The Bladesmith and the Blade Bob Kramer’s Guide to Knives and Life A Book Proposal Introduction The American Bladesmith Society has awarded Master Bladesmith status to 115 knife makers since 1981. Bob Kramer is the only one to focus entirely on culinary knives from the beginning of his journey to today. He is a student of steel, and has a profound passion for excellence, craft, and contemplation. You see these attributes expressed in the custom kitchen knives he has been forging since 1997. These knives have become so popular that every-day home cooks have been willing to pay as much as $21,000 for a single chef’s knife on Ebay. Two high-end cutlery manufacturers, Shun and Zwilling JA Henkel, have each produced a Kramer brand line of knives, using Kramer designs and manufactured to Kramer specifications. Cooks willingly pay over $350 for a commercial chef’s knife with Kramer’s mark on the handle. None of that happened over night. If there’s a core element that runs through this book, it’s Bob Kramer’s struggle to find what he wanted to make of himself and how that wanting drove him to master the art and craft of making knives. It’s a shout out to struggle, to trust your own gut, to persevere. “My relationship to knives,” Kramer says, “has been a vehicle of self discovery and self discipline. It was a chance meeting in a sense, that I went from the professional kitchen to knife sharpening. But when I realized I wanted to master sharpening, not just get good at it, I had to know how a knife was made. And now I am a fully confident 21st century tool maker. But it took a lot of hard work, passion, and luck to get to that place – the things you don’t necessarily learn in school.” 2 To mince onions, slice tomatoes or cut meat with a Kramer knife – or the right knife for you -- is to raise your kitchen consciousness to a new level. It’s Kramer’s own story that encourages you to take hold of that new sense of skill and possibility and learn to master what is in Kramer’s opinion the most important tool in the kitchen. Not only do Kramer’s knives please the eye, they fit the hand. They have an intelligence all their own. They seem to understand the work they’re meant to do, and help the novice reach the next level. It takes Bob Kramer two days of focused work to make a custom knife, this after he’s done the fundamental design work and found the perfect recipe for the steel. As he cheerfully acknowledges, none of this would be possible without the work of thousands of master bladesmiths through history who laid down the foundation of knowledge that underlies his work. So perhaps it’s not surprising that using a Kramer knife invites a different kitchen pace, a different rhythm, an entirely new kitchen experience. It’s ok to slow down. It’s built in. Properly cared for, a Kramer knife can last a cook’s lifetime, and then be passed along. It’s not a hurry-up tool, a get-there-fast convenience. It’s about going the distance and enjoying the journey. Processed foods will fall out of favor because working with fresh, local ingredients, in season and in place, becomes a fulfilling and pleasurable experience. Your knife can lead you there. A graduate of clown school, former itinerant knife sharpener and one time chef-in- training, Bob Kramer is a showman as well as a craftsman. He has captured the imagination of the media, spawning profiles in the New Yorker and Saveur, as well as many other publications. He gained a loyal following when he was featured on CBS Sunday Morning. Kramer combines insatiable, childlike curiosity with an insistence on excellence and the conviction that the best education often does not happen in school. He’s both an unlikely celebrity and a compelling role model, with a warm and humorous style. When he gives workshops for retailers like Sur La Table, followers come to learn about knives -and maybe a little about life. His is the voice of authority when he speaks about steel, about knife making, about sharpening and care, about the nature of the edge, about knife technique in the kitchen, about the food on the table and the satisfaction with a job well done. His care and his joy are infectious. This is his book. And it’s for everyone -- for newbies experiencing the first urge to cook; for those already-accomplished cooks who keep raising the bar in the kitchen; for those fellow travelers who are drawn by both the craft and the master craftsman. The Bladesmith and the Blade 3 Description of the Book This should be, first and foremost, a beautiful and useful book, produced with the same level of care and craft that sets Kramer knives apart from others. Like the overlapping layers of Damascus steel Kramer’s life story, his rise as a craftsman, his dedication to the cook’s knife, will overlay and interplay with his practical knowledge of what goes into a blade and how to use that blade. The narrative will draw on Kramer’s experience as a professional cook, a knife sharpener, and finally an initiate in the fraternity of blades. It will be a book with a personality and a point of view, a book with wit and wisdom as well as a store of expert information. It will be Bob Kramer’s voice that speaks, and his knowledge that drives the project. When it comes to knives and knife skills, pictures are the first and best teacher. This will be a picture book in the best sense, delivering the immediacy of a real human instructor and real hands using the tools. While the basic sections of the text – The Bladesmith and The Blade – are expressed separately for the purpose of this proposal, the design of the book should unite them on the page. This book is 70% useful information from Bob Kramer about knives, knife skills, knife care and fabulous ways to use the ingredients you’ll be slicing and dicing for practice. And it’s 30% Bob Kramer telling his own story and talking about what he’s learned along the way—the secrets of steel, for sure, but also the edge as metaphor for mindful living and overcoming odds. The goal? Better cooks. More joy. Embracing the journey in the kitchen. The recipe is here. What other books are out there? Complete Book of Knife Skills: The Essential Guide to Use, Techniques & Care Zwilling J.A. Henckels 2010 Jeffrey Elliot and James P. DeWan This book aims at the novice kitchen professional and recapitulates the French culinary skills one might learn at chef’s school. While the photos are good, it’s overkill for the home cook and rather transparently urges the reader to invest in Zwilling knives. Mastering Knife Skills: The Essential Guide to the Most Important Tools in Your Kitchen Norman Weinstein, photos by Mark Thomas Stewart, Tabori, Chang 2008 Written by a chef instructor, this book simplifies the professional curriculum for the home cook. It uses good studio photography to show knife positions and the resultant cuts and comes with a DVD of demos you can watch while you practice The Bladesmith and the Blade 4 your kitchen techniques. Knife Skills Illustrated: A User’s Manual Peter Hertzman, illos by Alan Witschonke Illustrations Norton 2007 Hertzman teaches knife skills classes at Sur la Table, and his book is straight forward and useful instruction for the home cook. He identifies techniques according to the shape and density of what’s being cut, includes an index, and presents a lot of solid information through good line drawings. An Edge in the Kitchen: The Ultimate Guide to Kitchen Knives Chad Ward, photos by Bryan Reagan Morrow 2008 This folksy book is about 1/3 devoted to talking about what knives are, about 1/3 to an insert of color photos demonstrating knife skills, and the remainder to a good discussion of sharpening and maintenance. Chef written for the home cook. Knives Cooks Love: Selection, Care, Techniques, Recipes Sur la Table, with Sarah Jay McMeel 2008 What knives are, what steels are, how to shop for cutlery, plus recipes using what you cut. The scope of the book is too broad for what it delivers, and the section on sharpening includes tools one should never use on a good custom blade. The Bladesmith and the Blade 5 Table of Contents The Bladesmith THE MAKINg OF A CRAFTSMAN • The gift of dyslexia • The school of ‘hands on’ • The road unexpected • Old techniques, modern shop • The pleasure of old machines • Building in the slow PASSION •Going down the rabbit hole of curiosity •Always a new mystery to be solved LUCK • The lady you always want to meet, and you just hope you’re wearing the right pants. The Bladesmith and the Blade 6 THE RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE • Just don’t stop. • Be humble. • Listen to your gut The Blade ANATOMY OF A KNIFE • Basic outline of how a knife is constructed SECRETS OF STEEL • Stainless -process, pro / con • Straight Carbon - process, pro / con • Damascus - process, pro/con CHOOSING THE RIGHT KNIFE •Different Tasks for Different Blades IF YOU COULD ONLY CHOOSE ONE •What goes into the ideal EAST IS WEST OF HERE •Differences between Asian and Western blades/styles USING THE KNIFE • A reflection on safety •Do no harm – paying attention •Get a Grip – how to hold and basic motions •Never ever – what not to do EXERCISING YOUR KNIVES • The details on all the basic cuts, step by step • What it takes to achieve a higher skill level CARINg FOR YOUR KNIVES •What is sharp and how do I get there? •Edge maintenance •Cutting surfaces •Cleaning and storing ENJOYING THE RIDE • Where good work, good food, and good life all come together The Bladesmith and the Blade 7 STUFF WE LIKE • The recipes Table of Contents - Detailed Overview The Bladesmith THE MAKING OF A CRAFTSMAN The gift of dyslexia.