why can't I just give these knives away? (RANT)

[skewed]

It's about time for me to put some more knives up for sale here because I have too many still. but I'm always naively thinking: wouldn't it be so much easier to give them as gifts to friends/family/coworkers? I am always considering it and then see them do things with knives that say loud and clear: a knife is a durable tool, meant to be tossed around and not cared for.

Selling knives is such a hassle, especially when I feel a personal, meaningful connection to them (thinned, refinished, made a custom handle for it, used for years, etc etc). I want to gift it to someone close to me (especially someone who uses a knife all the time at work) but I am pretty certain all of these people would, chip up, bend, leave dull, let rust over, etc etc this special knife and therefore completely subvert my reasons for gifting it to them. :/

Am I just another arrogant, covetous a-hole?

One example: I have a boss at work who buys j-knives and then lets everyone use them, including apathetic high schoolers who throw them in sinks when washing dishes. All of these knives are bent, rusted over daily, chipped, sharpened aggressively, never thinned. He asks me what knife he should buy next, I tell him not to buy a knife, I tell him buy a Kiwi if he must buy another. I'm exaggerating just a little when I say my workplace is a graveyard of knives, where j-knives go to die. I'm sure there are others out there who mistreat knives much more but but but but AHHHHH

Have y'all ever gifted or not-gifted special knives to friends/family you didn't believe in?

I feel like I could have written your post nearly word for word. I do gift Tojiro DP's to friends and family and include sharpening with it but I am highly selective about it and give a ton on advise when gifting. This has worked fairly well.

What really bothers me though is trying to gift entry level carbon knives to co-workers who should know perfectly well how to care for a knife. If anyone follows good knife hygiene of rinsing and sanitizing when setting a knife down then the only other step needed is a quick dry wipe. I have had the same w#2 gyuto come back to me 3 times; I can not give it away. Most of these people know how to take care of their boards and to keep them clean but can't/will not keep their knives clean, sanitized and dry. They use a house knife for a while then toss it in the pit and grab another and another... ugh. And don't get me started about knives in the dish pit or left in sani-buckets.

 

[Salty dog]

I used to sell and ship knives but these days I avoid the trouble and keep them in my kitchen by handing them down to my crew. I don't give them away but sell them at a VERY reasonable price. That way they have an investment and tend to care for them more. I don't have a large crew but I have three guys who've been around me long enough (14, 13 and six years.) to understand you have to show your knives a certain level of respect. I've never babied my knives so I don't expect them to. We basically keep them clean, sharp and don't allow others to touch them. These guys are very "production oriented" and don't like taking the time to sharpen them but when I break out the stones they all get in line. My sous has his own stones and pays attention when I sharpen.

We caught a new guy cutting frozen bacon with one of the "good knives" the other day. I'm confident he won't make that mistake again.

 

[panda]

The only time I ever yell at my cooks is when they leave knives in the dish pit. Not because I care about the knives, but because it could injure the dishwashers and something I would fire someone over for repeat offence.