Knives and L’Émouleur

[bigfellow]

L’Émouleur, 1081 Laurier Ave. W., near Querbes St., 514-813-3135. The website: www. aiguisagecouteauxmontreal.com/

http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/food-wine/Critic+Notebook+most+cutting+edge+store+city/2164666/story.html

Kevin Kent
[phone] Knife Shop
[e-mail]
www.knifewear.com
The Knifewear Knife Shop
1316 9 Ave SE
Calgary, AB
T2G 0T3
Canada
Mailing address:
2716 1 St NE
Calgary, AB
T2E 3C4
Canada
http://www.knifewear.com/index.asp

Ok, now that you have all the important information above, I can ramble on and tell my story.

As a chef, I'm a bit nuts on the subject of knives. I own a few. I started off with Wusthofs and then bought a few Victorianoxes and Forschners (Made by the same company, that also makes Swiss Army knives). Then I tried Globals, I have 3 and personally I find nothing wrong with them. They just don't "work" for me. Then I went on my Mac craze. What can I say, I really like Mac knives.
Over the years I had met chefs who had handmade and custom made knives. I had also seen a few chefs with Japanese knives, But other than Mac's and Globals, they were rare. Then a chef named Kevin Kent in Calgary started selling and promoting them. He got turned onto Japanese knives in London.
I had heard about Kevin and his knives through the chefs grapevine. I called him up just to ask a few questions. I was surprised and pleased when on a slow afternoon a week or so later, he showed up at my kitchen door to show and demonstrate his knives. I was so enamoured that I bought 2 on the spot. When I left Calgary a year later I owned 4.
So after reading the Gazette article on the weekend, I had to go and visit Guillaume De L’Isle at his new store L’Émouleur on Laurier Ave. W. Jesus wept! I was in heaven. A few dollars (OK MANY dollars) later I left with my knives sharpened and a couple of new knives for my inventory.
If you want to know about or talk about knives this is the man in Montreal. No pressure and to be honest, reasonable prices for the professional or the foodie in all of us. % stars out of %. I recommend this man and his establishment to all.

[KzenCass]

Guillaume is a friend and a brilliant man..... i'm glad he is getting the recognition he deserves!

[blork]

This is great news. While I don't mind sharpening my own middling Wusthof, my Misono knife cost more than some laptops. I'm definitely taking it to Guillaume to get sharpened.

[Foie Gras Lover]

Thank you bigfellow for your post. It's a good place to have in my address book.

[thelonious777]

Went today. Some really beautiful pieces. There are some that are incredibly expensive but others are about the same price as Wusthof, Global etc.. but so much more interesting. I am asking Santa for a gift certificate....Incidentally, this Guillaume fellow really is a class act. I wanted to buy a knife on the spot just to support the business...

[picklebird]

Thank you for this post! I hadn't seen the article, but I live in the neighborhood and will definitely take a visit and some knives to sharpen.

[majikmann]

Thanks for the info! I know it's a bit OT but I was watching a TV show awhile back (one of those "how it's made" shows) and they had a guy from Quebec that makes custom Chef knives and such (I'm almost positive his shop is somewhere in the Laurentians). They even mentioned that this gentleman makes knives for some of the most renowned chefs in the world. Does anyone know who this is? I'm looking to get one made for a friend.

If not, what would you recommend I buy? He likes to cook so I would like to buy him a good chef knife and a sharpening tool, or maybe a knife set? I'm looking at the $100 range - give or take a few bucks - if I'm buying from a store. If I can find the knife-maker, I would be willing to pay more for a custom made knife of course.

Thanks

[Campofiorin]

I really don't want to rain on your parade but you're never going to find a good quality chef knife for $100 unless there's a major deal going at The Bay. A basic good quality Henkels sells for about $160.

[majikmann]

Really? Okay, well if that's the case I'd rather pay the extra 40 some-odd dollars and get one custom-made for him. I remember the show I was watching stating that his knives chef knives ranged from 200 - 3000 "something for every budge" (or something like that)... now all I have to do is figure out a way to find this guy.

Thanks for the reply, but could have done without the rain! lol!

[kpzoo]

Could it possibly be Bertoldi's? They have their own line of commercial knives. Not quite in the Laurentians, but they are in Laval off the Laurentian Autoroute...

http://www.bertoldis.com/galeries/cou...

[majikmann]

nope, I remember it being his family name. And it was a rustic chalet-styled shop/factory. I guess. He made them himself. Kind of a one-man show operation.

Oh well, if I can't find him I'll go with a something else. Any recommendations? I'd like to get him an 8" chef knife.

[carswell]

Check out Paul's Finest. He's local, reliable and helpful, and he has a wide range of knives at good prices. www.paulsfinest.com

As for brick and mortar stores, a couple of years ago when I did price comparisons on high-end Henkels, Monas, the resto supply store on Parc between Mont-Royal and Villeneuve, had the best non-sale prices. You won't get much in the way of advice there, however.

[kpzoo]

Oh, too bad. FYI - Bertoldi *is* the family name. Here's their story: http://www.bertoldis.com/en/index.htm

Good luck!

[UnConundrum]

Murray Carter used to live in Canada, but moved to Oregon a few years back. He's a master knifesmith who's prices continue to climb. You can find him at http://www.cartercutlery.com/japanese-knives/kitchen-cutlery

Is there a reason you picked a knife as a gift? When you get into the custom made ones, it tends to be a personal preference type of thing. Do you know if they'd like European or Asian style? Do you know what kind of handle they'd prefer? Do you know how hard they'd like the steel (softer is easier to maintain and forgiving harder is sharper but easily damaged)

If you're interested in Asian style, pretty hard to beat the prices and service at http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/pro...

[UnConundrum]

Stopped in to visit with Guillaume at L'Emouleur today. Even though I wasn't in the market for a knife, he was quite informative and willing to talk about the knives he has available, which is a great collection; nothing else in Montreal is even close if you want a good knife. BTW, his proper web site is www.emouleur.com I've attached some pictures of his knives... not the best pics as I took them with my phone.