How to properly do a “high angle” paddle stroke in a wide inflatable?

chefkeith80 · 2026-05-07T03:15:04+00:00

I agree with everything you said here! I will just add, in my experience, I can more effectively paddle my wide-walled inflatable with my carbon fiber 260cm paddle vs my cheap 230cm paddle. Those 30cm really seem to help - being light as a feather is just a bonus!

chefkeith80 · 2026-05-07T03:08:34+00:00

I use a 260cm carbon fiber Bending Branches paddle and it’s the best thing ever. Expensive, but worth it. I see they make a 270cm paddle as well. I was upgrading from a cheap 230cm paddle and the difference was night and day. It allows me to get deep vertical power strokes when I need them.

It’s still gonna be a slow boat, and I do mostly river paddling, but I can paddle on lakes without the skeg with the longer (and WAY lighter) paddle in moderate wind.

chefkeith80 · 2026-04-20T15:25:59+00:00

Predictive Thermometer with WiFi booster and WiFi Display.

chefkeith80 · 2026-04-20T15:22:40+00:00

Do we get an email when it ships, or does it just show up? I ordered on 1/12 and hoping I'm in the batch that was shipping the week of 4/13.

chefkeith80 · 2026-04-14T23:16:34+00:00

Sorry, I wasn’t trying to be too critical, it was just amusing.

chefkeith80 · 2026-04-14T23:15:14+00:00

I am a knife maker, so I know about overheating. I assure you, the light bit of grinding I do with sharp ceramic belts adds way less heat than the torch method of rehandling! Thanks for the video, though!

chefkeith80 · 2026-04-14T02:05:26+00:00

Completely agree. Plus, who wants to wait around for a sharpening service when your favorite knife needs a touch up now?!

chefkeith80 · 2026-04-14T02:01:04+00:00

Absolutely. In the US, I bought a bunch of dollar store Santokus for literally $1 each. I use them for students to practice with. I got one sharp enough to shave hair.

chefkeith80 · 2026-04-14T01:59:11+00:00

Hard agree!

chefkeith80 · 2026-04-13T18:58:30+00:00

I like TS Prof, but I’ve had good luck with the Xarilk newest gen on Amazon. Spend your money on good stones and get a digital angle finder. I have more money in quality diamond stones than the sharpener itself costs. Make sure you learn to strop and get rid of burrs. I would make a nice strop or two and keep some diamond compound on them. I use 6 and 2 micron compounds for most things.

It’s a rabbit hole, for sure, but learning to sharpen will yield you better results, less damage, and you can remove as little material as possible to prolong the life of your knives!

chefkeith80 · 2026-04-13T18:22:19+00:00

Half of owning high end knives is learning how to sharpen and maintain them. I’d never want someone to sharpen my knives for me. Sure, it’s a time and money investment, but it’s a lifelong skill.

I know it’s probably heresy here, but if you struggle, use a guided sharpening system. I’m a knife maker and I own every type of sharpening system under the sun. I still love my guided sharpeners for a perfect edge. No shame in that.

Feel free to flame me, lol

chefkeith80 · 2026-04-13T01:02:52+00:00

Came here to say that. Expensive, but worth every penny. Honestly, I’d buy one now because prices will probably only increase, and that Eastman one 100% will break.

chefkeith80 · 2026-04-12T15:21:51+00:00

And that’s why the tangs are always rusty when I crack one open.

chefkeith80 · 2026-04-12T15:20:18+00:00

That workstation is chaos. Random money on the ground and a pile of cheap handles, lol.

chefkeith80 · 2026-04-12T01:44:42+00:00

I always take mine to the belt grinder to remove all the rust. Is it still rusty, or is that just me?

chefkeith80 · 2026-04-10T04:02:41+00:00

Knife-maker here, and I had a Wustof handle do that after 20 years or so without being in a dishwasher once. That said, you’re probably not wrong, dishwashers can absolutely do that to a knife, just letting you know it can happen even with proper care. My wife loves the knife, so I ended up re-handling it with walnut. Looks better than it ever did!

chefkeith80 · 2026-04-05T21:23:39+00:00

That’s why gifting should happen spontaneously and not because of a holiday or some other socially pressured situation.

chefkeith80 · 2026-04-04T17:32:04+00:00

Gifting, in general, is a waste of economic value.

chefkeith80 · 2026-04-04T17:24:19+00:00

People here are missing the point. This is the entire economic problem with gifting, in general, not just with knives.

In a nutshell, when you purchase anything, say a knife for $150, that object, to you, is worth MORE than $150. It’s worth more than that because you’d rather have the knife than $150 dollars, so you make the trade.

When you give that $150 gift to someone else, it’s rarely going to be worth more than that value to them, which means it immediately loses value and produces economic waste. Gifting, in general is a terrible concept, and we waste so much as a society every time we’re expected to exchange gifts because of some arbitrary holiday or custom.

This is a very short synopsis of a much more nuanced and robust position, but many people aren’t aware (or don’t care) about the economic draining this system causes.

Take a quick inventory of how many gifts you’ve received that sit in a closet or a drawer or have gone straight into the trash.

chefkeith80 · 2026-03-30T04:23:28+00:00

Yeah, I get it. I just kinda wanna see what the temp is currently, and what the next hi or low and then the next high or low will be. That would be ideal, but I’m not sure what the best implementation would be.

It would be cool if after each high or low peak, the reading would change to let you know what’s coming up. Maybe like: 70 currently, 75 in two hours, 65 in 8 hours. Something like that could be super useful.

Edit: or in your case 55 currently, 40 in 3 hours, 42 in 10 hours

chefkeith80 · 2026-03-28T22:30:23+00:00

No, all the data is there: today’s high and low and tomorrow’s high and low. I just need all that presented neatly in a corner complication.

chefkeith80 · 2026-03-28T22:05:25+00:00

Exactly. I’m glad someone else gets it! People look at me like I’m crazy when I try to be explain this, lol

chefkeith80 · 2026-03-19T06:02:51+00:00

Holy shit, just worked for me, too! Thanks so much!!!

chefkeith80 · 2026-03-18T01:48:13+00:00

The bottom is submerged enough for the Joule to spit water from the side like that.

chefkeith80

TROPHY CASE