[Sca-cooks] Electric knives

[Phlip]

I'm sending this out to Cooks, as well as Chirurgeons, because I'd really
like some input. I'm already discussing it with my mundane friends on
TheForge, since we're referring to a hand tool here.

Last night, at EK 12th Night, I was helping Jaji in the kitchen, and he had
21 largish beef roasts that needed slicing. Since I'm pretty good at
carving, I volunteered to do it, and was using an electric knife.

That electric knife was the most ergonomically incorrect tool I had ever
tried to use. Its handle was WAY too big (and I have large hands), it was
designed so that you had a safety button that you had to push in, while
pulling the trigger, which put your hand and wrist in a strange position
anyway, and the angle of the blade was such that the rest of your arm was in
a weird position, to boot.

I was uncomfortable by the time I finished the first roast, I was in pain by
the time I finished the third roast, and by the time I finished the 6th
roast, I was in so much pain that I couldn't continue- and mind you, I have
a high pain tolerance- and no particular difficulties with my wrists.

I checked with Jaji on the timing, and took a break, and, at the suggestion
of one of the other cooks, borrowed a wrist brace and was able to continue,
and eventually got 18 done- 3 were done by other people during the period
when the kitchen breaker blew, using regular knives- thank Heaven for the
loan of Brandu's knife- it was the only sharp one in the kitchen, when I was
doing 3 of them without power, by candlelight ;-)

Anyway, it occurred to me, that since electric knives are so useful when
you're slicing large quantities of food- we were feeding 200- perhaps
someone out there has a brand of electric knife that they'd suggest. There
HAS to be an effective tool for this purpose- what do you guys think?

Saint Phlip,
CoD

"When in doubt, heat it up and hit it with a hammer."
 Blacksmith's credo.

 If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably not a
cat.

Never a horse that cain't be rode,
And never a rider who cain't be throwed....



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