Is it weird that I have a favourite knife and use it only for meals I really want to savour cooking, or for ingredients to which I’m particularly attached? Chopping a supermarket onion for a quick pasta sauce on a Tuesday night? I’m not wasting precious knife-energy on that. A home-grown tomato, though, for a special meal? Now you’re talking.
If I stop to apply anything even approaching logic to this, I realise that my fear doesn’t lie in ‘wasting knife energy’ but in blunting my blade. Readers, I need fear no more. German family manufacturers, HORL® have just launched the ultimate in knife sharpening; HORL®2. The beautifully designed wooden barrel houses a precision sharpener at each end and a magnetic stand offers a choice of precision grinding angles. If this sounds a bit technical, fear not. It’s simplicity itself to use – just snap your knife against the magnet and roll the barrel back and forth. The aesthetic design guarantees it will take pride of place in your kitchen and you’ll want it close to hand as you work your way through the knife drawer. Available from Banbury’s premium barbecue retailer, ProSmoke, just in time for batch-cooking season, it will sharpen up even your oldest, most beloved blade, be it paring, santoku, chef, cheese or utility.
From £159 prosmokebbq.co.uk
