably light, and with a great if unconventionally shaped riveted handle they exude all the benefits of Global knives - fine blades, precise, light, strong and made from high quality steel - but without the wacky handle which sometimes puts people off.
Come In And Take A Closer Look At The Range
So all in all a big thank you to Anne for the introduction to what could be an American classic. We have chosen around half a dozen of the range to go into the shops (they are not available on the website yet) including a couple of cooks knives, paring, filleting and a bread knife, so come in and take a close look at them in all their unusual glory.
Tip
It doesn't matter which knives you invest in, your next purchase should be a knife sharpener to maintain it. If you don't own one (or you're still using a conventional steel... 99% of people don't use them effectively) now is the time to spend what is only a few pounds to protect and maintain your knives and help them to last for years not months.
It doesn't matter how good a knife is, it won't stay sharp forever and in reality it can lose it's wow factor within a few uses. Therefore, we've recently extended our range, adding to my personal favourite the
'Mino Sharp', are the two Smiths sharpeners, one for European knives sharpening at 22.5 degrees and their Santoku version for Japanese knives sharpening at 15 degrees. Make the most of your knives, new or old and take a look at these sharpeners in the shops.
If you are new to Red Apron or have missed previous emails regarding knife sharpening and would like to know more about its importance and how to maintain your knives in the condition that you first bought them in, then read my
report and hopefully it will all become clear.
Kind regards
Andrew
P.S. Buying the perfect set of knives is often about how they feel so, if you can, pay a visit to either of our shops to work out the perfect knife for you. All our staff are trained to talk you through the benefits and differences between the various knives we stock.
