Decades ago, when I was into cruising long distances under oar, sail, and paddle, I accepted roughing it as a necessary part of the wilderness experience. In recent years I’ve shifted my focus from making miles to enjoying shorter adventures in comfort. And rather than carrying food merely as fuel to provide the calories I need with as little time and effort as possible spent in cooking, I now indulge in meals I make onboard that are often better than those I make at home. A good food-preparation knife and a cutting board have become part of my standard boating kit.The new folding knives from nCamp have elevated my standards for what makes a good galley knife. The knives are available with Santoku and Chef blades in two grades—Premium and Elite. Each of the four models has wooden scales forming the grips on either side of the handle, three triangular holes that make it possible to open the knife with a thumb, and liner locks to hold the blade open. The handles are offset from the cutting edges to provide clearance for the knuckles above the cutting surface. I’ve been using the Premium Chef and the Elite Santoku and, right out of the box, both easily pass the usual sharpness test—slicing cleanly into the edge of a sheet of paper. The Premium knives, like the Chef at top, come with a nylon bag. The Elite models, like the Santoku at bottom, come with a leather case.
Photographs by the author
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Steve at Firebox Stoves.com has been testing a folding chef’s knife that he helped develop , and just recently brought it to market. It is getting good reviews from his customers. He also markets round cutting boards that come in different sizes to match his varuios sized cook kits that he has developed. I bought the 9 inch one because it fits inside of my 10 inch frisbee. The frisbee keeps the food being prepped from falling off the cutti ng board. After the food has been prepared, I use the frisbee as a plate to eat out of. It is not hot, keeps the food on the plate, and use it to fan a open flame, etc. I don’t have a dog, so I don’t have to share it.
I just order the Santoku knife. Been looking for a folding chef knife for camping. Also got the espresso maker. Happy camper. Thanks for publishing this kind of unique stuff.