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Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith

Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith

ilmarinen - MODERATOR
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Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Wednesday morning I was coming back from getting dry ice. I was passing a thrift store I almost never check out (Because they have junk and price it like priceless antiques). All I saw was their normal stuff - a broken 1950's hand crank meat grinder missing all the removable parts they had tagged at $30, etc. As I was leaving the back room, where they put the big stuff and any larger equipment/tools. I notices the back of something made from sheet metal. It was way down at the end and buried under odds and ends. My curiosity got me and I went to look. After moving the stuff away, and turning it around, it was a BIG in-the-wall convection oven … brand new. Stainless steel KitchenAid Suberba, 4800 watts, digital control and programming. These run close to $2000. The ticket had $299 on it, that was scratched through and re-priced over and over again down to $19. I went to buy it and the lady said $16.95 ($16plus tax). I looked confused and she said, "You get a senior citizens discount of 20%." I went and got my 4X4 foot trailer and hauled it home.

This unit can be calibrated and has three large shelves. It weighs a good 100+ pounds. It will get built into the wall in the sink/clean-up section of the new shop. The trailer is 4 feet wide, so you can get an idea of how big this oven is.
Besides accurate tempering, I can toss a pizza in it at 500F, roast a turkey for thanksgiving at 325F, or slow roast a brisket at 235F.


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How hot will it go? We have a 2 door oven with convection but I don't think the convection will go over 500. Mine is gas and I use it for tempering since there is no direct heat. They are awesome for cooking birds. That moving air keeps the skin nice and crisp. I have rendered a duck I'm mine a couple of times too and it turned out great.

Let's see you post up some food.
 
It goes from 170F to 500F. My tempering is usually 400°F to 450°F, so that is good enough.

Like you said, side to side and top to bottom even heat.

I am going to make a pig-tail for it and plug it in to a 240VAC socket and see what it does.
 
daizee said:
That brisket is gonna be a little brittle with only a 235F temper. How will you get out the warp? :D
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That is why you use 235F. At 240F the brisket will start to warp. It will take at least six hours to temper it, but the result is excellent. Also, massaging the meat with a nice rub containing Spannish paprika will relax any internal stress from butchering. If you use Prague powder #1 and lots of crushed spices/peppercorns, you can make a killer pastrami.
 
It already has a digital control. It will run off a 240 VAC 30 amp breaker ( it draws 20 amps ).
 
I would rather have your luck than a licence to steal. And with a senior's discount; it pretty well makes the day. Great find Stacy.
Regards, Fred
 
Wow!!! Nice that you don't need a 50 amp circuit for that beast. You you actually find on of those new for $2000 or would it be more? Kitchen Aid can be kind of proud of their products from what I have seen.
 
I went to the Children's Hospital of King's Daughters Thrift Store last Saturday to get a cheap suitcase for a friend. They had plenty for $5-6.
I saw an odd rectangular case (18X15X12) with nice rubber wheel rollers (not the normal thin plastic wheels), and a heavy duty pull out handle. It was a hard case type, too. Price was $5. I opened it up and realized it was a court reporter's case. Looks brand new. It was padded inside with a heavy wide strap to secure the stenographers machine inside( no machine), and many pockets/slots for the paper rolls, files, etc. It is perfect for our type heavy stuff - hammers, tools, knives, etc. I looked it up, it sells for $250. Heck, I could roll around an Atlas anvil in this thing. The image below is a slightly different model.

While there I also found a nice 1800 watt room heater. It looks like a small Franklin stove with faux fire logs and flames. It has a digital control to change the fire from a slow flicker to a fast flame. The heat is variable, too - Cost - $15. I went online and it sells for $220. Image of same one below.

I have my eye on some other stuff to see how low the price drops. They lower the price 10% to %25 every month.
They had another heater (1200W) that was made to look like a bass woofer. It was $20, so I let it go for a month. No one is looking for heaters at 100 degrees ( we had six crazy heat last week of 98, 97, 98,100, 100, 99.

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I am holding my breath as I type this. I have a picker friend who regularly finds all sorts of stuff for me at estate sales. He called me yesterday and said he bought a box of ivory at an estate sale. He didn't know much about the stuff,but described two BIG whales teeth, a couple small whales teeth, a 20" walrus tusk, and a brown juvenile walrus tusk. I asked what he wanted and he said he only paid $100, so $150-200 would be good. I am hoping it is all real ad as good as it sounds. If only a single piece is real, the deal would still be good. I'll post an update when he comes next week.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
I am holding my breath as I type this. I have a picker friend who regularly finds all sorts of stuff for me at estate sales. He called me yesterday and said he bought a box of ivory at an estate sale. He didn't know much about the stuff,but described two BIG whales teeth, a couple small whales teeth, a 20" walrus tusk, and a brown juvenile walrus tusk. I asked what he wanted and he said he only paid $100, so $150-200 would be good. I am hoping it is all real ad as good as it sounds. If only a single piece is real, the deal would still be good. I'll post an update when he comes next week.
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Did you do anything with the walrus tusk yet? I have one too and I’m looking for some advise on shaping it. Thanks!
 
The 20" walrus tusk turned out to be a 27" beautiful highly scrimshawed elephant tusk. It has four whaling scenes on it. It was done by a well known New Bedford scrimshaw artist. I have it displayed in the living room and have no plans to cut it up at this point.
The juvenile tusk will make a couple nice Bowie knife handles when I get working in the new shop.
The scrimshawed whales teeth were impressive.
He also had a box of six good size African ivory carvings he gave me for $50. I will slab them up and salvage some scales from them.
 
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