You definitely write better cover letters than Laurell K. Hamilton, shrift.

I... take that as a compliment? My cover letters are grammatically correct, and don't involve any sexual exploits with the undead or my emo pain re: negative reviews.

What a world, what a world.

Honestly, from what y'all say about him, I would have guessed that AB would be right up my alley, but his thing on NPR about making eggnog really turned me off.

And yet, I still manage to gouge chunks out of my fingernails and/or thumbs on a regular basis. So, they're clearly sharp enough.

Actually, dull knives are far more likely to slip and cause this kind of injury. A really sharp knife will go where you tell it to, and not veer off into your knuckles.

Nutty, as former Non-sharpener, I can say that having sharp knives will cause LESS self-mutilation. One isn't constantly sawing away at stuff, or cutting at weird angles so the one sharp part of the blade actually contacts the meat.

I still manage to gouge chunks out of my fingernails and/or thumbs on a regular basis. So, they're clearly sharp enough.

Nutty! You are vastly more likely to cut yourself badly with a dull knife than with a sharp one. Sharp ones cut what you want them to, in the direction you want them too, with much less force on the knife. Dull knives more mash their way through than cut, change direction without warning, and are far more dangerous because of the amount of force needed to push them through foodstuffs, so when they slip they slip with all that extra force behind them.

Hie thee to a knife sharpener and stop cutting your hands and fingers!!!!

(ATK recommends electric sharpeners if you can afford one, and manual sharpeners over honing steels.)

Huh. Interesting. I'd definitely default to ATK too. Even when Alton is right about the science, he can be wrong about the best way to get the best final result. I've always been skeptical on his take about any and all stuffings for turkeys being verbotten (mainly cause I grew up with pork stuffing in our family's birds).

I am, however, not a member of the cult of Alton Brown.

BURN THE HERETIC!!!! Ahem, sorry, got carried away.

TRIPLE X-POST! NUTTY, SHARPEN YOUR KNIVES!

it's like 5-6 bucks to do both chef's knives.

My father has all of his knives at the restaurant sharpened every 2 weeks. They pick them up and drop them off. It's wonderful, until one of the part-timers uses one and then just throws it into a drawer or slips it between the 2 butcher block tables in the back. They do this so often that my father hides his really good ones. The new rule is that no one not related to him by blood can touch any knife in his work area.

My everyday knives at home are in a block. They're not that good. My good chef's knife is in the drawer in a sleeve. I'll have to figure out another solution when more of the good knives are obtained.

Nora - do you covet the magnetic knife holder because you lack the space for one, or are you just wanting and not yet getting?

BK for lunch! not exactly what my sick self needs, but comfort food.

I did just renew my subscription to Cook's Illustrated, if that helps forestall the shunning.