Grape Knives as they were meant to be used

[lambertiana]

Our church has its own welfare program, and we try to produce as much of our own food for this program as possible, through volunteer work. We have various facilities that feed into this; for example, there is a tuna cannery in San Diego, a beef ranch in Florida, a tomato cannery in Sacramento, and a peach cannery in Utah. Our local contribution is to produce raisins. We have an 80 acre raisin grape vineyard in Madera, CA. Today our job was to pick the grapes and lay them on paper trays to dry into raisins. They are Thompson Seedless raisins, and are FAR sweeter than the grapes that are sold in stores. The raisins that this vineyard produces go into our welfare program, and are also sent worldwide for emergency relief whenever there is a major natural disaster. I like the idea that the grapes I picked today could end up as raisins feeding someone out of work, or someone who has lost everything in a disaster anywhere in the world. Oftentimes our shipments of relief to disaster areas (which include food, bedding, clothing, toiletries, etc) get there well ahead of any government assistance.

For the job, what else should we use but grape knives? I got mine at the local ag supply store, and took two with me today. These knives earned their patina, nothing forced. They are thin stock, about 1mm.

Here is a typical scene of the freshly picked grapes, starting to dry in the sun:

 

[solphilos]

To think that I came in here thinking I was going to see a knife designed for slicing grapes.

Cool story and knives, thanks for sharing.

 

[OLd_gUY]

Grats on the worthy effort. Nice to see a knife in the use for which it was intended. Never had to work those vines (thank the Lord) but I sure remember seeing the stacks of the old wooden trays (before paper) and the braceros with their backs bent over sweating buckets as they turned them in the 100 plus degree valley sun.

 

[meako]

I was STALKing around here too.
Thanks for RAISIN the bar.
As usual I'm swimming against the CURRANT but not to worry...everything? is VINE..?
I don't mean to GRIPE........(sorry)

 

[3fifty7]

Well done to all of those involved.

May I ask a little more about the program? What church organizations are involved and how are the recipients chosen? Are the raisins produced on this vineyard solely for the program or are any available for retail?

 

[lambertiana]

Well done to all of those involved.

May I ask a little more about the program? What church organizations are involved and how are the recipients chosen? Are the raisins produced on this vineyard solely for the program or are any available for retail?

The program is run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. There are two types of recipients. The first group consists of church members who, for whatever reason, need assistance. We provide essentially everything that could be found in a grocery store (just the basics, nothing fancy) to these people, so they do not need food stamps or whatever program is available from the government in their country. For food items that we cannot produce on our own, we purchase them to provide through the program. The second type of recipient are people anywhere in the world who have been affected by natural disasters or similar events. We send truckloads or shiploads, as the needs may require, of assistance materials to the location, often with cooperation from other governments, Catholic Charities, or other charitable organizations. This could be to a tornado-ravaged town in the midwest, a hurricane ravaged location (we were the first on the scene after hurricane Katrina), or to major world events (I know that we sent a large amount of assistance after the Indonesian tsunami in 2004). Pretty much any major disaster worldwide will get a delivery from us. I have been volunteering at this grape vineyard for 18 years now, and I often wonder where in the world the raisins that were produced by my own hands ended up.

 

[Ernie1980]

Thanks for sharing! That is a neat program, I too find it interesting that the fruits of your labor could be found all over the world

 

[knarfeng]

"Fair ball"

The knives are a traditional pattern in carbon steel. The plastic handles do not make them non-traditional. And I see no effort to make converts. (Proselyting is the process of trying to convert someone to your belief system.)

Do you use the same knives every year?

 

[Hickory n steel]

Very cool.
My grandfather used to grow grapes which he was quite proud of, I still have his Ontario Tru Edge grape hook which I replaced the handle on.

 

[Jack Black]

Interesting post I come across older Sheffield-made knives of this style, which were used to cut leather, lino, and in agriculture, fairly regularly. I sent a few to a US member here who uses them on his farm, along with this knife from Crete, where they are widely used. The pattern does have a name, but I forget it.



This one by John Petty has a longer blade than most of the ones I come across.

 

[Will Power]

Viticulture

The grape is a fine and noble plant, produces grapes for the table, raisins/currants/sultanas etc as a healthy snack or for cakes and of course wine Here in Europe, wine growing goes back thousands of years to the Ancient Greeks and before. Whether you drink alcohol or not, the art of wine making and cultivation is a fascinating thing and part of human heritage. Vines require tending and in Ancient times they must have had pruning shears or knives to tackle harvesting and husbandry.

Any form of altruism is a higher form of human endeavour, such efforts make a difference in a world of harm and uncertainty.

Here's a Farmer's Jack. Emotionally and aesthetically I'd like to say this would've been used all day on the vines but realistically no! All that sap and juice gumming up the spring, wouldn't be comfortable for really prolonged work either...small fixed as shown by the OP comfortable and easy to use-tool of thousands of years albeit with wood slabs earlier (not as durable or grippy as plastics though )

 

[gaj999]

For the job, what else should we use but grape knives? I got mine at the local ag supply store, and took two with me today. These knives earned their patina, nothing forced. They are thin stock, about 1mm.

That brings back memories! I grew up not far from Madera. And we made raisins. I wish I could buy naturals, the ungirdled Thompson Seedless grapes you mention, in the store. I really miss them. Our knives had round wood handles like a cheap old Mora, but otherwise were the same as those you picture.

Do you use the same knives every year?

We did. Even cheap knives cost money and we didn't have a lot of that stuff. They'd last probably ten seasons or so before they got too worn to work well.

 

[lambertiana]

Do you use the same knives every year?

Yes, I have a half dozen of these. The vast majority of the knives used at the vineyard are like these, but you occasionally see one with a round wood handle. I have an Ontario grape knife with a round wood handle, but I prefer these plastic handled knives because they have thinner blade stock and require less effort to cut. I spent almost eight hours cutting grapes yesterday and that small difference in cutting efficiency adds up to a big difference over the day.

Raisins are a major crop in this area; the only commercial production in the US is in California, and almost all of it is within 50 miles of Fresno/Selma. If you go into a traditional ag supply store around here, you will see bins of grape knives for sale. The ones that I use are by far the most common. Some people use the serrated version of these plastic handled knives but I don't like them because the serration pattern is very difficult to sharpen, even with a sharpmaker.

It is labor intensive. The vines have to be pruned by hand, and until recently all of the harvesting has been done by hand. Some farmers are switching to a different trellis design that allows the use of mechanical harvesting.

In two weeks we will go back to roll the paper trays into what look like giant burritos to even out the moisture level of the raisins - some will be so dry that they are as hard as a rock, some will still be pretty wet. When they sit for another week or two rolled up, the dry raisins take moisture from the wet raisins. After that, we go back again to pick them up and dump them into bins that are towed by tractors. Then they go to the processing plant to be cleaned and packaged.

 

[Rich S]

Really like those knives;thin and sharp. Where can i find some? Other blade shapes available?
Thanks
Rich

 

[Modoc ED]

lambertiana - Nice effort and for good causes. Your participation in that effort will be greatly appreciated by those in need.

After visiting our kids in Long Beach, the wife and I frequently return north via 99 and make stops through the Visalia, Fresno, Madera corridor to buy fresh produce and sample the great cooking available along the way.

I have one of those blue handled knives but never thought to take a picture of it. They are used in this area by hands on various farms and ranches.

 

[Horsewright]

Good deal on you guys L lambertiana ! Lived for a few years as a kid in the 60's in Sanger, know those sights well.

 

[lambertiana]

Really like those knives;thin and sharp. Where can i find some? Other blade shapes available?
Thanks
Rich

If your local ag supply does not carry them, you can probably find them online. They are made (or maybe just sold) by The Organic Tool Company, and their website shows a dizzying array of agricultural knife patterns for just about any crop you can imagine, as well as knives for butchering, food processing, sickles, agricultural implements of all kinds, you name it. Various online vendors sell their knives.

 

[waynorth]

You are making the world a better place, Lambertiana!!!

 

[5K Qs]

What an interesting thread! Thanks for starting it L lambertiana , and I really admire the generous and necessary program that your church operates!

...
Raisins are a major crop in this area; the only commercial production in the US is in California, and almost all of it is within 50 miles of Fresno/Selma. If you go into a traditional ag supply store around here, you will see bins of grape knives for sale. The ones that I use are by far the most common. Some people use the serrated version of these plastic handled knives but I don't like them because the serration pattern is very difficult to sharpen, even with a sharpmaker.
...

After reading this paragraph about the localized nature of US raisin production, this geezer's unpredictable brain dredged up a TV image from the past, and sure enough, it's available online :

- GT

 

[lambertiana]

Here's a Farmer's Jack. Emotionally and aesthetically I'd like to say this would've been used all day on the vines but realistically no! All that sap and juice gumming up the spring, wouldn't be comfortable for really prolonged work either...small fixed as shown by the OP comfortable and easy to use-tool of thousands of years albeit with wood slabs earlier (not as durable or grippy as plastics though )

One year I used an antique Ulster folding pruner. It worked well, but, as you can imagine, it was difficult to clean afterward. Now I stick with the fixed blades.