You never know where creative people get their inspiration. In one case, a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan found solace in the relationships he built while shucking for hungry oyster lovers, which led to an entertaining podcast. In another, an environmental entreprenuer developed an artistic outlet by creating hand-crafted oyster knives in between his duties as coach of his son’s hockey team. These are just two examples of how incredibly inspirational oysters can be.
Meet the Oyster Ninja
Championship shucker Gardner Douglas shares his passion online
You’d think that someone who styles himself as an “Oyster Ninja” would be over the top, but when you meet this gentle man, you’ll quickly realize what a misnomer it is. Distinctly humble for a nationally ranked oyster shucker who’s competed in contests as far afield as Prince Edward Island, Gardner Douglas has also launched a series of podcasts and YouTube videos where he shares his knowledge and skills.
In one video, Douglas demonstrates the various traditional methods of shucking oysters—from the back (“hinging”) or from the front (“stabbing”)—and the styles of knives best designed for each approach. He’s a natural on camera, immediately likeable and fun to watch. He seems to have a magical empathy with his audience.
“I grew up on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, near Chincoteague,” he recalled in a recent interview. “My grandmother raised me. I was brought up in church, and my grandmother would take me along to visit sick neighbors and old folks’ homes. She taught me about caring about people—that stuck in me.”
Douglas was in his early 20s when he met his father. “He’s the one who taught me how to shuck oysters,” he said. “They’d hire me and my dad and some other shuckers to work at oyster-and-bull roasts around the region.”
After joining the Army National Guard, he was deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 2013. When he came back a year later, he said, “I wanted something that would be a stress-reliever; I wanted to be on cruise control for a while. I found that in oysters. It was also a good way to meet people. I’m shucking oysters and feeding you and sharing memories about your first oyster or your first oyster knife, growing up on the water, stuff like that. It brings you closer to people.”
Eventually, Douglas started his own business, S.S.Shucking, shucking at private parties in the D.C. area and as far away as Philadelphia. “Then I got into competition,” he recalls. “It was so wonderful meeting other shuckers and learning about their cultures. Everywhere on the East Coast, Canada, New England, the Carolinas, has a different culture, all familiar, but all different as well.” He shares what he’s learned in his social media. “The podcast tells the smaller stories that don’t make the headlines. It’s sharing the stories, sharing the struggles, breaking the myths and teaching people about oysters,” he said.
Douglas produces two episodes per month. “The thing about me,” he explains, “I’ve always been an entrepreneur, but the podcast has been a whole different journey. One of my mentors said I have good stories to tell. I asked myself, are people interested in what I’m interested in? I couldn’t find anything close to what I wanted to do. I loved learning about recording audio and video and editing, how to tell a story. I can guide the conversation where I want it to go, where it will entertain the audience. It’s been really fun.” And it shows.
You can follow Douglas on Instagram at @s.s.shucking and find The Oyster Ninja Podcast on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Creating a Custom Oyster Knife
Environmentalist Drew Koslow makes one-of-a-kind masterpieces for shuckers.
Drew Koslow knows oysters inside and out. The former head of the South River Federation in Annapolis first got involved restoring an oyster sanctuary on Glebe Bay. Since then, he has become something of an environmental entrepreneur, managing nitrogen reclamation projects on Delmarva farms out of Easton. He has also delved into the craft of creating beautifully finished custom oyster knives.
“I’ve been a woodworker for quite a few years,” he told me recently. “When I had my kid (now 10 years old), I didn’t have the time to do big projects. Our local farmer’s market had a knife maker, and I’d spend a lot of time picking his brain. After a while, he said, ‘You should just make a knife.’ ”
With his mentor’s guidance, Koslow eventually became skilled at creating his own knives. Concentrating on oyster shucking knives seemed a natural choice. “I don’t forge my own steel,” he explained. His real artistic contribution is the beautifully finished handles with resin-impregnated wood. “A blacksmith in Portland, Oregon, provides the blade blanks for the oyster knives. They come to me as daggers, and I grind the tip into a rounded shape for opening oysters from the hinge. I haven’t found a blank yet for a blade for lip-shuckers, even though the more savvy shuckers use that technique.”
Drew Koslow knows oysters inside and out. The former head of the South River Federation in Annapolis first got involved restoring an oyster sanctuary on Glebe Bay. Since then, he has become something of an environmental entrepreneur, managing nitrogen reclamation projects on Delmarva farms out of Easton. He has also delved into the craft of creating beautifully finished custom oyster knives.
“I’ve been a woodworker for quite a few years,” he told me recently. “When I had my kid (now 10 years old), I didn’t have the time to do big projects. Our local farmer’s market had a knife maker, and I’d spend a lot of time picking his brain. After a while, he said, ‘You should just make a knife.’ ”
With his mentor’s guidance, Koslow eventually became skilled at creating his own knives. Concentrating on oyster shucking knives seemed a natural choice. “I don’t forge my own steel,” he explained. His real artistic contribution is the beautifully finished handles with resin-impregnated wood. “A blacksmith in Portland, Oregon, provides the blade blanks for the oyster knives. They come to me as daggers, and I grind the tip into a rounded shape for opening oysters from the hinge. I haven’t found a blank yet for a blade for lip-shuckers, even though the more savvy shuckers use that technique.”
Koslow has created upwards of 200 shucking knives, marketed strictly through social media. “I might do a craft show this winter, but I’m also coaching my son’s hockey team, and that comes first.” The knives cost between $175 and $250, depending upon the type of steel and the type of wood. “Every single piece of wood is unique,” he said, “and if you just happen to make your curves with the grain, you sand it and shade it, but you don’t know how the grain looks until you stain it. Sometimes I do knives on commission. Every one is one-of-a-kind because every piece of wood is different. Given how many knives I’ve made, I’m surprised how excited I get when that first coat of stain reveals the grain.”
Contact Drew Koslow at [email protected] or @DDJK_Knives on Instagram.
