Global Knife Give-Away — Yeah, That’s What I’m Talkin’ About
There are moments in cooking that are truly life-changing.
My first time using a really sharp, really well-made knife was such an instance.
I had grown up using my parents’ mishmash of knives that were piled in a kitchen drawer and sharpened only in a blue moon.
In my 20s, though, I purchased my first high-end carbon steel chef’s knife on sale at a department store. I brought it home, unwrapped it from its box, and set a yellow onion on a cutting board to give it a try.
With my first slice through the onion, I nearly shrieked. The knife glided through the dense layers of the hard onion as easily as a puck whooshes around an air hockey table. I cut another slice, and nearly yelped again. What a joy this was! To be able to cut such thin slivers or chop so evenly — all completely effortlessly — was truly a revelation.
A good knife is absolutely one of the best investments any cook can make.
Of course, it’s not always easy to shell out that kind of money, especially in these challenging times. That’s why I’m thrilled to be able to give one lucky Food Gal reader a “Global 7-inch Oriental Chef’s Knife.” Global knives are beloved by serious cooks worldwide for their sharp, precise, thin blades. These elegant Japanese knives sell for a pretty penny, too.
I have the folks at CSN stores to thank for allowing me to give away such a coveted prize. CSN has more than 200 online stores that sell everything from cookware to yoga accessories to bamboo flooring to barstools.
Contest: The contest is open to anyone in North America. Deadline to enter is the close of Feb. 27. The winner of the Global knife will be announced March 1.
How do you enter? It’s simple as this:
Describe something that’s sharp.
And describe something that’s dull.
The most creative or memorable response to both those questions will win the Global knife.
To get you started, here are my responses:
Sharp: The outrageous wit of Chris Rock that makes my jaw drop. The extraordinary food writing of Michael Ruhlman that makes me sigh with both envy and admiration. And the little black dress in my closet that I have to be at my skinniest to shimmy into, and the fierce black patent heels that go with it.
Dull: Cooking shows that are about everything except cooking. Foie gras haters who’ve never even tried the stuff and still gorge on factory-raised beef, pork and chicken without a care. People who can’t take their eyes off their Blackberry at the dinner table. (Sorry, but only doctors on-call should get a pass on this one.)
Now, it’s your turn….
More: A Cool, Easy Way to Julienne Carrots That Will Rock Your World
sharp: simple recipes that are budget-friendly and satisfying!
dull: out-of-season produce!
C,
My knife set sounds like your old one… except that mine date all the way back to my GRANDMOTHER. They are bent and beyond dull… oh, how I dream of winning your giveaway. So, on with the responses!
Sharp: the US Olympic hockey teams skates. How else would you beat Canada 5-3 on their home turf… er, ice…
Dull: Rainy, winter San Francisco mornings. Do I really have to go to work today?
sharp: My grandmother’s mind at 98.
dull: A friend who thinks that describing her route to a destination is sparkling party conversation.
I got a ceramic knife for my birthday last year, with two memorable results – I cut the tip of my finger off the first day (just a tiny bit) and a “friend” staying at my house while we were away broke it!
Sharp: those global knives.
Dull: most other food blogs!
You’re right, nothing beats a sharp knife in the kitchen!
Sharp: My Grandmother’s tongue when someone wrongs her. Watch out!
Dull: The ache in the bottom of my right foot from too much yoga this morning.
Sharp: the verve and tang of a well-made wine vinegar
Dull: cheap olive oil that is simply ‘greasy’
Sharp:My dad’s wit
Dull: my current knife
Sharp: My wife’s tongue regarding my cooking abilities!
Dull: Her cooking abilities prior to receiving this prize!
I’m in my late 20s and I still don’t have a fabulous/sharp knife to prep with!
Sharp: my mother’s uncanny way of being able to prepare delicious food on a tight budget; the perfect outfit that makes me feel good on a not-so good day
Dull: leftovers for the 4th day in a row
Sharp would be a beautiful turn out horse ready to be ridden at a dressage show.
Dull would be any dish that hasn’t been salted or peppered…that to me is just plain yuck!
I just received my santoku back from the factory. Did you know some manufacturers sharpen them for free? Sweet!
Anyway — I have to admit I was amazed at how much sharper it was. I hone with each use but nonetheless, knives lose their edge, so slowly that I don’t notice. Time to get the rest of my edges sharpened.
I wonder if Global makes ice skates. THOSE look sharp, ate least when they’re on the feet of the speed and figure skaters we saw all last week.
Sharp: My kitchen skills, if i got my hands on a great knife!
Dull: My brain, after studying for the Bar exam.
Love this Carolyn!!
SHARP: My mom! She was always on her toes, and thinking, thinking, thinking. She thought about her actions, her behaviors, and always chose her words carefully. Until the day she died, her mind was still always sharp, and she was teaching me life lessons until the day she died.
DULL: Gray skies. Bad tv. And worse of all? Long conference calls at work!
Sharp: My husbands big toenail. I could shave my legs with it!
Dull: My brain in the morning..before coffee.
Sharp: Anthony Bourdain in an Armani suit and a wry grin, wielding a (Global) chef’s knife above a perfectly grilled medium-rare steak. The scent of a wedge of raw French cheese. The crunch of a jalapeno pepper ring. The warm sting of a good single-malt Scotch.
Dull: Rachel Ray bubbling effusively about anything. Wonder bread. American cheese(TM). Sugary breakfast cereal. James Lipton’s predictable brown-nosing on “Inside the Actor’s Studio.” Themed chain restaurants. A half-empty bottle of Merlot, forgotten for a week on the kitchen counter. Biting into a slice of apple pie made with canned apples.
Sharp: Everything about my mama. The pang of homesickness I get when I see photos of my nieces and nephews. The sound of anyone’s voice who tells someone else that they’re not good enough or pretty enough.
Dull: Dirty snow. Poorly seasoned food. Stale, tasteless jokes. Having a superiority complex, which is really only a manifestation of an inferiority complex, says my sharp-witted mama.
my first thought was a sharp wit too, but i was thinking of ricky gervais. he cracks me up and never fails to surprise me. slso sharp are my cat’s claws. seriously, i think they may be the sharpest items on earth–my legs can attest.
dull? amen to the blackberry addicts! how about my hair when i’ve been forced to go a few days without washing it? or my reflexes after i’ve just consumed my weight in food? 🙂
Sharp: I’d love to win this!
Dull: I don’t live in North America
I just spent the weekend watching the Olympics so:
sharp — ice skates’ blades. I kept hearing about horrible accidents involving legs being cut by blades.
dull — curling. no explanation required.
“We could learn a lot from crayons; some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, while others bright, some have weird names, but they all have learned to live together in the same box.â€
My mind and my finances mind……mine’s the sharp one…..
This Global Knife looks great!
Sharp: A crisp cotton linen tablecloth; brunoise carrots and celery; newly polished shoes and the smell of cuban coffee in the morning.
Dull: Ice cream served over too hot fruit compote; thinly slicing sirloin that fans out with jagged edges; diluted iced tea.
The first thing that comes to my mind that is sharp, that is dull…is a knife. I just hate taking time to sharpen my knife when I am in the middle of cutting because my knife just “refuse” to cut.
I vote for Melly! At least her “sharp” contribution. That is hilarious.
i just love global knives , came to love with it during my training days when my chef had them and i always dream of having them
Sharp:flavors of black cardamom,asfoetida,black salt,dry mango powder
dull:slow night in kitchen
sharp: trying new recipes, being adventurous, even if it means failing a few times
dull: multiple blizzards for my first winter in the south, when I expected a milder winter than where I came from
Sharp: My husband when he decides to shave and put on nice clothing. He looks very sharp. (And adorable.)
Dull: Listening to my husband lecture about our retirement accounts. “Yes dear, yes, mmhmm, ok here’s the password, you fix it.”
sharp: my mind abuzz after glass of vietnamese cafe sua da!
dull: the gluttony and mind numbing fullness of eating 7 courses of beef, bo 7 mon.
Something that is sharp:
A clear, bright edged photograph of a man with an angular nose tasting pungent cheese while humming off tune.
Something that is dull:
The same man on a subsequent cloudy day, wearing muddy brown clothes, wondering where his cheese went.
Sharp: The air atop Mt. Whistler on a breezy, sunny winter day,
Dull: Dairy products so processed they can’t even legally be sold as cheese, but instead as “cheese product”.
Oh, cool!
Sharp: my brains. Haha. Anthony Bourdain’s wit and patience towards vegans and vegetarians.
Dull: popular food blogs documenting every single thing they ate in a day…esp when they eat the same salads and green smoothies and yogurts every time!
Sharp: The feel of January Denver wind on my cheeks, and the glare of the sun off of snow. The smell of my morning cup of coffee wafting through the air. My mother’s angry face, it doesn’t matter how old I get.
Dull: My entry-level Philosophy Class Professor, who assumes we are in the class because we want to be, even though it’s a graduation requirement.
sharp: jacques pepin’s cooking techniques
dull: sandra lee’s semi-homemade cooking (are there folks that really take her seriously???)
Sharp: The sting of winter air up one’s nose and eyes.
Dull: The sting of evil up one’s nose and eyes when chopping onions.
(Hopefully this amazing knife will make the pain go away quicker, eh? If not, at least looking at it will make tears of joy overwhelm those made by the onion. Oh and a fun fact: a sharp blade will decrease the chance of cell damage to an onion, the very same cells that cause the onion lachrymatory factor gas to expel from onions and make their way to our eyes. Spooky.)
sharp – pain you will feel if you were living in edmonton right now coz of the cold
dull – pain u feel when u stub ur toe.
disturbin how the first thoughts that came to mind relate to pain. lol
sharp: my teeth slicing through my tongue
Dull: The throbbing sensation I will, undoubtedly, have tomorrow during my presentation on the evolution of the nervous system
Sharp:that drill the dentist used to take out my wisdoms …all 4 at once!
Dull: Brit Literature english class….can’t take another minute listening to her and how much she loves Chaucer and Shakespeare and Beowulf and all that old english i can’t understand!
Sharp: Good lord, the lemons from our lemon tree. I generally love any and all things sour, but these things were murderous.
Dull: Every last knife in my house. They’re about as sharp as bowling balls. Oh, and apparently my humor. Well, it’s either my humor, or everybody else’s. 😉
Sharp: a Samaria sword!
dull: 10 year old never sharpened before cutco knife.
Hope I win:)
Sharp: The splinters in my year-1900 wood floors. I should get rugs, but I love the look of wood floors. So I wear sandals instead.
Dull: Seeing California weather reports after moving to the East Coast. Snowmygod.
Sharp: The air that stabs my brain when I inhale on an unusually cold winter day, which I thought I left behind after moving away from New England
Dull: The throbbing in my shoulders after a surprisingly difficult cardio belly dance class for which I was not prepared.
Sharp: you, for coming up with a creative contest idea (rather than the usual random drawing) that’s made me think hard for over an hour now!
Dull: The PowerPoint slide that I’m procrastinating on making while I try to think of a more clever response!
Sharp: the pain of living in a basement which has NO KITCHEN??? Only a microwave, toaster oven, mini-fridge and crockpot. Oh, and the love I will feel for a spiffy new Global knife, of course!
Dull: the taste of hot-house strawberries on my favorite cake in November. (Blech!)
Sharp: The sensation you get when someone’s pencil squeaks on a paper.
Dull: The way you sense everything when you have a cold; everything has no taste or smell, you’re hard of hearing and you think slower.
I really hope I win this knife, I just signed my boyfriend up for a knife skills class for our 4-year anniversary and I’d really prefer him to use a good knife he could continue to use and not one handed out at the class only to go home to his mish-mash of knives.
I lurk on your site frequently, but have not ever left a comment.
Sharp: The wit of my cousin Greg, that guy can pop out a pun in an instant.
Dull: Having to hear the gas prices of every little small town my dad passes through on his travels to my house… it’s a 400 mile journey, so you can just imagine. I just about go insane! Don’t get me started, when he goes on and on about the longer trips. I love him, but OMG!
Man! I’ve floored by all the clever responses. Well done, you guys. You’ve made my job of picking one winner a very tough one, indeed.
sharp: michael kors’ put-downs towards dresses he doesn’t like on project runway
dull: reading the tax code. trust me.
Sharp: the four-foot-long icicles hanging perilously on the eves of every house after a snowstorm.
Dull: attempting to cook anything in a cramped, dirty dormitory kitchen.
Sharp: that shiny, new Global knife
Dull: my current, crummy knife.
Sharp: the sartorialist
Dull: my 3 year old ikea knife set