
The Gentleman Grafter - chaostheory
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2006/05/grafter200605?currentPage=all
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kalvin
I was at the Union Square market in September and watched this guy in action a
couple times (he takes 2-3 minutes to run through his entire spiel and
demonstration-- which is incredibly impressive-- then sells about 20 of them,
then repeats)... he sells the peeler for $5 (or 5 for $20, I think) and it's a
Swiss-made Star brand peeler that you can find on eBay for around $3-$4, but
then you have to pay shipping.

The actual peeler is very sharp and well-designed, but it's not magical-- he
just happens to be incredibly good at wielding it on huge amounts of potatoes
and carrots. Also, he has something of a reality distortion field...

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conorh
I just used one of his peelers to peel apples for an apple pie for
thanksgiving. I have no idea if it is any better than your average peeler, but
it works great for me ;) He has an amusing line if you only buy one - "one for
the man with no friends." I think I'm going to buy a few of these and send
them off to some ex-New Yorkers I know. They make great memorabilia for those
in the know ;)

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icey
Here's the guy in action:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGOjFhKeLiU>

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nadim
Shows the importance of having an exceptional demo of your product.

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13ren
I have one of these (or had - lost somewhere) and they are fantastic. A real
pleasure to use. They fit snugly in hand, and you can drive force into the
work. The metal itself somehow feels soft. There's even an integrated
component for removing eyes from potatoes (I never use that; but I like the
idea).

I don't know if they are really all that great - however, they are so much
better than the standard ones (pencil shaped).

As in the old saying, you don't have to make a perfect mousetrap - just a
_better_ one.

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AlexeyMK
Its interesting to me that he's not making eye contact. Does that project
confidence ("I don't need to look at you to know that I've got your
attention"), or am I overthinking this?

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unalone
I think it's like he says in the article - he deals with crowds, not with
people. His focus is on the product alone.

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mechanical_fish
Yes, that's right. His relentless focus on the product keeps _your_ focus on
the product. And it sends the message you want to send about any product: This
thing is so damned fascinating that you could spend all day playing with it.

Also, eye contact is subliminally threatening. That's probably not good for
sales, particularly in a big city like New York, where a stranger who
approaches you and makes eye contact activates the Shields Up response. (The
odds that he is about to ask you for money are really, really high. Especially
if he starts some big, rambling story instead of just immediately asking you
for directions.) Moreover, scaring people is not something you want to do if
you want to have a decades-long career, in one neighborhood, doing something
that is technically illegal. One's first on-street encounter with a squatting,
potato-obsessed geek with a knife in his hand is probably scary enough without
having to know that _he's looking at you_.

Finally, I'd guess that eye contact is risky because it turns the show from a
monologue into a dialogue. What if the mark starts an argument? Or runs away
in terror? How would _that_ play to the rest of the audience? Even a friendly
chat could be bad for business if it takes up too much time that could be
better spent running the spiel for a fresh set of passersby.

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truebosko
Looking at YouTube it seems to be he sells the "Star Swiss Peeler" .. Can
anyone verify this?

I really want one after looking at him use it. Godamn he's even good across
the tubes :)

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chaostheory
if he is selling it, he does offer a pretty good deal at $5

this site: <http://www.simplygoodstuff.com/star_peeler.html> sell it for $6.95
(not including shipping and handling)

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ciscoriordan
Interesting guy, and good article too. It's not every day I read an article
about a guy who sells potato peelers and enjoy it.

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TweedHeads
RIP

