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It’s weird, since the design patterns we have are inspired by design patterns in architecture, so you’d think that usability would be one of her major concerns while designing the grater, but the whole thing looks like the worst user experience imaginable.
@@svenkuffer4512 Yeah, it has strong vibes of both "things designed by people who don't have to use them" and "things designed by people who don't have to clean them"
I've used plastic orange peelers before, and generally liked them. The ones I used were plastic "sticks" with a hook end for cutting and a flat end for prying up the first slice. They were also under $5, and lasted a few years. A better choice if you can find them, I feel...
Please bring Dan back!!! I actively seek out his videos on this channel and make sure I watch ASAP!!!! ❤ I have to add -- total genius move to add eyes to the orange peeler! Makes it look like a cute little bird. 😆
That cheese grater, if it doesn't come apart, is a nightmare to clean but also posses a health and safety issue with cross-contamination and bacteria growth in all those little inside corners of metal. Not something you want in your kitchen.
It's been 8 months since the last Well Equipped. It's fine if you guys ran out of steam on the segment, but has anyone at Epicurious checked in on Dan lately?
I ended up buying a cheap coffee grinder with a folding handle and a removable dosing cup on the bottom, and it has been a supremely fantastic pepper grinder. Better than any pepper grinder I've ever had.
For that citrus peeler, you can get a $2 plastic one that's stick-shaped with a hook on one end and a flat screwdriver-like piece at the other for under $2. So, basically, a tool that already existed has the improvements for less than 1/20th the price.
I actually really respect the thought behind that knife sharpener! It may have a few weaknesses, but it’s extremely creative, and I would love to see a Version 2 with just a few tweaks that could improve the safety and versatility and possibly make it really useful!
Just wanna comment that Ikea sells a 5 dollar sharpener that literally works like magic and can be used on all knifes. Loaned mine to my picky brother even, and my dad. All knifes perfect even after years of ownership. All these knifes sharpeners I see are scams.
@timeiswhat If the block is raised, secured, and inverted, the knife blade could be pointed down. It would make the height of the knife less to the usability.
I have one, and it works like magic; the sharpening angle is dead on consistent and is very securely held by the magnet. Works so well that all my knives are sharp and stay that way and it lives in the cabinet most of the time. For a wide bladed knife you just roll the sharpener elevated on a cutting board so it reaches the edge easily. If the gentleman in the video had spent five minutes reading the instructions or even watching a video he would have known that.
@@keithorr1244this. It was obvious he didn't even look at the instructions at all. It's very well explained and incredibly consistent. Is it a professional sharpener? No. But it's way better than most people have in their kitchens now.
I have one of these and it literally tells you this in the quick start booklet - you’d have hoped someone reviewing a product would check how it’s intended to be used before making comment 🤦🏼♂️😂
Still forces you to do the knife in multiple passes which results in differences between ends and double sharpened middle. For that price whetstone and angle assist tool is better and 1/4th price
@@mamoke668 The target market is probably mostly for people that are intimidated by hand sharpening. The selling points would be a short learning curve, but still having the capability of sharpening a knife quickly and well. It's not exactly hard do adjust how much time is spent on each part of the blade, either. If someone is comfortable using a whet stone, I would agree that would be a better value and choice. I agree the price is steep. But there are more than a few people buying fancy knives, that don't know how to sharpen, or have the inclination to learn. For them the price of professional sharpening could make the price of this tool acceptable in comparison.
And in the start booklet they also explain how to use both side... 1st it takes time to sharpen the 15 or 20 angle as you will need to remove some steel. Then when honing the knife it is really quick. 2nd you need to create a burr with the coarse face on one side of the blade and then do the other side of the blade, then you move to the finner face. Basically same process as a whetstone and Dan Formosa does not explain (or known) the difference between sharpening and honing which is important if you want to design a tool for that purpose ....
@@stevewebber707 totally agree i have a wetstone and the Horl (1). i have some tests knives where i can practise the sharpening and for my regular using knives i'm using the horl until i have the capability to use the wetstone correctly. still need a lot of practise haha (kinda lazy to do that :D ) the Horl 1 cost me 120-130€, which is a quite high price but its doing a very well job on at least 90% of the knives i own (some are way to high like chinese veggie / chopping knives).
I was genuinly afraid he'd cut off a finger when he was cutting that small tomato with that scissorthing. That gadget really didn't look save to do smaller vegetables with it. Also I kept on being like "why is this better than just using a knife" and as he also proved it isn't. IMO the best design improvement for that one would be to just scrap the idea entirely.
This series continues to reinforce the lurking idea in my head that we've basically peaked in utensil design and that companies are fruitlessly trying to innovate on perfectly usable things for little reason.
@@ExhaustedScarf Definitely not doing this for disability. There are way too many new designs that are actually far worse for a disabled person to use than the original designs that weren't even intended for the disabled. Most companies are just trying to create something new in an attempt to make a profit with the least cost as possible, but the thing is, there are already perfect designs out there for many products, so there's not much to innovate in that front. The companies that actually care about the disabled and are trying to come up with new designs for them are few and far between, and they're usually focused on that specific front.
That orange peeler looks great, but really small. I struggle to peel oranges because of my dexterity issues and hand pain, so something like this would be really useful. It would be great if the bulb was big enough to fill my palm so I wouldn't have to squeeze my hand around it too hard
I actually have this peeler, bought it a few years ago and I can confirm it is painful to grasp over concerted use, if the bulb were fatter it would be much more comfortable
The best handheld spice grinder I have is a handheld coffee grinder. Costs 10 bucks, has a nice long handle for when you need to grind enough pepper for an entire pot of stew, can select coarseness level to your desired consistency. Just don't use it for coffee afterwards, lol. Oh, and the top compartment fits enough pepper for several months, so I just load it up with a bunch of pepper a few times a year.
Was he bleeding during the citrus peeling segment? If so I didn't hear him say anything about it or if it was a sharpie mark etc. Either way still like the video just what I noticed during the video.
If someone is afraid of a blade facing upwards, then the kitchen is probably the wrong place to be! Better stay in the dining room and wait until dinner is ready. 😂
The Horl really is amazing but does take a tiny bit of practise, it is very easy to get consistent results though. Also it's incredibly easy to sharpen bigger knives, you put the knife and magnet on the table and the sharpener on the board lifted up a bit.
@@THE-X-Force it takes a long time to really learn to use a whet stone properly. Sure you can get a better edge with a whet stone eventually but the Horl gets you 90-95% the way there with about 5 minutes practise.
I'm a little on the fence with the citrus peeler. On one hand I like the shape and fact it's made out of metal. On the other hand the plastic stick citrus peelers are super super cheap...
It’s a bit of a unitasker, a normal peeler can peel whatever. But, those will dull and have to be replaced while this one won’t. It also takes a bit too much pith for the peel to really be useful in anything except maybe cocktails.
The HORL seems like a great sharpener (albeit expensive) for people who don't want to take the time to learn how to use a whetstone and I'd agree that I'd probably be wearing a cut resistant glove while using this and putting the roller on a ~1in butcher block for larger knives!
I own the "pro" variant which uses a planetary gear. You can sharpen a knife in seconds with that. Of course the price is quite steep but with this variant you don't even have to push hard against the blade because the disk spins a lot more. On top of that, if the knife is too tall, Horl themselves write in their manual to use for example a cutting board to bridge the gap.
The strongest argument against the orange peeler was the blood he put all over the orange's peels, the lime, the glass and the ceiling. The last one maybe a figment of my imagination :D
I believe what I've seen with the sharpener is folks use their cutting board to sharpen larger blades. this makes sense IMO, since someone who sharpens their own knives likely has a decent cutting board as well.
For the sharpener the instructions say to use the holder on the counter and run the sharpener on a raised cutting board for larger blades. Before you rate it you should actually read the instructions and use it correctly.
I'm disappointed that the cast iron spice grinder didn't perform very well. I like the concept and the aesthetic, but it needs to be effective if I'm going to buy it.
The last time I saw something that looked and worked like the cheese grater, it was being pushed as something that would "shave the roughness off the bottom or your feet!" No thanks!
with the spice grinder, isnt it so you can store some peppercorns in it? i got a similar model here and i actually have my black peppercorns in there, and when i want some grinded, lift top, put some in bottom part and start grinding?
I was also wondering if it was a more fine section of the grinder. It moved independently, and if it was just for storage it should lock in so the whole piece can be used, adding leverage.
I believe I saw a detent on the cup for locking with the lid, bur couldnt see anything that would go in there wondering if there was qc issue with the product or a lost piece?
HORL system is better when you use it well : Both sides diamond THEN both sides ceramic THEN leather I wish you have some kind of wooden board in the kitchen to rase the barrel, you could even use it to prevent cuts in your table ...
I own that cast iron grinder, and other than the fact that I paid half what this says it cost, the review id spot on. I used it twice, was very disappointed in its performance, and put it away somewhere. In addition to what he said, food also gets caught in the teeth and it's difficult to clean. Bummer! That cheese grater looks like it's a solid piece. How are you supposed to clean the inside if it doesn't open?
