Goodbye Good Friend

One of my favorite knives broke yesterday. I feel like I have lost a good friend. It was a Henckels 4" paring knife and I loved it so much that I have two of them which I use interchangeably every day. It was (and still is) my "go to knife" for almost everything I do. IT DIED WHILE IN THE KNIFE BLOCK! THE BLADE SPLIT CLEANLY FROM THE HANDLE! How did this happen? I was a good mom to my knife: I never put it in the dishwasher and always washed it by hand. But to split while standing up IN THE BLOCK is somewhat like being shot while lying asleep in bed! It will be an unsolved mystery and I am not completely comfortable with that fact.

So I went to Williams Sonoma and purchased a Henckels 4"replacement along with its 5 1/2" bigger brother (they came in a set), and they will join their biggest brother, the 7" which has been the big boy in the block for years. I hope they all get along well and I will remind them, as every mother does, that each has its talents and I love them for who (or what) they are.

I had a real problem deciding how to store my knives on the boat. I don't have enough room for a knife block on my counter, plus there's too much movement on my sailboat to keep the block stable, and I knew that putting them in a drawer would be disastrous.

One day I was walking through Williams Sonoma with a $25.00 gift card in my hand and found the perfect solution for me: a wall mounted magnetized bar. Just like the one they use to display the knives in the case. Now, to be perfectly honest and fair, the one shown on the left is more expensive than the one I have, but they come in various lengths which is handy for boat owners. Our galleys are weirdly shaped and long, flat lengths of wall are at a premium. Mine is mounted in my galley wall that is facing aft right above my refrigerator. The knives, scissors, and wine bottle opener stay put while we are underway. And isn't that what we want from all the contents in our cabin?