# NY Times article on a new Brooklyn custom maker



## gic (Apr 22, 2015)

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/22/dining/chelsea-miller-most-treasured-cooking-tool-knife.html

Although the maker seems interesting personally, to me, judging by the images in the article, her knives don't cut a candle to the Bloodroot guys who, after all, also use reclaimed steel.

Still worth reading


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## CutFingers (Apr 22, 2015)

Forging junk and charging a premium is something only a hipster can appreciate.


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## James (Apr 22, 2015)

Nice article. Probably would not purchase one of her knives since the price seems a bit out of line with the product. Someone needs to let the media know about Marko.


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## PushCut (Apr 22, 2015)

I've seen those things before and I am amazed people buy them. I think people in the hipster kingdom of Brooklyn are so happy they have tradepeople in their midst, regardless of quality, they are happy to throw money at them. And it's easy and cheap for the NY Times to do an article on them. I would like to see a real deal prep cook or chef rock that little POS for a shift see what they think. What incentive is there to properly learn a trade, when people will pay top dollar to buy your practice pieces.


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## PushCut (Apr 22, 2015)

CutFingers said:


> Forging junk and charging a premium is something only a hipster can appreciate.



You've said it all in 13 words.


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## TheDispossessed (Apr 22, 2015)

only cool thing about this is that there's a woman making a name for herself as a blade smith of sorts.
the website is pretty revealing, look at the press page! either she's really well connected with a hip PR firm or had a bunch of money to throw at one.
the knives look terrible to me and it makes perfect sense in williamsburg. 
I cannot ***** stand brooklyn as a brand, it's deplorable. 
'Handmade' sh#t at unreal prices with some slick website and some ass in a beard, or an out of work actor playing farmhand.
The Mast Brothers epitomize it for me. 
Well, good luck to her anyways, i shouldn't be such a jerk about it.
ugh.


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## daveb (Apr 22, 2015)

Without putting words in his mouth I recall Marko suggesting that getting that kind of PR requires considerable grease for the wheels. I've seen the same bio before, WSJ food?, New Yorker? Good on her if it makes her some coin and makes the yuppies happy. But I'll pass, thank you.


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## PushCut (Apr 22, 2015)

James said:


> Nice article. Probably would not purchase one of her knives since the price seems a bit out of line with the product. Someone needs to let the media know about Marko.



To be fair, Marko has not yet made a knife with a built in cheese grater.


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## gic (Apr 22, 2015)

Also let's face it: her back story is interesting: former actress, extremely good looking, from a family of blacksmiths is going back to the family business


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## aboynamedsuita (Apr 22, 2015)

gic said:


> ...extremely good looking...



Have you ever seen Kaila Cumings who's also a knife maker? Her YouTube channel came up under "recommended for you (me)" the other day. Usually it's always Salty, Maksim and JKI videos.


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## Lizzardborn (Apr 22, 2015)

*** ... that is second article about her in the span of one year.

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/17760-Knife-maker-mentioned-in-NY-Times

Previous topic about her knives with link to article ...


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## aboynamedsuita (Apr 22, 2015)

The style of knives aren't my thing, neither are the ones in the NYT article or that Orchard Steel post from a few weeks ago.


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## alterwisser (Apr 22, 2015)

TheDispossessed said:


> only cool thing about this is that there's a woman making a name for herself as a blade smith of sorts.
> the website is pretty revealing, look at the press page! either she's really well connected with a hip PR firm or had a bunch of money to throw at one.
> the knives look terrible to me and it makes perfect sense in williamsburg.
> I cannot ***** stand brooklyn as a brand, it's deplorable.
> ...



She's not the only one in NYC. Moriah Cowles is out there as well, used to be apprentice of Joel at Cut Brooklyn. Like her style better, but even more expensive ...


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## ThEoRy (Apr 22, 2015)

Looks sh1t...


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## knyfeknerd (Apr 22, 2015)

Yeah B.A.R.F. on that knife.


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## ecchef (Apr 22, 2015)

Good for her...at least she didn't wind up as a waitress or stripper like most other aspiring but failed NYC actresses. Throwing in a soft endorsement from Humm won't hurt either. The product is crap though.

Although not very prolific, Dee Hedges from Dark Woods Forge is what I would consider a true artisan.


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## lobby (Apr 22, 2015)

I bet the cheese grater feels great against your knuckles when chopping.


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## mhpr262 (Apr 22, 2015)

gic said:


> Also let's face it: her back story is interesting: former actress, *extremely good looking*, from a family of blacksmiths is going back to the family business



I bet she would have an easier time cutting the produce for her "long simmering stews" with her nose than with one of her crap knives.


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## b2kk258 (Apr 22, 2015)

CutFingers said:


> Forging junk and charging a premium is something only a hipster can appreciate.



:rofl2:


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## aboynamedsuita (Apr 22, 2015)

The only way I could appreciate such a knife is if it is made from a personal family heirloom (such as your grandfather's rasp from your farm) that you provide to get "repurposed". At least this way it could have sentimental value.


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## daveb (Apr 22, 2015)

mhpr262 said:


> I bet she would have an easier time cutting the produce for her "long simmering stews" with her nose than with one of her crap knives.



What an incredibly chitty thing to say. Play nice.:thumbdown:


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## brainsausage (Apr 22, 2015)

daveb said:


> What an incredibly chitty thing to say. Play nice.:thumbdown:



You beat me to it Dave. And hot DAMN am I sick and tired of people throwing the word hipster around to describe anyone that doesn't fit whatever passes for the 'norm' nowadays. It's just another way to call someone lesser than you without actually saying as such.


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## labor of love (Apr 22, 2015)

Some of the smaller knives actually have some real character to them....But the price point is just ridiculous.


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## easy13 (Apr 22, 2015)

First off, Brooklyn is a very big place and not everybody that lives in it wears suspenders while riding a fixed gear unicycle to their artisanal kombucha Brewers club. 

Second off, those knives are disgusting and insultingly overpriced for something that looks barely functional in any kitchen.

Also, I don't think "Williamsburg hipsters" are buying this junk. Williamsburg is now filled with rich people, high rise condos, boutique hotels and chain stores. I think upper class, NY Times style section following dopes are buying them to use as kitchen decoration along with their untouched le creuset Dutch ovens. 

Last, I think it's unfair to group Orchard Steel in with this lady. I have a Moriah Cowles knife that I got custom for a little over $400 and it is a real solid hand forged knife that I really enjoy using with a nice grind, great F&F and a ton more character than a lot of stuff I have seen and used.


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## AllanP (Apr 22, 2015)

I'm genuinely curious about how well these work functionally in the kitchen

do these actually cut anything with the profile and the cheese grater attached to the side


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## Godslayer (Apr 22, 2015)

It doesn't make sense, that would catch and butchur Food. She specializes in cheese knives and they actually look good. Her chef knives are a joke, I'll go back to cuisinart before I'd use those purely on grind and geometry. Her handles also look ridiculous. These aren't so much knives as little pieces of unfunctional art. Like a kid made a macoroni picture. I can no longer eat the macoroni. I'm sorry about this post I've made like 8 other ones and deleted them all.... Why can't someone good get featured, stir up some buzz for American makers.


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## labor of love (Apr 23, 2015)

Im surprised that Chelsea is referring to one of her lines as "microplane cheese knives" http://www.chelseamillerknives.com/shop/
Microplane is a registered trademark, and they have sued other brands in the past for infringing on microplane patents.


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## alterwisser (Apr 23, 2015)

daveb said:


> What an incredibly chitty thing to say. Play nice.:thumbdown:



+1

I have talked to her. She's awfully nice... not sure why we can't appreciate it when more people are getting aware of handcrafted knives. And she certainly helps with the exposure...

Why is it a problem that she's attractive? Would we rather see ugly people in the business? I've never seen Marko, but would we have a problem with him if he'd be a perfect 10 on the male hotness scale? (No offense Marko [emoji6])


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## alterwisser (Apr 23, 2015)

brainsausage said:


> You beat me to it Dave. And hot DAMN am I sick and tired of people throwing the word hipster around to describe anyone that doesn't fit whatever passes for the 'norm' nowadays. It's just another way to call someone lesser than you without actually saying as such.



I wear skinny jeans, duck boots in the city and a slouchy knit hat. I also drink estate pour over coffee from Jamaica because it tastes f**** awesome. Am I a hipster?

Funny, my friends think buying $300 knives makes me a hipster. And now? [emoji6]


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## alterwisser (Apr 23, 2015)

Godslayer said:


> It doesn't make sense, that would catch and butchur Food. She specializes in cheese knives and they actually look good. Her chef knives are a joke, I'll go back to cuisinart before I'd use those purely on grind and geometry. Her handles also look ridiculous. These aren't so much knives as little pieces of unfunctional art. Like a kid made a macoroni picture. I can no longer eat the macoroni. I'm sorry about this post I've made like 8 other ones and deleted them all.... Why can't someone good get featured, stir up some buzz for American makers.



I contacted her as well... Quite the long wait list, actually. I was hesitant to spend that much money on a knife from an rather unknown maker. Asked her if I could try/touch/see her knives somewhere, but that wasn't possible somehow...

Would love to hear from you how it compares (favorably) to some of your other knives...


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## PushCut (Apr 23, 2015)

[QUOTE=alterwisser

"I have talked to her. She's awfully nice... not sure why we can't appreciate it when more people are getting aware of handcrafted knives. And she certainly helps with the exposure..."


The problem is her chef knives are not made for cutting food. Most reasonably skilled users probably use a pinch grip roughly 80% of the time. On her knives you would literally grind you skin off if you do that. Does that not seem absurd to you?


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## banjo1071 (Apr 23, 2015)

alterwisser said:


> I wear skinny jeans, duck boots in the city and a slouchy knit hat. I also drink estate pour over coffee from Jamaica because it tastes f**** awesome. Am I a hipster? [emoji6]



Yes


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## kostantinos (Apr 23, 2015)

ok if there is one maker from NYC that should get exposure thats Marko 

He has a story , a great one too , a story of uncompromising pursuit of producing the best possible knife with the best possible heat treat , the most dope yet comfortable handle and best fit of a saya to match it.

And i don't even own one or handled one yet but i know every time i see one . 

Other than that i Agree with Pushcut . It does seem absolutely absurd this is something that people would consider a good idea. Nothing against the maker but where is the built quality here?


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## Lizzardborn (Apr 23, 2015)

alterwisser said:


> +1
> 
> I have talked to her. She's awfully nice... not sure why we can't appreciate it when more people are getting aware of handcrafted knives. And she certainly helps with the exposure...



I don't doubt that she is a nice person. And it is irrelevant if she is an eyesore or not. But there is wrong exposure. We live in a world where bringing people home to cook is very important. Everytime our makers sell a knife they make the world a better place. Exposure to the somewhat odd models she makes or the overpriced kramers gives wrong impression in the general public - I remember not sure whether Devin or Dave how he tried to interest his physician in one of his knives, but the guy wanted a Kramer. We need more people to buy knives that are affordable, pleasure to cut with and joy to use.


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## gic (Apr 23, 2015)

Her looks or whether she is a nice person have nothing to do with the quality of her smithing or the form of her knives (which of course seem awfully odd to me since I use a pinch grip), but her looks, personality and back story have (fortunately or unfortunately) something to do with whether a reporter will pursue a profile story, no?


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## ecchef (Apr 23, 2015)

The fact that she doesn't look like a troll surely didn't hurt when they considered writing the piece. This abomination is a camp knife at best. Did they not bother to contact any SMEs for opinions before green lighting the story? If you were a legitimate unknown/struggling knifemaker, wouldn't this turn your stomach?


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## JMJones (Apr 23, 2015)

alterwisser said:


> +1
> 
> I have talked to her. She's awfully nice... not sure why we can't appreciate it when more people are getting aware of handcrafted knives. And she certainly helps with the exposure...



I completely agree. I am just happy for any exposure that causes the general public to even think for two seconds about kitchen knives, not just hand crafted kitchen knives. The vast majority of the population does not think twice about using terrible knives and thinks the department store Wusthof set in a block is the be all end all for quality. The more people know...


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## TheDispossessed (Apr 23, 2015)

Well, I went on a pretty negative rant earlier in this thread. While I stand by what I said, I apologize for polluting the forum with needless negativity. 
However, I can absolutely see why this burns people, myself included.
You don't need to hang out here for very long to see that the quality of a blade smith's work does not readily translate into a sustainable income. 
Some folks, because of their looks, their money, their story, their friends, get to run to the front of the line and be acknowledged for their work no matter the actual quality. This phenomena pervades all creative avenues and always will.
Musicians for example, pretty much everything on the radio is trash, and most of the country's more inspired and competent players scrape by, driving from town to town in an old van playing to people in bars who talk over their songs.
That's life.


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## knyfeknerd (Apr 23, 2015)

TheDispossessed said:


> Well, I went on a pretty negative rant earlier in this thread. While I stand by what I said, I apologize for polluting the forum with needless negativity.
> However, I can absolutely see why this burns people, myself included.
> You don't need to hang out here for very long to see that the quality of a blade smith's work does not readily translate into a sustainable income.
> Some folks, because of their looks, their money, their story, their friends, get to run to the front of the line and be acknowledged for their work no matter the actual quality. This phenomena pervades all creative avenues and always will.
> ...



Well said!


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## marc4pt0 (Apr 23, 2015)

I say good for her. Whether it be looks, talent, niche, doesn't matter. She's working with what she has/knows and it's obviously paying off.
Do I personally think these knives are great? Doesn't matter. 
Someone mentioned Marko's "story" of being in pursuit of making the best knife possible. I think that most knife makers out there share the same _ story._ Making knives ain't easy, and it sure as heck doesn't make you rich. So I would _ think_ that most knife makers share the common pursuit of making a great knife, or what they consider to be great. 

I've tried/had several of Marko's knives and will say they're pretty darn good. Best? Nope. But that's a matter opinion, plain and simple. I'll be willing to bet that there's a few of Her customers that would say her knives are among the best. Again, all just opinion.
Most of us will agree that these knives are not "up our alley", but I think we should applaud her all the same.


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## alterwisser (Apr 23, 2015)

ecchef said:


> The fact that she doesn't look like a troll surely didn't hurt when they considered writing the piece. This abomination is a camp knife at best. Did they not bother to contact any SMEs for opinions before green lighting the story? If you were a legitimate unknown/struggling knifemaker, wouldn't this turn your stomach?



I think that's a bad job by the Times. Which is a shame, shows how far journalism has come. Matter of fact, the editor might've even done that... And figured out that the knives aren't all that... He's on deadline, it kills his story... He ignores it. Happens all the time


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## alterwisser (Apr 23, 2015)

PushCut said:


> alterwisser
> "I have talked to her. She's awfully nice... not sure why we can't appreciate it when more people are getting aware of handcrafted knives. And she certainly helps with the exposure..."
> The problem is her chef knives are not made for cutting food. Most reasonably skilled users probably use a pinch grip roughly 80% of the time. On her knives you would literally grind you skin off if you do that. Does that not seem absurd to you?[/QUOTE said:
> 
> ...


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## alterwisser (Apr 23, 2015)

banjo1071 said:


> Yes



I think I can live with that [emoji6]


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## alterwisser (Apr 23, 2015)

kostantinos said:


> ok if there is one maker from NYC that should get exposure thats Marko
> 
> He has a story , a great one too , a story of uncompromising pursuit of producing the best possible knife with the best possible heat treat , the most dope yet comfortable handle and best fit of a saya to match it.



Let's get him some exposure then! His name comes up all the time. I thought he mentioned that he didn't even want the exposure someone like Joel is getting, or am I wrong?


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## Keith Sinclair (Apr 23, 2015)

TheDispossessed said:


> Well, I went on a pretty negative rant earlier in this thread. While I stand by what I said, I apologize for polluting the forum with needless negativity.
> However, I can absolutely see why this burns people, myself included.
> You don't need to hang out here for very long to see that the quality of a blade smith's work does not readily translate into a sustainable income.
> Some folks, because of their looks, their money, their story, their friends, get to run to the front of the line and be acknowledged for their work no matter the actual quality. This phenomena pervades all creative avenues and always will.
> ...



Well Lady Gaga is from NYC I think she is very talented


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## Anton (Apr 23, 2015)

We can knock on quality and performance all we want. 
But to knock on people who have carved themselves a piece of the commercial appeal to custom made knives, and be (apparently) successful, is a little ignorant. if anything give her big props for terrific marketing and recognizing/catering the audience who's buying her wares.
We often buy things that are not 100% useful, nor have the skill to use at 100% but we buy because they appeal to us 
We are in a on demand capitalist economy after all


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## WildBoar (Apr 23, 2015)

This knifemaker thread parallels the chef/ celebrity chef opinions. Plenty of chefs/ cooks can cook circles around some of the TV chefs, who mainly got to where they are by being in the right place at the right time, having good PR, etc. This pertains to almost any other industry/ service as well -- the ones you see on TV, in magazines, etc. are not necessarily any good; but someone found out about them and wrote about/ featured them.

Maybe a Kitchen Knifemakers Guild can be formed that has stringent membership acceptance requirements and collects dues that can be used to fund a PR machine... Only half-joking, but that's the kind of thing that helps gain notoriety for a group.


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## kostantinos (Apr 23, 2015)

I apologize if my post was confusing to anyone or if i have given the wrong impression to anyone.

I shouldn't try to make comparisons here .


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## Salty dog (Apr 23, 2015)

IDK, Yelp calls me every other day asking for info and interview because we have such high demand on local Yelp. 

It will never happen. 

I'm often asked to do demos. It will never happen.

I'm a contrarian and always will be.

I make enough money so I don't need to sweat it. Although I'll be the first to say "go for it" if that's what you want.


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## limpet (Apr 23, 2015)

I'm in the "good for her camp". Comments about her looks is juvenile behavior - grow up. Getting upset because "bad knives" get more attention than "good knives" is understandable, but since people are different and have different taste in things, getting *really* upset borders to snobbery/fanboyism. To be upset about journalists getting it wrong in mainstream media (for example kitchen knife tests) is having unrealistic expectations. Just my opinion, of course.

Or maybe I'm just getting too old to be upset? I remember a quote from a movie: "I'll let you in on a secret... nobody matures. They just grow tired."


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## cheflivengood (Apr 23, 2015)

lobby said:


> I bet the cheese grater feels great against your knuckles when chopping.



:rofl2:


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## tcmx3 (Apr 23, 2015)

dvds for ****** blockbusters have bankrolled nearly every movie I've liked made in the last 10 years. 

e.g.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_Searchlight_Pictures


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## Dave Martell (Apr 24, 2015)

OK guys, I deleted some comments that went over the top. Let's leave the sex humor (and anything else about her gender or looks or whatever) out of the conversation. Let's talk knives.


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