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Daniel D. Friel Sr., 92, mechanical engineer and inventor, founder of EdgeCraft Corporation

As with many husbands on Thanksgiving, Daniel D. Friel Sr. was asked by his wife to carve the big turkey. But when the soon-to-retire DuPont Co. executive tried to find a knife with a decent edge, he came up empty.

Daniel D. Friel Sr. founded EdgeCraft Corp.
Daniel D. Friel Sr. founded EdgeCraft Corp.Read more

As with many husbands on Thanksgiving, Daniel D. Friel Sr. was asked by his wife to carve the big turkey. But when the soon-to-retire DuPont Co. executive tried to find a knife with a decent edge, he came up empty.

"He attempted to sharpen them with what tools he had, and he found they didn't work. He basically made a mess of the turkey," Mr. Friel's son, Daniel Jr., said.

That experience led Mr. Friel Sr. to his life's Act II: founding EdgeCraft Corporation in Avondale, Pa., and developing the popular Chef'sChoice® line of culinary tools, including knife sharpeners, food slicers, and waffle makers.

Mr. Friel Sr., who was born in 1920 in Queenstown, Md., died of cancer Sept. 21 at age 92, EdgeCraft announced Monday.

He received a B.S. in chemical engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 1942, but his lifelong interest and aptitude in mechanical engineering led him first to designing optical apparatuses for the Manhattan Project at the University of Chicago and then to a 39-year career at DuPont, his son said.

He helped develop the Automatic Clinic Analyzer, known as ACA, which analyzes body fluids such as blood and urine. He also worked on the Riston Dry Film Photo Resist used to make circuit boards.

At the time of his retirement from DuPont, Mr. Friel Sr. was Worldwide Director of Instruments and Biomedical Products.

At home, working in his basement, he also invented his electric knife sharpener.

"He never looked at age as a limitation, I think he firmly believed that you could live a lot longer life and healthier life if you just kept pursuing your interests," his son said. A lazy retirement "wasn't in his language."

His son described Mr. Friel Sr. as hands-on, a passionate tinkerer dedicated to his work; the sentiment was echoed by friends and colleagues.

EdgeCraft President Sam Weiner worked for Mr. Friel Sr. at DuPont, and was later hired as Executive Vice President of EdgeCraft so that he could run the business, freeing up Mr. Friel Sr. to focus on research and development.

"In the early days, before they had computerized designs, [Mr. Friel Sr.] would be sitting at his desk sometimes drawing designs that he had in his head with pencil and ruler. It wasn't unusual even after computers to see him do that," Weiner said. "Just about every patent that the company has . . . he basically wrote those."

Weiner, who said he knew Mr. Friel Sr. for 35 years, remembered his friend's approachability and openness to all people.

In one case, an EdgeCraft salesman floated a product idea to Mr. Friel Sr., who developed it. When he applied for a patent, Mr. Friel Sr. made sure to include the salesman's name.

"As long as you were honestly trying to have a productive discussion, he never put any limits on the time," Weiner said. "He was incredibly patient, including as he became older, and he realized his own time was gonna run short."

That attitude struck Sharon Franke, director of Kitchen Appliances and Technology for the Good Housekeeping Research Institute. Franke said EdgeCraft products are regularly among the best in their categories, a success that she said is attributable directly to Mr. Friel Sr.

"He really cared about making the best possible products that he could make," said Franke. "He personally cared about giving the consumers the best information about using the products that he could, so even into [his] 80s he was developing recipes to go into the owners' manuals. He would spend days, weeks, fine-tuning waffles because he wanted everything perfect."

Mr. Friel Sr. is survived by his son and two daughters, Pattie Friel and Barbara Holme, and six grandchildren. He was married to his wife June for 65 years from 1943 until her death in 2008. In 2010, he married Carolyn Blish, who with her late former husband had long known the Friels.