When I think of summers past I think of fireflies in bottles
with holes punched in the lid so they can breath, running through the sprinkler
and watermelon. Now that I’m an adult, I’m
charmed to see fireflies. They are
becoming rare with all the lawn care. Kid
are now taken to special camps to learn water polo or synchronized swimming to
protect lawns and get them out of the house. Things change.
But I haven’t lost interest in watermelon, especially with the
new sweet seedless varieties. I do miss
the watermelon seed spitting contests, but my wife would never let me do that
in my backyard with company.
I picked up a special knife for cutting watermelon. It’s a very aggressive blade and cuts a melon
open with ease. I especially like the
little watermelon seeds printed on the knife blade. You can find these at many places for less than 10 bucks.
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| Ice cold watermelon and a knife. What more could I want on a hot July afternoon? |
The blade has a semi-chisel cut. The knife is hollow ground on both sides but
the cutting edge is a chisel grind. This
does several nice things for you. The shoulder
from the hollow grind forces the thick watermelon rind away from the cutting
edge, so pushing on the knife just cleaves the melon and protects the
edge. Sawing with the knife makes
watermelon juice, but it sure reduces a melon to slices quickly.
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| I make the first cut. The knife works like a charm. |
However the chisel grind on the left side of the blade tends
to push the knife to the right when you’re cutting. It might not be the optimal blade for
watermelon decorative carving. Next time
I sharpen it, I’ll start a back grind on the right side to balance the cutting
edge a little better.
The photo is from the second melon we had. The first went to club activity we ran on the
first really hot day of July. After 6
hours in the sun we were cooked. I’m
here to tell you ice cold watermelon beats any sports drink for reviving your
spirits and rehydrating!
Go watermelon!
