Valentine's Knives: Cut to the Heart

By JULIETTE ROSSANT With Valentine's Day right around the corner, you're looking for that special gift for that special someone -- so let's talk knives. OK, well, let's talk about celebrity chef-endorsed knives -- specifically Alton Brown's Alton's Angles knives made by Kershaw. Why knives? For one thing, once you taste Japanese, baby, you never go back -- and that's certainly true for the Shun line designed by Kershaw, particularly the "Alton's Angles" set overseen by chef Alton Brown. 3.5" Shun Sheep’s Foot Vegetable knife was already made by Kershaw, but, according to legend (PR legend, that is), Alton Brown got tired of having his knuckles get in the way of his cutting, so he asked Kershaw to angle the handle upwards at 10 degrees to keep knuckles off the cutting board. He also asked for 4" and 6" blades. The result is a different look with nearly perfect control along with cutting -- or so the story goes. So, I put the knives to the test, because, let's face it, chefs talk a lot about knives. It's part of the machismo of the kitchen. They work on knife technique early on in their careers, and they pride themselves in having great knives. Bad boy chef Anthony Bourdain is harsh on a bad blade: "I wish sometimes I could go through the kitchens of amateur cooks everywhere just throwing knives out from their drawers -- all those medium-size 'utility' knives, those useless serrated things you see advertised on TV, all that hard-to-sharpen stainless-steel garbage, those ineptly designed slicers -- not one of the damn things could cut a tomato." (Kitchen Confidential, p. 76) Eagerly, I headed straight for a slab of meat, knife in hand. One touch of the blade, and I realized that I had in my hand an instrument resembling more a scalpel than a mere "knife." I was transfixed -- then I cut, again and again and again. The knife cut so well that I suddenly felt without skill at all, a pedestrian sent in to perform brain surgery with the best knives available. Or, if you wear glasses, it was like putting on a newly corrected lenses and realizing how dizzyingly out of focus you have been seeing for years. How about dropping behind the wheel of an Italian sportscar right off the factory floor in Milan after years with an economy model, or fine French champagne after years of Asti, or freshly brewed Colombian coffee in Bogota after years of freeze-dried. It was true: I had tried fine Japanese knives and was never going back. Alton Brown's website touts the great properties of the Alton's Angles. The core is made of VG-10 steel, a special recipe containing carbon, chromium, cobalt, manganese, molybdenum, silicon, and vanadium. It’s a very "Zen" metal -- hard but flexible at the same time. So, it can be honed, but rarely needs actual sharpening. Supporting this steel, on either side of the cutting edge, are 16 layers of high-carbon stainless steel. Not only do these layers protect the VG-10, they create a pattern on the side of the blade reminiscent of samurai swords. Besides looking good, the resulting texture lessens surface tension on the side of the blade so that foods don’t stick as much during slicing and dicing. I also love the fact that the backs of these knives are thin like the old carbon steel knives of France. The funny thing about these "Alton Angle" knives is the little Alton head caraciture on the blade along with the little Shun symbol. It's not large, but I am not so sure I want to thrust with his head and then drag it through whatever I happen to be cutting -- like a heart. (I guess that's what you get with celebrity-endorsed products!) Of course, excellence rarely comes cheaply, and each knife gouges expertly into the pocketbook: $68 for the sheep's foot vegetable knife, $76 for the 4", and $80 for the 6". However, if you really want to cut to the heart of your loved one, be sure to get them a knife for Valentine's Day, and I recommend that you put your money on Alton's Angle. Following article: Valentine's Tea: Bouquets to Drink Previous articles: More Food from Alton Brown