Marko, I think you are right on. That is exactly how I landed here. About one year ago I purchased the ZK 10" chef and was surprised that something so much better than the junk I was buying at Macy's existed. Getting the ZK and finding out that it just kicked the crap out of the Testy Chef knives my wife just bought was a revelation. Who would have known that I was getting ripped off for all those years buying all those crappy, stamped-out, mass produced German knives from Macy's?
Some may believe that SLT shouldn't raise the price on the ZK knives but, at the store I went into a year ago they did have some idea what they were talking about. And, the higher price point made me want to understand why they cost more.
I went in wanting a better knife and I admit I wanted something pretty to sit on the chopping board, that was more than half of it. I started out looking at the Shun because that is what a local chef told me was the best. And, there are some very pretty Shun knives in that glass display-alter at SLT. I really wanted that birch handle Shun!
As I learned more from the sales guy, he started telling me about the 52100 carbon steel and what properties it imparted to a knife. He talked about the blackwood handles and the bolster and the fact they were make in Seki Japan and designed by some guy named Bob. He talked about the kind of edge these knives can achieve and the ease of sharpening. He never talked down the other knives, just tried to inform me on the differences. He said most don't like the fact that the carbon will stain, unlike the stainless Shun.
I bought the ZK even though I REALLY wanted the beautiful birch handle Shun. The ZK felt better in my hand and it was easy to slice up the veggies they had. I really had little idea what I was doing or getting into. But, it turned out to be a wonderful knife and I loved the patina and became taken by the utilitarian look of the knife.
And, it got me here last summer. This somewhat superficially based purchase lead me to this forum. That in turn lead me to learn more; more about how to hold and use a knife correctly. More about sharpening and stones and stropping and geometry. There is a sort of zen of cutting and prepping and sharpening. Who would have known? It all started by walking into SLT.
So, I wouldn't be too hard on them. And, although I'd never heard of Bob Kramer, he really is out there showing a lot of people like me that there is something more than department store cutlery.
Oh, that $1,800 ZK custom knife in the SLT glass display-alter. That is really what got me here. It is such a cool knife for someone that has never seen anything like it before. When the sales guy told me about it, I realized that there must be small custom knife makers out there. The search for Bob lead me here and to all of the Japanese style knives that are out there. I really want to try one of the knives I read about here. That is next.
I suspect a lot of people get to the point of buying a custom knife by first traveling the road I am on.