4PoGo7's Christmas List - Any Advice?

4pogo7 · Nov 5, 2015

tropics said:
Another Knife Sharpener Work Sharp

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/236095/work-sharp-elec-knife-sharpener

Richie

I saw one of those at a sporting goods store locally. They had it plugged in so I played with it a little with my edc pocket knife. I didn't read fully how to use it but it seemed like a nice sharpener.

Unfortunately, I think for now I am going to have to stay with a less expensive option. I am really trying to get as many of these things as possible this year so that I don't have to spend my own money on them. My wife has already informed me that my budget for smoking supplies is empty because I don't "need" to spend the money on them...

4pogo7 · Nov 5, 2015

bmaddox said:
It is a pretty good list but here are the changes I would make:

Slicer - Chef's choice 609. That's what I have and based on the feature list I don't see a real return on the extra $50 for the 615

Sealer - Vacmaster Pro110. I have had it for a year and used it a ton. It works great for the money. I have boycotted Foodsaver after they wouldn't honor their pricing on my order a few weeks ago.

You should also invest in lots of cutting boards and tubs. When you are breaking down whole cuts and grinding you seem to never have enough of those.

You were right, I was wrong...The 609 is $50 less than the 615. The link below made me think otherwise

It has them both listed the same, however when I was searching for something else I found this

Not sure why the one listing has is marked wrong. Hope no one is wasting $50 thinking that is what it should cost!

bmaddox · Nov 5, 2015

You have to be careful on Amazon as the prices vary based on who is actually selling the product and there can be multiple listings for the exact same item. The listing for the 609 at $150 is not the prime listing it is from someone else.

4pogo7 · Nov 5, 2015

Hmm good point, that is very true. Thank you!

muralboy · Nov 5, 2015

4PoGo7 said:
You were right, I was wrong...The 609 is $50 less than the 615. The link below made me think otherwise
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0058VCYWS/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=10UFC1JPYLWND&coliid=I3B2UPDMM3339I&psc=1

It has them both listed the same, however when I was searching for something else I found this
http://www.amazon.com/Chefs-Choice-Premium-Electric-Slicer/dp/B000PRP288/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1446739807&sr=1-1&keywords=Chef%27s+Choice+609

Not sure why the one listing has is marked wrong. Hope no one is wasting $50 thinking that is what it should cost!

If you sign up for Bed Bath and Beyond email you will get a 20% coupon. They have both the 609 and 615.

Also, Chefs Catalog has a deal to get a free smooth blade with purchase of slicer

4pogo7 · Nov 5, 2015

muralboy said:
If you sign up for Bed Bath and Beyond email you will get a 20% coupon. They have both the 609 and 615.

Also, Chefs Catalog has a deal to get a free smooth blade with purchase of slicer

OH MAN! I always forget about BB&B because of Amazon Prime. My wife get's their 20% coupons ALL the time. If I get the 615 and the smooth blade with 20% off it comes out just under the regular price of the 615!!!

Thanks for reminding me!!

dirtsailor2003 · Nov 5, 2015

I would vote for the vacmaster vacuum packer. I have always had food saver packers. My first one lasted 30 years and finally died. I was given a new one and it sucks, or should I say doesn't suck. Over heats rapidly and can't make it through more than 8-10 bags at a time. I am getting the vacmaster pro 380 soon. Also Lisa has discount codes here every month for bags. Free shipping on all the sealers now.

Everyone knows my thoughts on LEM. Horrible customer service and will never get my business again.

I have the Ken Onion edition Work sharp knife sharpener. Works great and if you have other items you need to sharpen besides knifes it's handy to have.

4pogo7 · Nov 5, 2015

dirtsailor2003 said:
I would vote for the vacmaster vacuum packer. I have always had food saver packers. My first one lasted 30 years and finally died. I was given a new one and it sucks, or should I say doesn't suck. Over heats rapidly and can't make it through more than 8-10 bags at a time. I am getting the vacmaster pro 380 soon. Also Lisa has discount codes here every month for bags. Free shipping on all the sealers now.

Everyone knows my thoughts on LEM. Horrible customer service and will never get my business again.

I have the Ken Onion edition Work sharp knife sharpener. Works great and if you have other items you need to sharpen besides knifes it's handy to have.

For the vacuum packer, on Lisa's website the least expensive one I can find is about $169. Am I missing something or does she just not offer all Vacmaster products? I would love a nicer unit like the pro 380 but as I have said before I have to keep the cost down to more beginner/just starting out prices.

Same goes for the sharpener. Would love the Ken Onion one, its the one I tried in the store, but it's just a bit more than I think will fly.

I figure at least something, of decent quality, is better than nothing at all

bmaddox · Nov 5, 2015

I was on @Lisa B site the other day and noticed that their inventory has changed. I am not sure if it is just out of stock items or they are no longer carrying the cheaper ones. You should PM her to find out.

dirtsailor2003 · Nov 5, 2015

4PoGo7 said:
I figure at least something, of decent quality, is better than nothing at all

I would much prefer to have one or two excellent items, that I know are going to work than a bunch of substandard items that I will fight with every time I use them. For me the vacuum sealer is one of the most important kitchen tools that I have. We take advantage of buying bulk meats, we process deer, elk , and fish that we catch. With out a good vacuum packer we would be spending way more money than we do on meat.

A good knife sharpener that is easy to use is a blessing when you don't own a meat slicer, which I don't. I'd like to have one, but its not a top priority in my kitchen. Storage is the main issue I don't. A good sharp knife works just fine for me. If I need anything specialty sliced my butcher will do it for me.

bmaddox · Nov 5, 2015

dirtsailor2003 said:
I would much prefer to have one or two excellent items, that I know are going to work than a bunch of substandard items that I will fight with every time I use them.

My wife always says "you can't afford to buy the cheap stuff". I don't always abide by that but it is a good point. There comes a time where you cut corners to your own detriment.

Now that I think about it, maybe she says that to justify buying name brand and designer stuff?!?!? Oh well....

4pogo7 · Nov 5, 2015

dirtsailor2003 said:
I would much prefer to have one or two excellent items, that I know are going to work than a bunch of substandard items that I will fight with every time I use them.

I agree with you. I don't want substandard items, and I guess the 3 things that might fall into that category are the knife sharpener, vacuum sealer, and kitchen scale.

As I said before, the kitchen scale should be good for what I need; 1, 2, or 5 lb measurements of meat for packaging. The smaller scale will give me the accuracy I need for spices and cure.

For the knife sharpener, the Presto one I have listed has good reviews and seems to be of good quality. Would it be a bad choice? Would I be better off without it? It's $95 less than the Ken Onion Work Sharp.

With the vacuum sealer I definitely want a product that works well. I buy almost all of my meat in bulk or I harvest and process it myself. For years now I have just been using butcher freezer paper and freezer tape, but I want something that preserves my meat better. I don't want a substandard vacuum sealer, but at the same time I know I won't get a $300 sealer as a gift and I KNOW my wife won't let me buy one. As for the Pro 110 that was suggested, it is quite a bit cheaper than the FoodSaver one I listed. On Amazon it only has 10 reviews which aren't the best. The FoodSaver has over 1300 reviews, with 69% 5 star.

Like I said in the beginning I don’t own, nor have I ever owned many of these items before so I don't know what would be good and what would be crap. I am mostly going off reviews on Amazon and what you guys suggest to me. I appreciate the help and advice, I just know what I can expect from the gift givers, and I know it will be quite some time before I am able to buy these things on my own.

Thank you for your advice and help, I am just trying to make good choices.

bmaddox said:
My wife always says "you can't afford to buy the cheap stuff". I don't always abide by that but it is a good point. There comes a time where you cut corners to your own detriment.

Now that I think about it, maybe she says that to justify buying name brand and designer stuff?!?!? Oh well....

I sent a PM to Lisa B.

I don't want to buy/receive junk products so I have to decide whether it's worth it to buy a slightly lessor product and use it like I want to or if I just go without. Some things, nice things, are just out of reach at this time.

bmaddox · Nov 5, 2015

I have the Presto knife sharpener on your list and I like it. It does a good job of resurfacing a worn out blade. I still keep my knifes honed as best I can to reduce the amount of times I have to put them on the sharpener.

foamheart · Nov 6, 2015

A membership card "Restaurant Depot"!!! & lots of gift certificates!!

muralboy · Nov 6, 2015

I purchased the Foodsaver package from Costco. The quality is a good value for the money and unless you are a heavy-heavy user it will get the job done nicely. It's doing a great job for me. As a bonus it comes with a few rolls, plus some smaller bags as well.

The added insurance is Costco's liberal return policy. If you don't like it, take it back. Even after an extended time.

I do like the bags from Vac-seal though.

gpb11 · Nov 6, 2015

Sharpener -- I have the Smith's 50281 sharpener - you can adjust the sharpening angle to match each individual knife

Remote Thermometer - ET733 over iGrill or other bluetooth. It's nice to have it available at-a-glance vs waking your phone, and works at greater range than bluetooth. User interface sucks, be sure to READ the Friendly Manual.

Instant Thermometer - look at the new Lavatools Javelin Pro or Thermapen mk4 -- the Lavatools Javelin / Thermowand is also a great value if you don't mind waiting 1-2 seconds longer for a reading (4-5s vs 3s)

Sealer - Costco FoodSaver V4980 - I have the prior model V4880 and it's fantastic. FoodSaver also has cheap low end units. When reading people's reports of success/failure check which model they had.

4pogo7 · Nov 6, 2015

bmaddox said:
I have the Presto knife sharpener on your list and I like it. It does a good job of resurfacing a worn out blade. I still keep my knifes honed as best I can to reduce the amount of times I have to put them on the sharpener.

Thank you for the information! As for honing, I have never been able to figure out how to do that well, or been able to tell if it work...

Foamheart said:
A membership card "Restaurant Depot"!!! & lots of gift certificates!!

I had to google this one lol. That would be awesome but unfortunately the closest one is about 4 hours away.

muralboy said:
I purchased the Foodsaver package from Costco. The quality is a good value for the money and unless you are a heavy-heavy user it will get the job done nicely. It's doing a great job for me. As a bonus it comes with a few rolls, plus some smaller bags as well.

The added insurance is Costco's liberal return policy. If you don't like it, take it back. Even after an extended time.

I do like the bags from Vac-seal though.

Thanks for the info and experience! Sounds like Costco is similar to Bed Bath & Beyond, I returned something a year later after using it almost daily because they told me to return it instead of turning it in for warranty work!

I will definitely look into the Vac-Seal bags. Sounds like many people favor them over other options!

gpb11 said:
Sharpener -- I have the Smith's 50281 sharpener - you can adjust the sharpening angle to match each individual knife

Remote Thermometer - ET733 over iGrill or other bluetooth. It's nice to have it available at-a-glance vs waking your phone, and works at greater range than bluetooth. User interface sucks, be sure to READ the Friendly Manual.

Instant Thermometer - look at the new Lavatools Javelin Pro or Thermapen mk4 -- the Lavatools Javelin / Thermowand is also a great value if you don't mind waiting 1-2 seconds longer for a reading (4-5s vs 3s)

Sealer - Costco FoodSaver V4980 - I have the prior model V4880 and it's fantastic. FoodSaver also has cheap low end units. When reading people's reports of success/failure check which model they had.

Thank you for the information!

4pogo7 · Nov 6, 2015

The list has been ****edited**** in my original post with all my current selections.

Thank you all for your help and advice! There are just a couple items that I am still deciding between but for the most part I think my list is just about complete and done. Still feel free to chime in with advice and help, I am always willing to be educated!

If all goes well I will have lots of new toys to use in my smoking and meat processing come the end of December!

Thank you!

4pogo7 · Nov 11, 2015

Well I heard back from Lisa B on vacuum sealers. She said, "I don't sell the Pro 110, because it's a very low-entry level machine. It's very basic and doesn't have a lot of functions."

But, but, but....that's what I am looking for?! lol oh well, Amazon has it if that is the route I decide to go.

bmaddox · Nov 11, 2015

4PoGo7 said:
Well I heard back from Lisa B on vacuum sealers. She said, "I don't sell the Pro 110, because it's a very low-entry level machine. It's very basic and doesn't have a lot of functions."

But, but, but....that's what I am looking for?! lol oh well, Amazon has it if that is the route I decide to go.

After sealing dozens and dozens of bags I started having problems with my Pro110. When I was trying to seal a brisket flat it was having to draw too hard to get the air out which actually caused the spring loaded latches to release. It was a major pain and I never got the bag sealed right. So as much use as I have gotten out of that unit I thin anyone that plans on using it a lot should seriously look into upgrading.

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