Too beautiful to use

[Salty dog]

It's exactly why I sold my Kramer. I couldn't bring myself to use it. I currently have one other knife that I can't use. I'd sell it but not everyone is willing to drop 5K on a yanagi.

 

[DaveRossy]

Thats how I feel Salty, I was an in house chef for Williams Sonoma for a time and they would sell some items like Dinnerware that the customers would buy and then display like the china that never gets used. I agree, knives of this quality should be used, that's what they are made for but I have to wonder, why bother to make some of them super shiny or put beautiful wooden handles on them, your not going to see them :scratchhead: Not trying to piss anyone off, I just feel that some could easily be a work of art and that would be its purpose..........just to look stunning :hungry:

 

[Pensacola Tiger]

Dave, perhaps this might be useful to you:

Functional Art

"Functional art is something which is both beautiful and useful. Functional art lets us bring works of creativity and beauty into our everyday lives, in our case, knives that are of a high artistic quality and craftsmanship."

I'd venture to guess that most of us here place the "useful" aspect pretty high in importance.

Rick

 

[Seth]

I like Theory's comment on making the knife your own but I think it is not a black/white situation - it doesn't have to be a hardcore tool vs. collector's item. There may be a bit of collector on my part mixed in with using my knives. The hayates - I just don't use them as much. One has been sharpened and kasumi polished and looks great, the other is in original condition. Sort of like Salty, I almost wish I had bought more of the 'light' series, or just not knives that are too good to be used; the lights I have get a lot more use and feel like tools. There is some kind of historical/cultural premium that seems to be added to the hayates. At 1K though, these can be considered working knives. At 5K, it might just go in a glass case. Someone posted a thread a while back about the line, historical line I guess, from maker to chef to family and friends. I enjoy that thought too; I pick up a Doi and imagine the old guy who made and held this knife, a guy from a far away land....and never once had the curtesy to pick up the phone and say hello...

 

[bieniek]

I would buy 5K yanagi, even if I would have to eat rocks for a year or so.

Problem is, is it working 10 times better than a knife for 500.

Having touched some for 2K, I would have to say no.