puzzled.

I thought a while about what to put as the title of this thread. It could be a rant and rave or a question to other forum members.

The knife makers in japan and america that we love so much, for their hard work and dedication to an ancient artform of knife making, make these knives to be used. When people buy these knives and cannot use them properly and care form them, are they in the wrong? I see people with $1500-$3000 knives that cant cut mirepoix. Coming from a cooks perspective it annoys the shite out of me.

I guess it has to be just like anything else, if you can afford it than you can do what you want with it. I guess. But it just annoys me to see a picture of a ferrari in the hands of someone who should be driving a minivan.

My rant, my two cents. Tell me I'm wrong, but don't tell me I'm wrong unless you have knife skills.

I don't want to act like I am the best chef on the planet either. I know I still have much to learn.

 

Well let me flip the coin. How do I learn to use and care for a Japanese or American gyuto if I don't get one. I have a high pressure job and cooking is what I do to relax. And the feel of a nice sharp knife when I am making dinner brings a unique kind of joy to the equation.
I do like to take good care of my toys thou. But they are toys. And some people don't take good care of their toys. Not me thou.

 

So how many toys you actually need? How many of them you are using effectively? I dont know how many knives you in person have Rami, its not that I really care. It never stops to impress me how the person with KIWI knives can outcut person with Devin Thomas knives without breaking a sweat. Happens more more often than not.
At your high voltage job you are expected to perform, yet in the kitchen its just relaxing you say? Is that to say the food doesnt need to taste nice or?

Some years ago I would be more inclined to jump on it but the fact is that now Im just puzzled [and simply i s it on it]. But I have some other question....Why majority of the pro cooks that are using the knife on daily basis doesnt really care about what they are cutting with, and the members of general public that cannot cut mirepoix uses "grand a knife" knives??

Im all about promoting using high quality kitchen equipment since kitchen is the heart of any household, but overpaying to me feels wrong.
I guess it just makes the buyer feels better, not actually better

 

The food have to taste nice. What I meant is that when cooking I have to just think of the now. Not worry about the politics or the implications of your call. No schedules or budgets. I am not a professional cook. However I enjoy cooking and while I am not there yet I think I practice my knife skills often and try to improve them. The question of money is more a case of what people can afford and make them happy. I know people who spent a lot of money on boats, expensive cars and holiday houses. But for me I only need a few good knives . I may never cut like you guys but it makes me happy.

Btw I have only a modest set of knifes. A few good pieces from respected makers.

One last thing. I do try to take care of my toys. I am not for trashing other people work.

 

The simplest answer would be because they can .
It is a correlation between disposable income and wants not needs . How many times we recommend newbies all they need is a decent gyuto paring petty yet we all accumulate $$$ worth of same style knives mostly
Gyutos or yanagibas. At the end how many gyutos a person does REALLY need and after how much $$$ we are talking about wanting it rather then needing it?
Knives are not the deepest holes , you could be collecting guns ( $$$ on ammo) , wines ( $$$ one time use only) cars ( $$$$$$$) and so on
While a less talented or experienced user may not be able to use the tool to its potential , one thing would be certain that a purchase of a $$$$ knife is an emotional purchase than $200 one and it would make the owners happy every time they use it , but not necessarily from the performance point but more from the emotional point of having it.

 

I never said its wrong.
To make the short story shorter so its digestable - I dont want to see expensive knives or cars, im not the money kind of person. I like Benz W123 more than a maybach, and the person who restored it to perfect makes me wet down there.
What I want to see, is that the person who brags - or even shows off - about the certain goods - remember Oyvind? - can first use the goods to their full potential and then make comments about it.
Similar to cooking in car detailing, first comes the skill, show me the skill. This forums name is kitchenknifefora, not a expensiveboyondreasonknifefora.
So if you are just a buyer than your vote doesnt count, I suppose. ump
Again, Im not saying its wrong to help certain makers make their living, why?

 

Why would anyone care what someone else spends their money on or how well they use a tool....

 

Just to see the community blossom. What makes that happen is personal effort.

I want to see the pictures of awesome beautiful food made by the users here and feel we humanity are still able to make things with our own hands not just buy things.

 

I love knowing who made my tools, where my food comes from, and having a personal connection to the things around me. My knife skills were never "great", but since I'm not in a professional kitchen anymore, it really doesn't matter. Cooking in a professional kitchen is about speed and precision (though the price of the food will usually go up with precision). I remember, back in the day, having to get things out as quickly as possible, balancing 8 orders at a time, and keeping track of when stuff started cooking, so that it would all come out at the same time. It was not only physically demanding, but mentally taxing. Now, I can take more time prepping, and really figure out how I want to cook each ingredient to make my dishes. It is much more relaxed an atmosphere, and I have more freedom to experiment with varieties of food, rather than just learning one menu with a few weekly specials thrown in.

I share my passion as much as possible with everyone I meet. I don't preach, but I do know how to talk about food and tools, so that people become more curious. I know this won't change how some people go about their lives, but we live in a different kind of world, where time is precious, and some people, without knowledge or willingness to learn, find it easier to have someone else do things for them. We each find beauty in life in what we do (or at least I hope we do), and though I wish I could relay that beauty to everyone, sometimes it's just not possible. Live your life for you, share it with the people around you, be open when someone doesn't believe the same things, and buy whatever knife you want, but please do use it (even with very little skill). All in all, practice will increase your skill, and we all started somewhere.

 

I guess you should first step back and ask yourself if you own any kind of toy, tool, car, bike, gun etc. that you can't use to it's full potential and then you will have your answer. You don't have to be the best at using something to own, use and enjoy it. Kind of like saying if your ugly you don't need nice cloths.

 

+1 Spaz, and you said it sooo much nicer then I could have.

 

Wait, I can get nice clothes?

 

They make me happy when I use them. I have few toys and fewer vices. There's a couple things I'm at . I'm a decent father, tolerable husband, a pretty good musician and (humbly) a really good cook. It's way past the point of justifying the guitars I play or the knives I use. To me, it's part of celebration if life. Of course , there are people with way more money than sense that actually trash their stuff. That's a different story. I've repaired plenty of knives for others and currently own some beatiful instrument that were disrespected.

 

Are you ugly..hehe, kidding of course.

 

Said it much better than I could.

 

me? No:k

 

Hmm. I guess I don't see uber knife skills as the defining characteristic of this community. What I do see is passion for food, passion for the knife making craft, and (often) passion for things beyond the kitchen. People here have an enormous appreciation for well made knives and handles, evidenced by the very active vendor threads. And look at the 'What's Cooking' thread...people here make some damn good (and beautiful) food. When someone takes the time to think about a dish, make it, then photograph it for all of us to see....that is a love of food and cooking. Do you think the knife makers are concerned with the quality of the dice at point. I would think they are far more pleased at how happy we all are putting their craftsmanship to use.

 

My knife skills fall somewhere between chimpanzee and toddler. I can't even cook well. I should take videos to offend people who care.

 

I bet Devin, Randy, Luke, Pierre, Bill, Michael, Del, Marko, Martell, Don, Ian, Will, and whole lot of others don't care as much for the reason for buying knives

Hunters have routinely bought very expensive collectible knives that get almost no use, not to mention the number of guns that never get fired in a year. I have a lot of knives, but I do a rotation. I bring a batch upstairs and use until they need sharpening, then swap them out. The others then go down to the sharpening den for me to play with in another way. Others yet will be tinkered with in terms of putting a mirror finish on, thinning, or something else. It's all good. Are they all being used like a line cook knife -- nope. Nor do I care that they are. With that said, I have lent several of my knives out to chefs who have used them in pro kitchens.

Regardless, I would wager that most people in their lives have some area where they over subscribe yet under utilize their assets.

But with that said, there is something to be said about enjoying one's passions and learning from it. I agree that if a person just buys expensive knives and never uses them -- but only puts them behind some drawer-queen piece of glass without use -- that that is sad. But even then, you don't really know what is going on. Maybe that person loves to cook but doesn't have the family or job situation to promote it and buying knives is one way s/he keeps interest. Who knows? Or cares?

I will fully admit that while I have been taking care of a 1 and 3 year old, that I have taken poorer care of my knives, sharpened them less often, followed the forums less, and often coarsely cut my veggies to save time -- and I also bought fewer sharp things. But things change. People cook more, then less, then more again. Knives get bought -- and eventually are sold. Oh well…

What's worse? A guy who buys snow skis (for example) yet doesn't have the time to use them? Or a guy that used to ski often but gained weight and let his health go yet keeps his skis for no reason? Or maybe the ski instructor that teaches prople all day, but no longer enjoys skiing. Or how about the guy who should have bought health insurance yet bought skis instead? Or what about the guy who bought his skis from Chef Knives to Go?? F**k him, right? I know, it is a stupid example, but knives like skis are just things and people use things in different ways and for different reasons.

Oh well, I have had my drink on tonight, and thanks for giving a thread for me to ramble…off to bed said the 750ml dead soldier

k.

 

You mean like this? Michael Rader custom damascus paring knife. Wood from Burlsource.