Abe Shaw
By: Oona
Oona sat down with Abe Shaw, the founder of Eatingtools, an online marketplace for high-quality, largely handmade, heirloom culinary objects from around the world.
Source: Abe Shaw
How did Abe’s interest in culinary knives develop?
Abe Shaw grew up in scenic Ithaca, NY with an appreciation for taste, food, and, importantly, food preparation. His family cooked often, and fresh, with ingredients from their garden. Mom’s food is born of love and intuition, less so recipes, from her signature strawberry-rhubarb pie to her homemade bread — “to this day, the best bread I’ve ever tasted,” says Abe. Dad, a botanist, further influenced Abe’s love for the natural world. Abe’s upbringing awakened him to the connections between humans and nature, humans and creation, and at 8 years of age, he declared to Dad: “I’m going to collect knives.”
What’s Abe’s relationship to food and its creation?
Abe frequented and worked in restaurants throughout high school and college, all while collecting culinary knives and tools. A people person, he loved the hustle and bustle of restaurants, the “work” of food, and the endless opportunities for connection in the restaurant setting — “I loved connecting the end user with the art,” he says, the “art” being the food.
A testament to his relational depth and restaurant immersion, Abe’s local, conveyor-belt sushi spot in Chapel Hill, NC, his college town, named a roll for him — the “Abe Roll,” a California roll with tuna, spicy sauce, and roe, lived on the menu for a decade.
Abe’s curiosity for food and its creation extended to his travels. “I remember my first trip to China, replete with scorpions on a stick, fried seahorse, you name it,” he recalls. “I’ve raised my son this way, too: try everything once.”
Nonetheless, Abe’s quick to clarify: “chefs, gastronomic trends, wine — those aren’t my fortes. I know the artisan side, the craft side, of food.”
At 8 years of age, Abe declared to Dad: “I’m going to collect knives.”
When did Abe become an expert in culinary tools?
In 1999, while in college, Abe first attended Blade Show Atlanta, the world’s largest knife show. He continued to attend for 17 consecutive years, befriending and deepening relationships with knife makers from around the world (the show features makers from over 60 countries). In 2004, Abe began co-hosting knife shows of his own. The seeds for Eatingtools, which Abe would found in 2012, were germinating.
Abe reveres the culinary knife — “it’s a very simple, purposeful tool used for a very specific task” — and what it symbolizes. “It’s a very complex relationship between humans and tools, humans and art,” he muses. “What are the lines between artist and artisan? Does life mimic tools and art, or does art mimic life?”
Eatingtools exists to explore these questions, all while serving as a discovery engine for its customers.
“It’s a very complex relationship between humans and tools, humans and art.”
What does Eatingtools sell?
Eatingtools primarily sells small batch, handmade, high quality, high end, and heirloom culinary knives, and other culinary tools, from all over the world: the US, Brazil, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Austria, Poland, Sweden, Japan, Australia, and more. The bulk of its assortment comprises one-of-a-kind knives.
Eatingtools serves a variety of customers, from passionate home cooks “who have the means to own the tools that make the craft of cooking possible” to collectors to gifters. Abe and his customers appreciate how personal knives are, and how unique the work of each maker is. “The edge of any blade is going to do the job, of course — it’s all about the intangibles, about the visceral feelings you get from any one knife.”
His customers might ask: “Do I have the capacity to manage a carbon steel blade, and to educate everyone in my family about its proper care and usage? Do I gravitate towards the more voluptuous curves of Western knives, or am I drawn to Japanese knives for their deep and meaningful history?”
Culinary knives are intimate tools and objects, Abe asserts — “they’re the objects we prepare our sustenance with, that we feed our families with.” To that end, it’s no surprise Abe has developed close relationships with his customers. His earliest, lifelong customer has been with him for 11 years: “we’ve shared meals together, I’ve hand-delivered knives to him,” says Abe.
Culinary knives are intimate tools and objects, Abe asserts — “they’re the objects we prepare our sustenance with, that we feed our families with.”
Is there a science to fitting a knife?
A knife’s construction has endless permutations, and multiple factors influence the right fit: the customer’s hand size, the customer’s handle, the cutting style in question, the taper, curvature, dimensions, weight, balance point, and grip of the knife, the transition between the blade and handle, how many hours per day the knife will be in use, and so on. “There’s a funny relationship between the technical requirements of a structural, purposeful, and efficacious tool, and the personal nature of the tool — one could go back and forth with a maker for years on bespoke specs,” Abe notes.
“In spite of the obvious risks and difficulty in selling such an intimate and hand-held tool, especially based on 2D photos, we barely get returns,” says Abe.
What’s in Abe’s arsenal of culinary tools?
Abe reaches for simple, small or midsize knives that he can hold in any grip, knives he “doesn’t have to baby,” knives that aren’t in the way or “at risk of getting knocked off the board.”
“I differ from my average customer — I don’t keep my edges as sharp or clean as I should, and I’m not ashamed to admit that.”
“I do love a big blade for summers - think: chopping a watermelon in half. And, of course, a good bread knife is important to have on hand.”
Abe has a number of knives on display, most of which he doesn’t use. “I simply love looking at them,” he says. “I love the artistry, the craft, the stories behind the knives.”
Are knife skills necessary?
“A knife is a sharp piece of metal that turns one thing into two — nobody needs specialized knives,” Abe gently reminds us.
“Learning ‘bare-minimum’ knife skills will open up more creative and technical possibilities for you and allow for a more enjoyable creative process, but as long as you’re being safe, there’s really no wrong way to use a knife.”
