I have a real problem ...

It might sound familiar ... I just cannot STOP BUYING KNIVES!!! And it's getting worse, as I have really fallen in love with the whole process of talking to custom makers about knives ... AAARGH. I even caught myself cheating on this forum with the German knife forum, just to find new/unique makers. Unfortunately I succeeded and found a young maker who lives 5 minutes from my parents house in the middle of effin Germany. Guess who's visiting his parents next week? Guess whom else is that certain someone going to visit? :O

I know at least some of you guys have that problem as well ... hmmmm ... all of you?

What is your solution?

- Talk to a therapist?

- Self imposed limit ($ or #) per year? (or is it month?)

- One in, one out?

- Have wife/gf/parents/guardians/priest sign off on every purchase?


I am not really sure I want help, but I think I need it LOL

i feel your pain. Maybe we should talk about a knife exchange so we get to swap and handle more knives with buying every one of them. Set up rules for care, use, sharpening etc. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with. There are much worse vices anyhow.

Ha ha, I have a one in and one out policy now.

I only buy Japanese if it's suitable for a lefty and only buy custom gyuto if the maker will make it in either Masamoto or Mizuno profile.

I know I'm strange and will eventually end up with a huge collection of (almost) clones but with slightly different geometry and handles. :wink:

I think when the first wave hit me then I realized half the expensive knives I was buying didn't fit into my work routine/needs at all and were not fit for a professional kitchen I toned it down some. Now it's mostly sell something then get something, and I have lost my taste for customs.

just keep on buying until you feel a relief... then start selling.

The good thing is that I'm willing to take a hit on knives I'm selling. I totally see that as the "fee" I'm paying for getting to use them (for some time)...

Mrmnms said:

i feel your pain. Maybe we should talk about a knife exchange so we get to swap and handle more knives with buying every one of them. Set up rules for care, use, sharpening etc. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with. There are much worse vices anyhow.

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There's an idea: a Knife timeshare!!! [emoji23][emoji12]

alterwisser said:

There's an idea: a Knife timeshare!!! [emoji23][emoji12]

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That could work!

Each put in about 8% of the cost of a custom and then it's yours for 1 month of each year. As most people around here keep their knives on rotation would mean that it would probably work out just right. :wink:

MAS4T0 said:

That could work!

Each put in about 8% of the cost of a custom and then it's yours for 1 month of each year. As most people around here keep their knives on rotation would mean that it would probably work out just right. :wink:

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Brilliant. I will say that although I had a couple knives come back to me in less than ideal condition, almost every time I've loaned out a knife to a solid forum member they came back as I hoped they would or better. I even had a member do a awesome job re etching a damascus gyuto he tried. He put A LOT of time in on it. We just have to set up some rules we can all live with.

MAS4T0 said:

That could work!

Each put in about 8% of the cost of a custom and then it's yours for 1 month of each year. As most people around here keep their knives on rotation would mean that it would probably work out just right. :wink:

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We could even add some clause that after everyone had it and someone wants to drop out, shares can be sold OR if it's less than X people interested in keeping the knife permanently there could be a lottery among the remaining interested who gets the right to buy all remaining shares...

Things to ponder lol! Now good luck agreeing on a custom with 12 people involved [emoji12][emoji23]

Shares in a knife... LOL... well, maybe not even a bad idea...

I've read the OP 10 times now, and still cannot find what the problem is.

WildBoar said:

I've read the OP 10 times now, and still cannot find what the problem is.

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+1

I buy a lot of knives under $200 and really I know what I want and it costs more. I only like chuka and I want a wide bevel one so it doesn't look like butt when I sharpen. Sounds like a Heiji right?

WildBoar said:

I've read the OP 10 times now, and still cannot find what the problem is.

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You got 99 problems, but more knives ain't one? [emoji6][emoji106]🏻[emoji380]

I found the best method to stop my compulsion to buy another knife is to buy another jnat. You should try it, it really works!

Doug said:

I found the best method to stop my compulsion to buy another knife is to buy another jnat. You should try it, it really works!

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I haven't bought one yet. And I am trying not to do so for the same reason I am not trying cocaine ...

Well, a couple of years ago my goal was almost to amass a library of the various natural stones of Japan, but partly skipping the usually better-known but over-valued Kyoto finer stones for the most part, partly because they seemed too obvious and sometimes I like to find my own thing. I kind of did it enough that I felt satisfied and, partly because there are limits to the whole enterprise, my interest is abating. I actually never had any collection 'goal' and it was all more about how it developed.

With knives, I dunno, I like to have a few around but only what I feel I can use, and that means there are big limits. I may have worked in restaurants, but don't now and have a family of 3 so do I need large-length gyuto or several yanagiba? Nope. For one thing, just having blades sitting around that craftspeople have spent careful hours of toil and attention on to produce, well, seems quite vain if it's basically for my amusement rather than intended purpose. I guess it doesn't sit well with me. Meanwhile, I think I'm also able to 'limit' my human urge to still get more and more because the knives I get are Japanese and part of the whole Japanese thing is usually some sense of minimalism, moderation and modesty, and so the signs of excess you see often enough on KKF can be a turn off. It's a cliché of course, and if you walk around parts of Tokyo this sense of minimalism won't seem to hold true at all, but you know what I mean and I think we often appreciate some elements of 'Japanese-ness' in J-blades. For me this sense also naturally limits interest in ugly, crazy custom handles and ostentatious damascus blades, which to me don't always seem appropriate or tasteful. Regarding makers, unless there's some long-standing reason for loyalty, maybe because you're from the same region and your mentor did the same and you have ties and a great working relationship with a certain maker, then otherwise I feel it's a bit boring and unimaginative to overly pursue a single maker and buy multiple knives from him, and maybe it's even sometimes kind of lame, and this also limits my collection urge in that regard. No, I've never felt the urge to get a dozen shig-o's. Yeah, like almost everyone I have $ limits too, but there are several other constraints that keep me from bankruptcy, come to think of it, and thanks for that.

I here ya, how many gyutos is enough right? I've got two wall magnets that hold about 18 to 20 knives and half of them are Gyutos. After five years at it, the collection is getting really tight. I laugh when I think back to the time I thought a $200 knife was then end all. I've gone through maybe fifty knives in various steels, profiles and handles. Least I found what works for me: Gyutos. Long ones and short ones. Suij's and a 150 petty. Lone gone is the deba, nakiri, yanagiba, usuba, honesuke, kiritusuke tipped gyutos. Ilike Chinese clever's too.

Mucho Bocho said:

I've got two wall magnets that hold about 18 to 20 knives and half of them are Gyutos.

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That's another thing! And you can fit that many on? I allow myself just one mag-bar which can take, say, 5 or 6 gyuto, but never does because I need other knives there too, so only 5 or so at any point, and the rest are off in the 'knife/stone' store room. This is because it's boring to always see the same stuff, but also because it's too much to see way more knives around on hand than I'll need. I'll just have 2 gyuto on hand, for example, because isn't the point of them that they're all-around knives anyway? So, in principle we should just maybe have the one, ... or two, or three maybe ... just in case.

Cannot think why I'd need so many gyuto, but am currently wondering how I can move nearer the sea so as to have an excuse to have more 1-bevels, and use them too. To me that'd be more of a knife nirvana.

I get what you're saying. Absolutely. I also don't see the point of having 19 Shigs ... but hey, I don't like Shigs. Just sold the second one I tried. I won't buy another one (I know I just offended the whole continent of Australia. Friends. Forgive me! I still love you, I am a huge fan of Andrew Bogut and Mert Tansu!)

I could totally see myself ending up with a limited number of knives I really like. But I feel I have a bit of a journey in front of me until I figure out which ones to keep ...

Absolutely get your point about Damascus though. I would add handles. Some are soooo over the top, especially when combined with extravagant blades. But again, it's a personal taste. To each it's own ...

Asteger said:

Well, a couple of years ago my goal was almost to amass a library of the various natural stones of Japan, but partly skipping the usually better-known but over-valued Kyoto finer stones for the most part, partly because they seemed too obvious and sometimes I like to find my own thing. I kind of did it enough that I felt satisfied and, partly because there are limits to the whole enterprise, my interest is abating. I actually never had any collection 'goal' and it was all more about how it developed.

With knives, I dunno, I like to have a few around but only what I feel I can use, and that means there are big limits. I may have worked in restaurants, but don't now and have a family of 3 so do I need large-length gyuto or several yanagiba? Nope. For one thing, just having blades sitting around that craftspeople have spent careful hours of toil and attention on to produce, well, seems quite vain if it's basically for my amusement rather than intended purpose. I guess it doesn't sit well with me. Meanwhile, I think I'm also able to 'limit' my human urge to still get more and more because the knives I get are Japanese and part of the whole Japanese thing is usually some sense of minimalism, moderation and modesty, and so the signs of excess you see often enough on KKF can be a turn off. It's a cliché of course, and if you walk around parts of Tokyo this sense of minimalism won't seem to hold true at all, but you know what I mean and I think we often appreciate some elements of 'Japanese-ness' in J-blades. For me this sense also naturally limits interest in ugly, crazy custom handles and ostentatious damascus blades, which to me don't always seem appropriate or tasteful. Regarding makers, unless there's some long-standing reason for loyalty, maybe because you're from the same region and your mentor did the same and you have ties and a great working relationship with a certain maker, then otherwise I feel it's a bit boring and unimaginative to overly pursue a single maker and buy multiple knives from him, and maybe it's even sometimes kind of lame, and this also limits my collection urge in that regard. No, I've never felt the urge to get a dozen shig-o's. Yeah, like almost everyone I have $ limits too, but there are several other constraints that keep me from bankruptcy, come to think of it, and thanks for that.

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I sell anything I don't feel passionate about. Guess my pricepoint and consequent lack of input (ie. Not custom) make it a fairly simple decision making process. Though I suspect the more knives at your disposal the less opportunity you have to put in quality time with each of them (unless you're working!)... It's a tough one!

My solution is manyfold. Forst of all - I am not keeping 'overhead' knives and since a long time I am concentrating on getting that 'dream team' together and once some knife really fits its place I stop looking. For example - once I got my gyuto from Andy - I stopped looking for more. Do other knives teas me and make me want to try them? Sure, but I do not. The same goes for my little 110 R2 paring knife from Blazen. Not the a knife to win beauty contest, but it does its job so amazingly well that I completely stopped looking at similar knives. Now not everything is all set and done, but my knife buying activities wound down a lot. There is a little trouble in a paradise - I did not manage to hold up not to buy the Kochi 180 santoku and now I have in from of my Kochi 180 and Yoshikane SLK 165 Hakata - two knives that serve about the same purpose - and I really like them both. And that does not fit my minimal redundancy approach.

But what also helped was to start a new hobby - knifemaking. You would not believe how much you can spend just on some basic stuff - in particular when you had basically 0 usable tools. That leaves no funds for knives

alterwisser said:

Absolutely get your point about Damascus though. I would add handles. Some are soooo over the top, especially when combined with extravagant blades. But again, it's a personal taste. To each it's own ...

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I had a weird reaction in Japan, first time I paid attention to knife sales. Shop after shop I noticed it was wall-to-wall ho-handles, and I was kind of appalled. No variety? Then I got used to it and thought, who cares and why not? It's about the blades isn't it, and of course there are several sound practical reasons behind the 'standard' handles too.

With damascus I'll make an exception for Shig kitaeji, of which I don't own one. Don't know if there's another example like this. With kitaeji, there's a practical idea behind their design (strength, if someone reading this isn't aware), and so fully justified in my book. Aesthetically, I don't know if I'd prefer one over a 'humble' kasumi, and maybe not. However, if I was going to buy a yanagiba to last for 30+ years and not warp, then sounds like the kitaeji'd be the way to go over kasumi. (Would probably only need the one though, and stop there.)

Matus said:

... once some knife really fits its place I stop looking...

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I like this idea.

Also, regarding knife-making: sure, I've seen it done and small things take ages. Personally, I'd be into the grinding/finishing/sharpening, yes, but not the whole forging BBQ pit thing, no. I was always more of a garde manger than a grill dude.

For me what helps (apart from being piss-poor) is having the discipline to only buy knives that I really need and would use.
Hence, I will never get any yanagiba or usuba because I never do any fancy Japanese cooking or delicate paper thin cuts. Nor do I eat (or prepare) much fish, so the deba is out as well. But because I do eat a lot of chicken (and take apart my own) I do allow myself a honesuki.

Then, like Matus, there's the discipline of 'why replace something that you have no complaints about'.
So for example, I use Robert Herder and Opinel for small paring knives. These are dirt cheap, probably work at least 80 or 90% as well as knives 10x as expensive and that's perfectly fine considering I barely ever use a paring knife (I have 3 speed peelers that see far more use).

Also, finding out 'what you like' can often be done 'on the cheap'. Finding out which length and profile works for you can often be tested on a dirt cheap blade.

Then, ask yourself the question what a certain knife purchase would add to your kitchen: how much extra cooking quality will a 7th gyuto add? Unless you're some kind of culinary-inclined octopus, it won't give you any new options, make cooking any easier or any more fun. It's plain and simple collectors greed, but it isn't actually adding to the 'quality of life' of your cooking. However, adding a petty when you have none, or any other knife type you're lacking but that might be useful, can really be a useful new arrow in your quiver.

And maybe most important: simply consider to what alternative ends you can put the money. A 300 dollar gyuto might not exactly drop jaws on this forum, but 200 dollars can buy you a lot of 'fun'. If you get much fun from putting a 10th gyuto on your mag-rack, fine by me. But the same money could also buy you 20 pounds of awesome meat, 30 pounds of great cheese, a skiing trip or other kind of short mini-vacation, 20 fantastic books, a fun little road-trip, or the best birthday gift ever for your little kiddo.
Hey I like collecting and gathering fun stuff as well, but in the end it's just stuff. Stuff is only useful to the extend that you can use it to generate happyness. When collecting you reach a point of diminishing returns (in happyness) and it might be smarter to invest the money in other directions that generate more happyness for your money.

... once some knife really fits its place I stop looking...

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I like this idea.

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I like the idea, too. But... I had a Suisin Inox honyaki gyuto and thought I'd never need another gyuto again. But then I participated in a Dalman passaround and I absolutely loved the grind. And then I got to use some workhorses and found out I loved the Kochi. And then I had the opportunity to use the workhorse of workhorses, a Kato. And I fell in love again. And now Cris is going to make an ueber-workhorse for me...

Still like the idea, though

A guy just has to have some hobbies, and he just has to decorate the walls of the man cave with all the fancy man toys, this is a scientific, fundamental, existential, and whatever, truth about a human male. :cool2:

In all seriousness though, I cope with this kind of issues by spending my time and energy mostly on cooking rather than on gears. This way the whole experience of being a knife nut became much more enjoyable, and the values of those purchases became self-evident.

I guess the desire to not desire is the only problem here, you just need to dance in the flow. (of new fancy knives) :laugh:

Cheers,
Lean

Jovidah said:

... how much extra cooking quality will a 7th gyuto add? Unless you're some kind of culinary-inclined octopus, it won't give you any new options, make cooking any easier or any more fun. It's plain and simple collectors greed...

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Agreed. And love the octopus analogy.

Don't know if anyone here has heard of the study/studies that rate happiness as being proportional to greater income, but only to a certain extent and stopping at about $80,000 (although I don't know which $-currency that meant, presumably the USD, and how it would be relative country to country - people can google as always). So, beyond that there apparently is no more happiness to be found through getting more $; sorry for any big-earners reading this. Makes me wonder what findings the world's great researchers would get if they directed their talents toward knife purchasing? What is the optimal gyuto number, and can one be content without a deba, even a chukabocho, and does anyone really need any Shig? Time the world took a closer look.

Just re-reading my previous post. I think that if there's a theme in my "portfolio", it's a variety a grinds. Grinds that work. As much as I love good-looking knives, the ultimate beauty is in well thought out and crafted cutting performance. The knives I love most are functional art. Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance.