Curd knife curd knife curd knife - refrigerator shelving???

[ArnaudForestier]

Trying to figure a way to get a decent cut in my larger stockpots - what I have is pretty lousy, as I can't get the right angles on the horizontal cuts.

My existing "cave" shelving, which I took out and replaced with glass shelving, wood and coarse matting. 



The cross pieces are fairly thick (nothing like Wayne's trolling wire - though the picture exaggerates how thick they are), as are the vertical struts.  But it is difficult to pass up the notion, as the shelf fits exactly inside my stockpot (which I use for larger volumes), and can be turned perfectly.  Very unsure of the shelving coating, though.  Additionally, these are 1/2" horizontal lines, exactly, so not too useful for the smaller cubes I'm seeking.  I can just lift 1/4" for another pass, I guess, and try to keep it level.  Thoughts?

Still hunting for a cheap means to get 1/4" cuts.  Also looking into SS drying racks....

[OudeKaas]

Your pain, I feel it. Surely some entrepreneurial person has come up with a good solution to this and would like to sell it to thousands of stove-top cheesemakers?

[CheeseSnipe]

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[FarmerJd]

Look for a cheap campside, handheld fish grill. They have them at academy sports type stores. They are perfect because they have one side with vertical wires and one with horizontal. I looked online to find one like mine but couldn't find the exact one. the closest I could find is this one and it would need to be modified somewhat. You can tell from the picture how the wires are not in a grid. Instead, each side has them going in one direction. This is what you are looking for. It definitely makes it easier. The thinner the wire the better.

[ArnaudForestier]

Ah, right, Farmer - these are what people meant by "folding," couldn't see what they were talking about.  Will take a look, see if it fits well.  Thanks.

(Man...wish I was a better welder and could realistically do TIG....this from curdknives:



@Brandnetel - you get an A for creativity!  I use an old granton-edge salmon slicer....my cooking ghosts haunt me for the cannibalization.  But nothing like your belle laide solution, I'm afraid.

[FarmerJd]

I looked into those knives a while back. In fact, the guy who makes them, Terry, is a member of this board and was the one who told me about CheeseForum.org. The hard part to me was not the welding so much as the setup. It is just hard to keep everything tight.

[OudeKaas]

@Arnaud: lol, you made me google your french, my first rxn was "if I was getting belle laide more often I wouldn't have as much time to make cheese!" And I'm an architect myself so actually the drafting triangle has similar overtones for me as your salmon slicer :-)

And the stuff from curdknives.com (I am still chuckling that this domain name is real . .. ) is just, drool . . . . It's inspiring though, makes one wonder what could be achieved with a little ingenuity, need not be as perfect as those to be an improvement, I think . . . .

[ArnaudForestier]

my first rxn was "if I was getting belle laide more often I wouldn't have as much time to make cheese!"

LMAO (god, I've adopted compuspeek).  Hmm, Brandnetel, I am spending an inordinate amount of time in the middle of the night flippin' the flippin' cheese....

I am impressed with Wayne's build; I like very much its traditional appeal.  I figure if centuries of alpine makers can do it with something resembling a long lyre, well, I'm there.

[terry@dairy fab]

I would be more than happy to supply curd knives to the home cheese making sector, but I am really not sure what people are looking for. I build curd knives for farmstead plants on up to the largest cottage cheese plants in the country, and all my knives have to satisfy all the local and state inspectors. I realize that is not the case with home cheese makers, but that is the level of quality I build all my knives to. If I could get some input from members on what would work for a large segment of folks, maybe I could build and offer something affordable and functional.

Thanks,

terry@dairy fab (curdknives.com)

[ArnaudForestier]

Terry, your work is beautiful.  I admire this kind of craftsmanship, and wish I could justify acquiring one, even though I'm just a home cheesemaker.  Congrats on a fine line.

[FarmerJd]

Hey Terry, thanks again for pointing me to this site.

[OudeKaas]

Wow, speak of the devil, and he appears! Hi Terry, great looking stuff you've got there. I guess only you can say what makes economic sense for your own business, but the thought of having your products available for home use is enticing to say the least. I don't know what the overall market's tolerance for price is, but I for one would be willing to spend some significant cash to acquire something usable. And by that I mean something like $65-$115 or so.

If I had to try to brainstorm on this it might go something like this: Pick 1-3 typical kettle/pot sizes that are useful to home cheesemakers, basing the dimensions on an actual, quality stainless steel product that is commonly available (perhaps 3, 4 and 5 gallon pots). Make a standard template based on this and produce a number of curd knives that can be sold on an off-the-shelf basis. Probably makes the most sense and volume if you can partner with other online vendors of cheesemaking supplies to sell both the pots and the matching knives (cheesemaking.com, austinhomebrew.com, etc.).

or:
test and make a small version of a simple knife/set of knives that is small enough to be used in varying pot sizes (I assume that one technique could be to have a knife of sufficient height and somewhere in the vicinity of 1/2 the diameter and move it in a circular fashion to cover the full circumference of the pot. Perhaps size them to accommodate the largest usual pot and then they would work for smaller ones too. Maybe like a baby version of this:

[terry@dairy fab]

I had been approached in the past from Ricki at New England Cheese making Supply, and Steve at The Cheesemaker.com about supplying knives for their web stores, but never took took the time to develop a product for them, usually just to busy. This week  I am in Vegas at the Int. Pizza Expo, researching the idea of making Mozzarella cutters that they use over a bowl of hot water before stretching.  I would like some feedback on the following ideas, these are actually items I have built in the past.

1. A square frame wired one direction that you could use to cut both directions? Just turn it 90 degrees.
2. A frame with notches cut every 1/4" so the end user could string it themselves with fishing line. Could be wired 1/4", 1/2" 3/4" ect?
3. A frame wired horizontally with one half 1/4" cut and the other half 1/2" cut?

Any thoughts?

Thanks, terry@dairy fab

[FarmerJd]

The first idea could work if you had a handle that could be quickly disconnected and reattached on the adjacent side when turned 90 degrees. I like this idea best.

[Ohaus82]

I would definitely be interested in a curd knife too.  My vat is a rectangle about 1' x2'x 6".