Broken, beautiful, and £10 off Robert Welch knife sets
Andrew Bluett-Duncan
Director
Well, Nick Cave is back on form again this week, and so I can’t resist quoting from his latest blog entry on The Red Hand Files. But before I start let me tell you what goodies I have lined up for you. If you are in need some really good quality, good value kitchen knives, then I’m going to put temptation in your way this week. But you’re safe for now, reading this next bit, as this is just me thinking out loud and appreciating the mind and machinations of Nick Cave. As you may know already, he receives lots of letters from fans and admirers. Weekly he chooses one letter to answer publicly, and publishes it on his website, The Red Hand Files. This week’s really caught my attention. I’ll let you read what he has to say, and I’ll try to think of something intelligent to say afterwards.
Alistair asks Nick this question
I’ve had several disagreements with friends about where you stand on things. Where do you…stand?
Nick replies
Dear Alistair,
I acknowledge that this may be, to you and your friends, an unhelpful admission, but I’m not entirely sure where I stand on anything these days. As the ground shifts and slides beneath us, and the world hardens around its particular views, I become increasingly uncertain and less self-assured. I am neither on the left nor on the right, finding both sides, as they mainly present themselves, indefensible and unrecognisable. I am essentially a liberal-leaning, spiritual conservative with a small ‘c’, which, to me, isn’t a political stance, rather it is a matter of temperament. I have a devotional nature, and I see the world as broken but beautiful, believing that it is our urgent and moral duty to repair it where we can and not to cause further harm, or worse, wilfully usher in its destruction.
I think we consist of more than mere atoms crashing into each other, and that we are, instead, beings of vast potential, placed on this earth for a reason – to magnify, as best we can, that which is beautiful and true. I believe we have an obligation to assist those who are genuinely marginalised, oppressed, or sorrowful in a way that is helpful and constructive and not to exploit their suffering for our own professional advancement or personal survival. I have an acute and well-earned understanding of the nature of loss and know in my bones how easy it is for something to break, and how difficult it is to put it back together. Therefore, I am cautious with the world and try to treat all its inhabitants with care.
I am comfortable with doubt and am constitutionally resistant to moral certainty, herd mentality and dogma. I am disturbed on a fundamental level by the self-serving, toddler politics of some of my counterparts – I do not believe that silence is violence, complicity, or a lack of courage, but rather that silence is often the preferred option when one does not know what they are talking about, or is doubtful, or conflicted – which, for me, is most of the time. I am mainly at ease with not knowing and find this a spiritually and creatively dynamic position. I believe that there are times when it is almost a sacred duty to shut the fuck up.
I’m not particularly concerned about where people stand – I’ve met some of the finest individuals from across the political spectrum. In fact, I take pride and immense pleasure in having friends with divergent views. My life is significantly more interesting and colourful with them in it.
Perhaps this all amounts to very little, but I suppose, in the end, I value deeds over words. I see my own role as a musician, songwriter, and letter writer as actively serving the soul of the world, and I’ve come to understand that this is the position that I must adopt in order to attempt to cultivate genuine change. In fact, I am now beginning to understand where I do stand, Alistair – I stand with the world, in its goodness and beauty. In these hysterical, monochromatic, embattled times, I call to its soul, the way musicians can, to its grieving and broken nature, to its misplaced meaning, to its fragile and flickering spirit. I sing to it, praise it, encourage it, and strive to improve it – in adoration, reconciliation, and leaping faith.
My thoughts and feelings
There are many themes that I could say talked to me and moved me in his reply. His view that the world is both broken and beautiful. His belief that we are beings of vast potential, placed on this earth for a reason "to magnify, as best we can, that which is beautiful and true". That he then goes on to say that we have an obligation to assist those who are "genuinely marginalised, oppressed, or sorrowful", in a way that is helpful and constructive. And perhaps his last point, where he talks of his pride and great pleasure that his life is enriched by having friends with divergent views from across the political spectrum.
As the world seems to become increasingly polarised, I find myself less certain and perhaps more inclined to just listen. It's a joy to find another expressing so clearly that uncertainty is OK. That maybe it shouldn't be our aim to find a fixed position on everything in life and defend that position for ever more and against allcomers. Doubt, it seems, may not be such a bad place, in which to be. It can be uncomfortable, but I wonder if it keeps me open. This reminds me of how closed minds and entrenched positions prevent us feeling empathy. And how easily a lack of empathy, whether in personal relationships or business, can break them. And, of course, what a huge effort it takes to repair them! What I am certain of though, is that our duty is to not add to the damage, but to do what we can to repair, to serve others and to encourage. This can be as simple as treating someone kindly (especially those with whom we find that difficult to do…), smiling at someone in the street who you know vaguely (but being British, pretend we don’t) or helping someone choose the right frying pan!
I think that our two shops and warehouse are outposts of care in small ways (you might think I’m rather over egging it saying this, I am of course open to listening to your point of view if your experience differs), places where we help people (our customers, our suppliers and ourselves.)
This care will sometimes ripple outwards, often in ways we’ll never know. A pan that lasts a decade or two, a thoughtful conversation at the till or a cooking tip given with delight and enthusiasm, can brighten the moment of someone who’s day so far, has been trying. These aren’t grand gestures, but they are real, and they matter.
So, encouraged by Nick's deep thought and eloquent words and trying, against all odds, to draw a line in the sand, I’d say I stand shoulder-to-shoulder with those who try in their own ways to mend “a world both broken and beautiful”. And that’s whether through kindness, conversation, or cooking , it all helps. And maybe that’s all we can do. Maybe that’s enough.
To Product
Wow, that was deep. So, now for something completely different.
Robert Welch, you may be aware, have been making a beautiful range of kitchen knives called 'Signature', for many years. Made of high-quality German Solingen steel, which is then sent to Taiwan to be forged. This keeps costs down and quality, up. The range is beautifully made but unlike European knives the edge is ground at 15 degrees rather than the usual 22.5 degrees, which is the norm over here. This potentially means that you can achieve a slightly sharper blade. In my experience though, a well sharpened blade of either persuasion is a delight and safe to use. A blunt blade isn’t, and in fact is dangerous, as it will skid off a surface (like tomato skin), with sometimes bloody consequences.
They are offering 3 sets of knives currently which are great value, so long as the combinations work for you,
2 piece Chopping & Slicing set
This comprises an 8 ½” (22cm) Bread Knife. With its traditional scalloped edge and decent length blade, it’s a very practical bread knife. But do be aware that it's one of the few items in the range that you can’t sharpen.
And a 6.5” Cook Knife, which is one of my favourites, and my 'go to knife' for all sorts of jobs where a blade bigger than a paring knife is called for. I love mine!
3 Piece Dicing Slicing & Chopping Set
This is my least favourite set. There’s an 11cm Santoku Knife, a 4.5”, (12cm) Kitchen Knife, and a 7.5” (18cm) Cook's Knife. I can’t get excited by the Santoku but I'm told it's great for developing your horizontal knife control skills on smaller jobs like dicing nuts, chocolate or herbs but isn't really large enough for decent size onions or other veg. Nor am I enthused by the Kitchen Knife as I've no need for a paring knife on steroids, the 7.5” Cook's Knife at a touch larger than my favourite is however a beauty. So, I suppose if I had a use for the other two I might wax lyrical, but I’m afraid you’ll have to convince yourself if this is the set for you. Its not my bag I fear.
3 Piece Chopping Peeling & Sharpening Set
Lastly there’s a set which very sensibly has a sharpener in it. So, here you get a small Cook's Knife 5.5” (14cm) and a Paring Knife 4” (10cm) and their hand-held Sharpener. A very practical set where you’ll be happily sharpening your blades accurately and with the minimum of fuss, and importantly your knives will continue to do what they did when you first bought them.
And whilst talking sharpening. The Welch sharpener is ok at the job, importantly not harming your knives, maintaining a consistent angle day in, day out, year in, year out. But for further refinement I recommend the Mino Sharp. It's easy to use, has two sharpening wheels (the white one restores the original angle of the blade and the pink one hones/polishes the edge), the pink one you’ll find yourself using most of the time and is my sharpener of choice.
My offer this week is £10 off any of these Robert Welch sets.
The 2 piece Chopping & Slicing set sold separately would set you back £114. This set generally retails at £100. We've been selling at £99.95 but you can use code RW10 for £10 off meaning you can take it away for £89.95*.
The 3 Piece Chopping Peeling & Sharpening Set sold separately would cost £160. This set retails typically at £135. We've been selling at £130 but you can use code RW10 for £10 off meaning you can take it away for £120*.
The 3 Piece Chopping Peeling & Sharpening Set sold separately would be £116. The RRP is £100. We've been selling at £99.95 but you can use code RW10 for £10 off meaning you can take it away for £89.95*.
Use code RW10 when shopping online or let us know who you are if coming into Reigate or Cobham.
* legislation dictates that we can only sell knives to those 18 and under, so bring some ID if buying in our shops but if buying online that means age-verified delivery and that costs £6.95.
That’s it for this week. I trust you have a pleasant and peaceful weekend.
Warm regards,
Andrew
It’s a pleasure Amanda, and yes, it would be good to have more depth and clarity of thought expressed by the likes of Nick Cave.
Thanks for your message
Warm regards
Andrew
Thank you, Andrew, for your weekly emails and for sharing Nick Cave’s blog post in this week’s issue. His words resonated with me so I took the time to read some of his other posts. If only we could all be more Nick.
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