AVONDALE, Pa.-Daniel D. Friel, founder, chairman and CEO of EdgeCraft, has died at the age of 92.
After graduating from Johns Hopkins University, Friel began his career by working on the Manhattan Project, in which the first atomic reactor was assembled. He then spent 39 years at DuPont, where he was credited with helping in the development of products such as Riston Dry Photo Resist, which is used in the manufacture of circuit boards.
Friel founded EdgeCraft after retiring from DuPont in 1985. In that year, the company debuted the Chef’sChoice electric knife sharpener, which is credited as a major advance in knife sharpeners and which earned the acclaim of celebrity chefs such as Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, Craig Claiborne and Pierre Franey, according to an EdgeCraft statement.
“Dan Friel literally established sharpeners as a separate and important product category in the worldwide consumer market,” said Sam Weiner, EdgeCraft’s president. “His unwavering commitment to quality and innovative excellence is a legacy that will live on through his family, friends, employees, the products he invented and the consumers who enjoy them.”
Friel is survived by his wife, Carolyn; three children, Barbara Holme, Patricia Friel and Daniel Friel Jr.; and six grandchildren.