In the early days this was done whilst riding a horse (the troops of Napolean both before and after wars). In the words of Napolean "I drink champagne when I win, to celebrate... and I drink champagne when I lose, to console myself."
If you have a horse you can perform this in Napolean style - if not you can follow the 8 steps below.
8 Steps to Champagne Sabering
1. Grab a Champage Bucket and add ice (plenty of ice - if in doubt add more).
Not only does champagne taste better when chilled the chilling of the bottle itself makes it easier to crack.
2. Place the Champagne bottle in the bucket and add water.
Try and put as much of the bucket beneath the ice as possible (you can add the champagne then the ice). If you are in hurry then add some water. This brings the cold ice water in direct contact with the bottle and help accelerate the cooling of the bubbles (and bottle).
3. Toss a generous fist full of Salt into the bucket
This is a step often missed. Water (without salt) can go to minimum of 0 degrees. Any colder and it turns to ice (and will lose contact with the bottle). Once you have added a got shake/toss of salt water can get a lot colder before turning to ice - up to minus 21 degrees celsius. This makes a big difference!!
The air is warmer than the bucket. Get it in fast and let the cooling begin.
4. Wait (at least 15 mins - even if you are thirsty)
If you are very thirsty add a few more bottles (and still wait 15 mins). You may need a larger bucket or another one. This is important as cold glass cracks more easily.
5. Remove the foil and wire around the cork
These items that can ruin the partay. Remove them and flick them toward (hopefully into the bin).
6. Find the Champagne bottle half line
Champagne bottles are made by creating to half bottles and then connecting the pieces. This is the weakest area of the bottle and the place to aim the blade.
7. Position the knife aiming for the top of the neck (known as a the annulus)
We need to strike the bottle where the glass goes up (usually at 90 degrees). We don't need to swing hard - we need to concentrate, focus and relax - similar to the perfect golf club swing or snooker tap.
8. Lastly BANG! Slide the knife blade toward the champagne. Please note - you use the BACK OF THE SABER not the front (this is about power not sharpness). As you do this think of your best friends, think of Napoleon and think of the future. Hope for the best and savor the moment!!
Good luck!!
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This can not be said for the Grocke family. Four generation Valley natives who for hundreds of years have been hard at work farming the land, not producing grapes as most in this region do but farming grain and running sheep and cattle also.
Just as you leave Lyndoch you turn left up Rifle Range road and travel towards the hills that form the valley, past their own road, and I mean their own road! You pass through Grant Burge vineyard and keep going beyond Mt. Krondorf and through the hills.
My family love camping out in the camper trailer and getting into nature. So when we were invited by Sue Grocke’s brother Dale to come stay with them on April long weekend, we jumped at the opportunity.
As we passed the vineyards and wound up the tight roads the land was no longer looking like a wine region as the ground was all grassy and rocky covered in gum trees. We had passed over the top of the hills that flank the Barossa Valley and had dropped off the other side.
We found a good spot to set up camp, just up from the old shearing sheds. After setting up, getting the fire going and of course cracking a beer we decided to explore.
Sue’s husband, the man who worked on the land tragically passed away only in his 60’s a couple of years ago. He was the Grocke bloodline leaving poor Sue a widow with a massive farm. Reasons for his passing remain a mystery to this day, it was in the depths of Covid so the autopsy was difficult and inconclusive.
As we adventured around the land with Kangaroos jumping past us, Koalas in the trees, I was fascinated by the age of the farm, the shearing sheds, and the fences that had to have been made over a hundred years ago.
I found an old redgum fence post on my travels and couldn't help but think how hard it would have been to make every post then put it in the ground back then. At that moment I decided I was going to bring this old post back to life as a knife handle of beauty. I wanted to make a knife that was a symbol of the work her husband and his father and grandfather had done on that land to set up a life for them and something she could remember her husband by.
Later we came across a sheoak tree with very interesting sheoak nuts. I knew I had to play with them as I wanted to make a gift for Dale also.
Sue and Dale were lost for words when I presented them their knives as a gift. A knife each from the land they had spent so much time.
We have both styles on display in our shop and always ready to be seen and felt.
They are a very talented group of woodworkers who teach members of the community how to make high quality wooden toys and chopping boards out of reclaimed wood. We naturally felt that it was a perfect match for our knives so have started to stock their boards in our store. As you can see, they are absolutely stunning pieces of functional art.
To find out more about this lovely group of chaps, head here:
The Shed at Clarence Park Facebook Group
The Shed at Clarence Park Homepage
Open Tuesdays, 9am - 12noon & Thursdays, 9am - 3pm
Clarence Park Community Centre, 72-74 East Avenue, Black Forest
For more information, contact Sharon, Shed Coordinator, phone 8293 8166 or email theshed@clarencepark.org.au
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If you'd prefer otherwise (aka - make one you mf's) then we will consider :) You can comment below and let us know what you think.
]]>IS THE KNIFE TO BIG;
Maybe
IS THE KNIFE TO HEAVY;
Potentially
WAS DICING UP 2 X MASSIVE BUTTERNUT PUMPKINS A JOY;
Defiantly.
The knife did all the heavy lifting for me. This is not an elegant knife, but it has rugged good looks and it possesses brut strength to get the job done. I would say its the Robert Redford of the kitchen.
Do yourself a favour!
]]>Here are the three main reasons people are leaning more towards the Santoku:
The Santoku is a relatively modern invention, taking its shape from a range of older knives; keeping the best elements of each and refining it into a new all-purpose kitchen knife.
The broader body of the knife is designed like a Usuba or cleaver where the uniform width throughout lends a greater balance to the blade. The snub nose tip also allows the knife to still be nimble on smaller tasks, where a cleaver/nakiri/usuba would be too difficult to manoeuvre.
Historically, professional kitchens have influenced the home kitchen in knife shape and length. In recent years things have shifted somewhat. More and more, knife makers are creating knives with the home kitchen in mind as people are cooking more adventurous items and cuisines.
Enter the Santoku.
The Santoku length is suited to home kitchens where bench space are limited and chopping boards are smaller. The shorter length allows it to move around the board with ease, whether cutting on an angle or rock-chopping ingredients across the board. No other knife is better suited.
Santoku's have a somewhat peculiar shape; more curved than a Nakiri, flatter than a Gyuto and broader than a petty. The reason for this is threefold. 1) The up-curved tip allows you to do roll cuts, guiding the knife back and forth, 2) The flatter belly is great for vegetable preparation, where the the blade edge comes into full contact with the board after every stroke, and 3) the broader tip brings the balancing point further up the blade, giving you greater control on smaller tasks.
]]>I have seen in the back shed cheese knives, dining table knives, oyster knives and even steak knives...
]]>I myself am not a big fisherman however we have had many people enter our shed in the past 5 years who are. The request (question) we most constantly hear is - "Do you have a fillet knife."
It took us 5 years but it's finally here.
We've tried to get the bendy nature of the blade and the sharpness edge to take this fillet knife to another level. We enjoy hearing back from the fishing tribe.
]]>I decided to match my home patterns here in the shed this morning.
]]>1. Polished Finish
The most common finish that you'll see in most kitchens is the polished finish. The Polished finish is often used end to end including the handle. You'll see the polished finish on common knives like global knives, furi knives, wusthof knives etc. It's the simplest knife to produce and is often used for stainless steel knives (knives with more than 12% chromium).
Pros - A nice clean polished blade gives a solid industrial look. This finish can be made in high quantities and are therefore offered with more approachable pricing.
Cons - We will often find that things being cut stick to the knife. In particular, starchy vegetables like potatoes, pumpkins or sweet potatoes become stuck and are hard to remove from the blade whilst chopping.
2. Blacksmith Finish
A blacksmith finish is admired by many as the black edge shows that forgery of the knife. After forgery and prior to commencing the cadence toward the blade the entire knife will be black. The maintenance of this black finish gives a nod of honour to original knife makers (a dwindling number).
Pros - It looks cool and gives a nod to blacksmiths. The "rough" finish also prevents food from sticking to the blade with air-pockets created on the rough edge.
Cons - Whilst a blacksmith will try to remove all dust (micro dust we can't see) from the place where the black turns into silver the micro dust remains. This often leads to corrosion on the area in between the black and the silver which can be tricky to remove.
3. Hammered Finish
Hammering dents is not as easy as it looks. Thanks the lord we now have mechanized hammers. Hammering is a current favourite as it has some advantages that are unique to the hammered knife process.
Pros - Hammered knives have a pronounced ripple effect where holes are made all the way along the blade in random locations. These holes provide air pockets that stop fruit, vegetables and whatever is being cut from sticking to the blade. hammering does another thing - it increases the compression of the steel making the entire knife harder and tougher.
Cons - When hammering you will typically need to start with a thicker spine. For people who want uber light weight knives this is tricky to do whilst implementing a hammered finish. For better or worse hammered knives (the "Ripple effect") will require a wider spine.
4. Pear | Nashi Finish
A Nashi is a Japanese pear so they both mean the same thing. This technique is similar to a hammered effect however when imposing a nashi finish we are adding more micro rippled effect. Rather than use a hammer this can be done by blasting the handle with sand to cause mini ripples which have a similar effect to hammered knives. The Pear or Nashi finish assist in preventing food from sticking to a blade and also give a look between the sand blasted section and the polished tip.
Pros - Similar to the hammered knife effect the Nashi or pear finish on steel will stop food being chopped and sliced from sticking to the blade. When done well it also looks cool
Cons - Same to the hammered effect it can, for better or worse, require a thicker spine.
5. Damascus Finish
The Damascus finish may the most loved finish at present - but it's been around a long time. A Damascus finish is somewhat complex but in simple terms we are usually referred in knives with multiple layers of steel. This finish can look almost like jewellery. The addition of nickel to one steel then removed for subsequent layers can help the contrast in between layers. To be clear much of the modern Damascus look makes little difference to the blade performance - this comes from the core steel - the steel wrapped in Damascus layers.
Pros - Used to wrap with knife core allowing knife makers to use high carbon cores (which equals harder knives) whilst protecting them Damascus layers. They also look awesome. Important to know that, other than look, the is no different between seven layer or 165 layers - then performance of the knife relates to the core - not the Damascus cladding.
Cons - Damascus is not easy to do and as a result it's more expensive.
We hope that was helpful.
]]>They are both timeless games that must be remembered forever. In honor of the ANZAC day collection I decided to compile the collection this morning - black and white knife handles for the Collingwood supporters and red and black for the bombers.
]]>The reason for the added strength of the leather is in the shape and what lies beneath the skin. Cows have a lot crinkles and crags in their skin around joints, sweat glands and fat deposits. This means that the structure of their skin is more like a patchwork quilt, with some of the skin fibres running 90 degrees to other areas.
Kangaroos on the other hand have a relatively linear body shape, less fat and no sweat glands. This means that their skin fibres are more aligned and run the length of the body, producing leather than has tighter bonds and greater tensile strength.
We are great foragers and tinkerers of Australian wood, and it was an easy extension to choose kangaroo leather for our knife rolls. When we first set out to work with leather, it was more of a 'story to tell' and aesthetics than functionality, so it was a nice surprise to learn more about kangaroos and their toughness.
We collaborated with local makers Karmine Leathercrafts who specialise in 100% sustainable kangaroo leather for their products. What we have accomplished is a knife roll that is not only easy on the eyes, but a great companion to the native Australian wood found in our handles.
A testament to the rugged outback and the wildlife that call Australia home.
View our range of kangaroo leather knife rolls here.
]]>When Shannon first designed I thought it was a dumb idea. Now that I use it so much perhaps I am the dumb one...
]]>At this moment my favorite is... hmmm... not sure... maybe the...
]]>
Anyway - here's a test knife. The paring knife imposed with red resin.
]]>This process results in a duality of refinement and roughness that is a great metaphor for Japanese culture itself; the subtle arrangement of nature into a transcendent form, without disturbing its original roots.
Embracing the random patterns that develop in the steel through hammering creates a perfect tool once honed and refined.
We have a scant few 'Kurouchi' finish knives available here.
]]>To be honest I thought the wood would be lost in the darkness but I was wrong - The black some helps the wood emerge and perhaps makes the wood even more recognizable than brighter colors (where the resin steels the show).
Based on this I think we will make a few more :)
]]>Yanagibas are made in 30cm increments - starting around 180 working right up to 360cm - the ultimate (maybe only) knife for massive tuna slicing. We are starting with one at the low end of size (I'm a terrible fisherman!)
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To compliment the Big Red knife we created a small chefs knife, the Joey, the perfect knife in the morning to prepare your kids breakfast (or your own breakfast). That said something was still missing...
A few years after starting our Australian knife collection, at the request of many, we have created a knife that sits neatly in between the Big Red and the Joey (like a baby kangaroo in mums pouch) - we made the classic chefs knife.
We have named it the Wallaby as a recognition of its size and shape. One of the first we have ever made is made with an ochre wood handle in honour of the environment where they exist - the Australian dessert.
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Unlike single pieces of art a collection of knives can be moved and re-jigged on a daily basis. This may be based on what you are eating, which knives you wish to play with or even simply how you wish to decorate your kitchen.
For today I've decided to bring handle colours together. A few small examples below :)
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Shannon has been designing and making samples for a slicer, a fork and a steak knife (knives in this case for most tables).
You can take a peak at what he is up to here...
]]>Joao and I covered our fingers in paint and a African American Sumo doing a fly kick - a joyful process for both of us.
As knife makers we decided to take a pic of one of our knives with the Sumo fly kicking behind it... (pic looks small but it's actually 1 x 1.2m).
If you were wondering the knife is a Sujihiki.
]]>We appreciate the reminder of where it comes from when slicing a platter to accompany our wine.
]]>This Deba was made in Seki, Japan and feels tough in the hand. It's a single bevel (i.e. concave line on the inside of the knife).
I'm intrigued to see how this blade slices and decapitates the whiting may neighbour (Tim) caught yesterday.
]]>I love this knife when it comes to presenting food. Even slicing a grape with this is a magnificent show :)
]]>My wife is helping me eat more vegetables and less garbage so I decided to purchase a Na-Kiri Knife (Na = Vegetable, Kiri = Chopper) to perform my duties at home. It's made with a powdered Shirogami steel core clad with stainless steel. It's handle is made chestnut wood and a small burl.
I'm looking forward to seeing how this knife performs and how it holds up to acidity etc.
]]>For such an intricate knife it's extremely large. Another toy for our kitchen and send.
]]>Now we have retreated to one of our more reliable handles - burl with resin.
In honour of the home of the oyster we have begun with some blue resin which is associated with the bays and beaches were oysters are farmed.
There is still some work to do...
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