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Great Gift Ideas From TspAz.com — 13 Comments

  1. I’m looking closely at some higher-end knives, and everything I know I learned here. Back in July someone mentioned the Tojiro knives to compare with the Shun premier. Has anyone else been able to compare the two yet?

    • All I can say is I own two Shun’s I love the both. From what I have read the Tojiro knives are great and you can’t go wrong with them either. Honestly in choosing between the two I think you should do what your instinct tells you and you are going to be happy either way. There is a level of performance you get from a knife where you are either not going to do any better OR you are going to have to go to a knife made by a master craftsmen to do better and you have reached the limit to what to expect from a production knife. I think the real difference once you get to that level is marketing.

      Personally I think both will preform great.

      Your choice to me is, the Tojiro costs less, the Shun to me anyway looks better, a lot better, it is flatly beautiful. I think the Tojiro is over done with the Japanese letters, etc. but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

  2. I can’t argue w any of these. However, the Gerber
    Eab lite may be the best knife I’ve ever owned. It
    does all the crap work and u change the blade
    and it keeps going. I’ve lost a few and have given
    at least a dozen as gifts. I have two working now
    , and two backups in their packages waiting to
    come into play or get gift wrapped. With the exception
    of the Mora this is the most useful knife ever. Buy 10

    • Just mirroring this… I bought one on Jack’s recommendation, and it is my most used knife. It is neat looking, always sharp (b/c replaceable blades), and is SO incredibly small that it is perfect for any situation.

  3. Jack, I need to replace an old burned out gas BBQ. Need something suitable for a small family (me my wife and two boys under 6). I have the Webber charcoal kettle (with smokinator) you recommend but unless I just missed it I don’t think I’ve seen you recommend a gas BBQ. Any thoughts? Thanks.

    • I don’t need the super high end model with all the gadgets, but I’m on board with spending enough to get something that will last. Does that help?

      • Please give me actual numbers. Top end, and bottom end. Because I want to tell you to get a weber, gadgets are pointless but a good grill frame isn’t but if you are under a weber I will see what I can come up with in your budget.

  4. OK sounds good. Most of the stuff I see at Lowes/Home Depot is in the $300-400 range (although most of that stuff isn’t Webber). That sounds reasonable to me. but if there’s a reason, like a solid frame, to go higher, I can do that.

    • Okay if you won’t go over 400 I would not even put you in the 3-400 range. The best performance you can find under 400 is the Char-Broil Performance TRU Infrared Series go here, http://amzn.to/2gfndyb

      Pick the size and configuration you want. Note you can get a cabinet style where you have hidden castors or a cart with visible wheels. I would personally get the cart style now that they have it. These grills let you sear like nothing in the price range and they almost never flare up. If you clean the tops every time you use them you will get years of service from it. The cover is worth the extra money.

      I say all this with the following, if you are willing to spend say 500, get a Weber Spirit 3 burner http://amzn.to/2gftpG2 , You can actually get a Spirit with two burners for 399, but I can’t see spending that much for a two burner grill.

      If you get the three burner Spirit for 499 and keep it clean and covered when not being used you will likely have it for 10 years or more and will still be able to sell it for 200-300 if you take care of it after that long.

      And you likely only will want to do so if you want to upgrade to its bigger brother the Genesis http://amzn.to/2gBWuwf

      FWIW I own a Char-Broil Infrared and I love it for what it is but my personal next new grill will be a Genesis.

      Note Amazon will ship any of these to your house for free. Oh and for about 80 bucks extra, a person will come after it is delivered, assemble it for you and the best part they will take away all the garbage when finished.