Cutty Sharp
Banned
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- May 22, 2012
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Another thought people customize guns, cars, and anything else under the sun so why not?
Sure! Nothing wrong with customising knives either - but all depends how you do it. Some handles go too far.
A part of me also feels like I want as much care put into the handle as the knife itself, and maybe I'm wrong for thinking this, but I just don't get that with regular ho wood handles.
I think when most people vote "simple" they aren't necessarily voting for a stock ho wood handle seen on the cheapest knives. H!orn-spacer-ebony is also very simple. Even horn-ebony is very nice sometimes. Horn-something with a nice figure is great, too. I think the odd stuff is the burl-burl-mokume-damascus-(insert busy chunk of something here). Polish isn't busy either. Highly etched damascus is.
Agreed, tk! Simple can be elegant. Sure ho can seem dull, and I kind of thought that at first. But now as I've seen so many burl handles around it's got a bit much and I prefer simple, even if plain old ho.
My take on this question is; Do you like your knives to be bland and the same as everyone else? ...or would you prefer something a bit nicer that reflects your own personal taste?
Busy and over-done doesn't make it nicer, if that's how it turns out to be, and burl doesn't necessarily reflect everyone's taste. Also, if everyone gets knives and then customises with burl, then it all ends up looking the same too.
We need to return to the Pure Japanese esthetic as exemplified by the Mr. Itoh Turquoise Coral handled gyuto!
Hehe... I was wondering when someone would think of that! I used to have my eye on a pretty flashy Tanaka damascus (micarta turquoise handle) and am glad I didn't get it, as somehow even without owning it I got a bit sick of it.
I'll bet, too, that the Japanese 'turquoise coral handle' numbers tend to be made for export not for the Japanese market. You don't see knives like that in Japan, probably because people don't like 'em. (I've been to around 20 different shops there in the past 2-3 months.) Also there must be few makers with that style. Imagine what the Sakai craftsmen might think!
... Right! New tally now. Looks like the burl camp has made up lots of ground: Simple 9 - Burl 8 - Depends 3
Pretty much even-steven, guys. C'mon you simples: vote! Yes, we do appreciate quieter understated elegance, but now is the time to make our voices heard! :razz: