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Posts Tagged ‘dads’

March 8th, 2022

Blog, Empowerment

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Celebrating International Women’s Day Beyond Today

I’d never heard of it until an NBDA (National Bike Dealers Assoc.) “Women in the Cycling Industry” Zoom call last month, but today is the 111th International Women’s Day.

Earlier today, the first song I heard on an a cappella music station was “In the Blood” by Home Free that started with the words,

How much of my Mother
Has my Mother left in me

My answer: quite a lot, which I always appreciate and never take for granted.

And, in the same way I remember my mom for who she was and her spirit that lives on in me,…

…the real deal about recognizing today’s specially designated day is living daily with a respectful and positively constructive attitude in every interaction with women – and men.

As a narrow point of approach, we’re planning an International Women’s Day: Together We Ride bike ride this Saturday here in Hickory, North Carolina, to include cyclists of all abilities. That, too, will be a specially designated event, but the long-term intent of the ride is to make cycling more welcoming to women, who are greatly outnumbered in our community by men cyclists. I look forward to seeing that gap close – and not only in the cycling world!

July 17th, 2021

Blog, How To & Tips

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How to Sharpen a Kitchen Knife Without a Knife Sharpener

First, sorry for the delay between the last post and this one. Had to focus on other parts of life – but always made sure to make the most of putting together something good to eat for all meals. That is non-negotiable!

This is the last knife sharpening tip, but it’s a good one to deal with the most important tool in the kitchen, a sharp knife.

Now, let’s say you’re away from home, and the knife you’re given to use is dull and there’s no real knife sharpener to be found? No problem. Here’s an excellent tip I learned from a great group of Gelug Tibetan monks while making lunch together with them years ago. To sharpen a dull knife, just run the blade you want to sharpen over the hard-edged back of another knife as shown below.

It’s actually very easy and effective to sharpen a knife “on-the-fly” like this, though using a real sharpener does a better job keep the blade both sharp and true without pits and gouges that can develop on the knife edge if you use only this method.

Here’s how to use the same technique to sharpen a short-bladed knife, like a paring knife.

All right! Next posts: food!

April 18th, 2021

Blog, How To & Tips

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How to Sharpen a Kitchen Knife with an Electric Knife Sharpener Picture Book Directions

Last two posts showed how to sharpen a kitchen knife with a handheld knife sharpener and a sharpening steel. This post provides a direct link to picture book directions that show how to sharpen a kitchen knife with an electric knife sharpener.

ne thing to note: electric knife sharpeners come in many varieties. Any will sharpen your knife, though those with multiple stage slots, like the one shown below, are more efficient (and, as expected, more expensive) at taking a knife from a coarse to a finely sharpened edge. Before using an electric knife sharpener, make sure you are familiar with the sharpener manufacturer’s owner’s manual (yep, this coming from a guy who routinely avoids directions unless absolutely necessary) and then use the picture directions you can get by clicking this link or any picture on this page.

April 4th, 2021

Blog, How To & Tips

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How to Sharpen a Kitchen Knife with a Sharpening Steel Picture Book Directions

As mentioned in the last post that showed how to sharpen a kitchen knife using a handheld 1 or 2-stage knife sharpener, a dull kitchen knife is the most dangerous piece of equipment in the kitchen. This post shows how to sharpen a kitchen knife safely with a sharpening steel.

First, the key to using a sharpening steel safely is to slide the knife blade of any size across the steel and away from your body when running the knife both on top of the sharpening steel…

…and bottom of the sharpening steel.

Second, not all sharpening steels are the same. Some of the steels are cut with fine lengthwise grooves while others are diamond dust coated as shown below.

There is a difference in performance. A diamond dust coated sharpening steel can actually help you shape a freshly sharpened knife edge. A grooved sharpening steel will only true/straighten a knife edge that has become curved and bent and, therefore, stops cutting efficiently. A grooved steel will help keep a sharp edge, whereas a diamond coated steel, if used properly, will create a new edge.

Click this link or any picture above for easy-to-follow step-by-step picture book directions that show how to put it all together to sharpen a kitchen knife safely with a sharpening steel.

March 28th, 2021

Blog

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How to Sharpen a Kitchen Knife with a Handheld Sharpener

Last post showed how to make pasta to perfection. Very shortly, I’ll put together posts that show how to make quick, easy and fully flavorful pasta dishes.

First, though, because those recipes will show how to cut a variety ingredients including, of course, fresh garlic (a must with pasta!), I thought I’d put out some quick posts showing how to sharpen a knife using a either handheld knife sharpener (this post), sharpening steel (next post) and electric sharpener (2 posts from now).

Why make such a big deal about keeping kitchen knives sharp? Because, as far as I’m concerned, a dull knife is the most dangerous piece of kitchen equipment. The reason: unpredictability.

As shown above, a dull knife crushes and tears food because the knife edge can’t set an edge without more-than-needed added downward hand pressure that then makes the knife more likely to slide sideways out of control off what you’re cutting and into your anchoring hand regardless how properly you curl your food gripping fingers. (You bet, this has happened to me.)

Click this link or any picture on this page for picture book directions showing how to sharpen a knife with a 1 stage or…