Orang Utan
Maybe I like the misery
what a family! teaching young boys how to stab and gut people! nice
I've got a new knife and just have to tell everyone about my new knife
- Thread starter Herbsman.
- Start date
Bakunin
I am Noodle's bitch.
I was just learning the family trade, that's all, same as if I'd wanted to be a butcher or a mechanic or a musician. My grandfather didn't even want me to enlist, he was firmly against the idea as it happens, but he knew I was the headstrong type and would have gone in anyway and he thought I'd stand a much better chance of survival if I learnt in advance what I was getting into.
In point of fact, it was me who approached him for teaching, not the other way round. I wasn't pushed into wanting to be a soldier in any way, it was just something that was a deeply-held ambition of mine and so, after a certain amount of bdgering from me, my grandfather agreed to pass on his training and experience, in the hope that it would serve to keep me alive.
If you haven't come from a military family of long standing, or you haven't cherished a burning ambition to become a soldier, and I had both, then you probably won't fully understand my early life.
Herbsman.
Nah Lotion, Pet, Nor Powder.
STFU!I understand the joy of having a new knife. When I got my global knife I chopped up pretty much everything choppable in my kitchen. I went out of my way to buy chorizo and other things that might prove a challenge to watch the knife glide through them. That was about a year ago though, and after constant use (it's my only knife really) it is substantially blunter than it once was and I still haven't got round to buying some sort of knife sharpening device, and it still upsets me when I go to chop something and its not the same smooth gliding chopping through anything action that I had first fallen in love with.
Moral of the story is even great knives and get blunt.
In other words, sharpen the fuckingthing up
Orang Utan
Maybe I like the misery
bunch of psychos!
Bakunin
I am Noodle's bitch.
No, just professional soldiers, that's all. Like I said, the first of my ancestors enlisted during the Napoleonic Wars (that's back in the late 18th Century, in case you didn't know). Ever since then, at least one member of my family, usually more than one has been in the service, usually serving in the Royal Marines. Hence, soldiering was the family profession, and I desperately wanted to be a soldier so I sought out someone who knew the trade and was, after a certain amount of prodding, willing to pass on their training, skills and experience so that I'd know as much as possible about the job I was fully intending to do. If, at the time, I'd wanted to be a writer (my current profession, by the way) then I'd have gone to mother for tuition as she's a published writer. If I'd wanted to be, say, an engineer, then I would have gone to my uncle because he's an engineer. But I wanted, at the time, to be a soldier, so I went to an experienced soldier (my grandfather) and took my tuition from him. Simple really.
Just out of interest, do you have some personal prejudice against, or dislike of, soldiers and service personnel in general? Because I'm beginning to think this is either a projection of a personal dislike of soldiers, or a personal dislike of me dressed up as some point of principle about the way I chose to spend my childhood. And it was always my choice, I was never pushed into wanting to be a soldier, just the opposite in fact.
Orang Utan
Maybe I like the misery
My brother's an ex-soldier (marine reserves) and he's deeply damaged.
You have to be a bit if you're trained to kill and to unquestioningly obey orders.
You have to be a bit if you're trained to kill and to unquestioningly obey orders.
Bakunin
I am Noodle's bitch.
Your brother does have my sympathy, as does any soldier who comes back from a war damaged, and most do to some degree. And I'd agree with you that the military can be a deeply unhealthy environment in many ways, both in terms of physical and mental damage that is often done to those who experience war at first hand. Veterans aren't looked after nearly as well in the UK as in, say, the USA. Not that the US Veterans Administration is perfect, by any means, but it's a sight better than much of what British veterans are offered.
All I wanted to do was respond to your earlier comments and explain how things panned out for me as they did and how I've acquired the knowledge I've got. I don't want some lasting feud over nothing or anything.
Orang Utan
Maybe I like the misery
I'm not having a feud - I just think it's deeply questionable being interested in killing at such a young age, at any age for that matter.
Bakunin
I am Noodle's bitch.
Killing is only one part of what soldiers do, but it is a part, nonetheless. And the tuition I recieved has turned out to be very useful when writing short stories and articles on horror and true crime, which I'm also interested in. I've always had an interest in the darker sides of human existence, in terms of what drives some people to do the things they do and so on, and it's served me well in my current profession as a writer.
If I'm writing on a military subject, then it also saves me having to do as much research as I might otherwise, as the relevent knowledge is often already there. Instead of being a soldier, which was my original ambition, I've become a writer, which is what my grandfather really wanted me to be anyway.
I'm currently researching a possible historical novel on the Home Guard Auxiliary Units, for instance, and the things my grandfather taught me have made doing that much easier as it has vastly cut down the amount of research I have to do as much of their training was similar to that of my grandfather.
I've never killed anyone, I have no interest in killing anyone and I've never so much as threatened to do so. I do, however, possess an interest in the darker side of human life and I cheerfully acknowledge that. That said, possessing a desire to understand that dark side in no way means I'm going to succumb to it in any way.
As a bit of a knife junkie myself, I can completely understand why you might want to post a thread about this.
Even if it were just a knife you quite liked, there's something rather special about getting a new one.
But to get a Henckel for £10!!!
Blimey, that's a result. I wonder if they'll have them in the local TKMaxx here? I'm up to my knife quota already (2), but I think I might stretch a point to get a nice German knife, just to see what they're like.Actually, I lie about the knife quota, because there are all Herselfs, too - mostly ancient Richardson stainless steel paring and veggie jobs and not bad for all that - but no kitchen really needs more than a couple...
You need to get a stone and learn to stone-sharpen it. Steels are for putting edges on, stones are for getting the knife sharp again. Alternatively, there are places that will sharpen them for you, too, but you need a recommendation, really. Talk to your friendly local catering professional...I understand the joy of having a new knife. When I got my global knife I chopped up pretty much everything choppable in my kitchen. I went out of my way to buy chorizo and other things that might prove a challenge to watch the knife glide through them. That was about a year ago though, and after constant use (it's my only knife really) it is substantially blunter than it once was and I still haven't got round to buying some sort of knife sharpening device, and it still upsets me when I go to chop something and its not the same smooth gliding chopping through anything action that I had first fallen in love with.
Moral of the story is even great knives and get blunt.
I quite successfully resharpen my Global on a standard carborundum stone, using food-grade oil as a lubricant. You're supposed to use a Global diamond steel to put the edge back on, but I balked at the cost, and quite happily use a (now getting a bit blunt itself) £20 John Lewis job.
Did you learn your charm, tact, and boundless diplomatic skills at your father's knee, Orang Utan, or was it a new talent you brought into the family...?
teuchter
je suis teuchter
You have grammared wrong wrongly.
teuchter
je suis teuchter
At least I didn't verbed wrong though.
Orang Utan
Maybe I like the misery
it's all my own workDid you learn your charm, tact, and boundless diplomatic skills at your father's knee, Orang Utan, or was it a new talent you brought into the family...?
I'm not sure I did, either?
You must be very proud!it's all my own work
teuchter
je suis teuchter
I'm not sure I did, either?
Well you did verb wrong, but verbing wrong isn't wrong, I guess. I don't know if it's wrong to verb verb though.
"Verb wrong" is wrong, as you should be verbing "wrongLY", it being an adverb and all. So I'd argue that your probably verbed correctly, but you adverbed wrongly.
Anyway, we seem to have gone slightly off-topic, and remember that the OP now owns a Very Sharp Knife...
Not even a teeny little one? That seems mean - do they do round-ended plastic ones like they used to do with scissors?
Mogden
I like tea
Get a Chantry.
http://www.premiercutlery.co.uk/show_item/sharpeners/chantry/550b
I have been learning lots about knives for my new job and short of getting a steel and diamond steel and knowing how to use them properly, that's your best bet for a good price.
What a bellendSimilar threads
