A good knife is the most treasured kitchen tool, so why hide it in a drawer?
Chefs know that nothing can replace a really good knife, and Corey Milligan—owner and founder of the newly opened New West KnifeWorks in Park City—believes he has come up with the “highest-performance kitchen knife” in the world today. “The toughness and the hardness of the steel are what’s important,” he says, referring to his knives handcrafted in the Tetons. What’s more, Milligan offers a spectacular way to store and showcase these all-important instruments. The Rock Block is sculpted from granite rock harvested from the Snake River. The stone is fused with a Cocobola slab that’s carved with profiles and inset with hidden magnets to hold cutlery in place. This puts the handsome knives on dramatic display. “Your tools should be beautiful,” Milligan insists. We couldn’t agree more.
ON BOARD
The surface you’re cutting on is important to your knife’s well-being and your own. Cross-grain wood is the top choice—cutting against the grain allows the wood fibers to actually move around the knife. Time to put aside the myth that plastic is more sanitary than wood;wood has been proven to have inherent antibacterial qualities. Surfaces like granite or other stone are meant for presentations like charcuterie; cutting on them will not ruin a knife but will dull it quickly. For serious prep cutting, choose another surface.
A PENNY TIP
Superstition has it that a knife given as a gift will sever the friendship between the giver and recipient. To prevent this, a penny should accompany the gift and the coin should be promptly returned to the giver as “payment” for the gift, cancelling the ill-fated consequence.
Featured Image Cutting boards (top to bottom): handled board, $32, Arte Haus Collectif, SLC; Larch wood cutting board, $129, Ward & Child—The Garden Store, SLC; dark wood cutting board, $230, Williams Sonoma, SLC
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