BasicKnives by Caroline Noordijk
Concept designs generally come in two flavors: Creative but overwrought (like this digital lap drum); or clever tweaks to simple solutions. These BasicKnives, by designer Caroline Noordijk, fall blessedly in the latter category, integrating commonly-used kitchen utensils into the unused portions of standard chef's and paring knives.
The only one that doesn't look immediately practical is the built-in grater—I've slashed myself far too many times before when using just a grater alone. I can only imagine the lost fingertips that would occur while trying to grate something as small and slippery as a clove of garlic.
The vegetable peeler and citrus zester, though? Make it happen!
Do It All Knife [YankoDesign.com]
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I think that is supposed to be a garlic press - not grater...
Oh, hello!! What's going on in that bottom left corner? Getting a little more creativity?
;-)
@DCulberson: That's measuring salt. Presumably table salt and not one of the more interesting salts.
Oh, and garlic press! I bet you're correct.
I dunno, that veg peeler looks suspect to me. I typically hold mine (on the few occasions where I seem to eat vegetables) with a finger crooked up over the center of, and back of, the peeler slot for better leverage and control. In other words, right where the knife blade is... I'm all for Alton-esque multitaskers, but this may be a bit much.
Joel, I know - I just thought the "dividing up mysterious white powder" angle was too tempting for early in the AM.
I'm all for "Alton-ing" up some kitchen utensils but this looks mad dangerous. The last thing my kitchen tools need is razor sharp edges where I'm trying to grab leverage.
Remember that time you lost a finger because you were too lazy to reach for the peeler. Yeah, that sucked.
I hope these stay as concepts and never see production.
Seriously, what is next, a combo kitchen knife-mascara brush? Chainsaw-electric shaver? Handgun-toothbrush?
Clever is not the same as good. The thinner a knife blade, other variables aside, the better it cuts. These items have protrusions from the sides of the blades the increase blade thickness, and worse yet, do it in a way that creates high friction.
The most dangerous knife is a dull knife, but in fact, these are even worse. These blades can be razor sharp, but they will still require excessive pressure to cut anything thicker than the distance from the edge to the "bonus tool," resulting in a greatly increased chance of serious injury.
Do yourself and your family a favor and don't ever buy any of these.
Hmmm. Right-handed gadget knives, I see.
Washing any of these knives with a sponge in the normal manner will destroy the sponge almost immediately as it snags on the grater/zester/peeler bits. Seeing as I wash my knives about four times a night when I'm cooking, that's alot of sponge carnage to contemplate.
I need to have the potato peeler/knife/pointy thing. No more sponge carnage than normal peeler/grater cleaning plus you could use the sharpness to get rid off all the unpleasantness from the potato when peeling!
Interesting ideas but incredibly impractical.
Peelers are most safe & useful held like THUD mentioned above -- flailing away at your veggie peels is imprecise and dangerous.
Garlic presses are just plain wrong: You lose much of the good oils and liquids. Either chop or lightly crush with the flat of the knife (a good way to start peeling it too)
Measure salt? when couldn't I do this with my fingers? and who wants to pour a pile of salt out to just get a pinch?
Zester . . . again should be held similarly to a peeler -- OUCH
Hmmm, the peeler knife would be something interesting to have, but I hope that peeler's designed for people with different peeling style.
Wow, the perfect knife for someone who doesn't know how to handle a knife. Talk about a tool to shred my knuckles when I'm trying to julienne or make batonnets...
My experience with combo gadgets (particularly in the kitchen) is that they tend not to be very good at either of the things they claim to be.
J
That's a lawsuit just waiting to happen.
I've seen tiny porcelain bowls with raised bumps on the bottom that you rub ginger or garlic over in order to pulp them. I think I'd like a bumpy chef's knife.
As a cooking nut, and a Wusthof fetishist, I can tell you that I do use those "unused" portions of my knife, and that any of these modifications, would actually make a knife less good at it's job, and potentially dangerous, too boot.
Yes, these gadgets were obviously designed by people who've never used knives, or those gadgets, before.
What irritates me is that people who won't know any better may end up buying them and injuring themselves as a result. Can't wait for the lawsuits, as FANCYCWABS says.
Wow. Took so long to sign up - I forgot what I was going to say!