Design Philosophy
A Little about the Design
The 4 knives in this cutlery set will do all the work that is required in the any kitchen. The 8 inch chef's knife is a dual purpose knife serving well for basic food preparation, as well as a great slicer for roasts and turkeys in the dining room. The 6 inch utility knife is ideal for tomatoes, onions, and most all slicing and mincing chores. The 4 inch cheese knife works really well on smaller items such as garlic and shallots. It is also perfect to use as a cheese knife on a serving tray. And the 2 inch paring knife is a cooks favorite for all pealing and paring chores. All of the knives are made from AUS-8, a superior, high carbon, stain resistant surgical steel that is heat treated to Rockwell-57, which gives it tremendous edge holding capability, and yet is soft enough to take an edge.
As a serious cook who was never happy with the knives I found available in the store, I took it upon myself to make my own cutlery. Look carefully at the blade shape, and you will see they utilize the 1000 year old design of the straight edged Asian cleaver without the usual bulk and mass. The angled handles have a three inch riser built in so one does not hit their knuckles on the counter, as with most store bought knives. Also note that the blades are very wide from top to bottom to assist in giving your hand guidance when mincing and chopping and the tips are turned down for safety, so you are less likely to poke yourself.
Most of my customers have already owned Henckels or Wusthof brand knives, and are looking for something better. They have told me that they are very impressed with the superior edge holding capabilities of our steel, and the ease of keeping that edge sharp. While most of my customers are home owners, who simply want the finest cutlery available for their home kitchen, I do sell alot of knives to working chefs. For many years, I have exhibited at the Aspen Food and Wine Classic sponsored by Food and Wine Magazine, and have sold many, many System II Sets to chefs from all over the world.
While my main design criteria is to produce a very high quality tool for the kitchen, equally important is to produce a knife that in itself is a work of art. When you are not using a System II Cutlery Set, they become an art piece on your kitchen counter. The moment you pick them up they become an incredibly useful kitchen tool.
This patented set has won 27 National Awards for Design and Craftsmanship, has appeared in dozens of magazines and newspaper articles, and has been displayed in several museum exhibitions. But more importantly, I am pleased to say that they have made several thousand people very happy.
A New Way of Doing Business
For 15 years I have been making knives, specializing in mostly Kitchen Cutlery. Up until recently my work has only been available if ordered at Major Craft Shows across the Country.
I would attend 6 or 7 of these shows a year, and folks would place custom orders for various kitchen sets, then wait patiently for 1 or 2 years until their orders were completed. This year, I have dropped all of my other designs in order to focus solely on the System II 4 piece Kitchen Cutlery Set in order to make them more readily available. I can now ship website orders almost immediately.
How to Become One of the Lucky Few
If you want to be one of the 200 or so people that get to enjoy these Limited Edition Kitchen Cutlery Sets this year, do not delay in ordering a set. Otherwise, you will have to wait very patiently for next years batch to be made.
Often asked question: Why don't I make more than 200 sets per year?
Answer: I can't. Creating quality takes time.