How much is too much? Or When does a hobby become addiction?

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Genghis_F

Genghis_F

Often wrong but never in doubt
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A year and a half ago, my gateway drug was a Takamura chromax santoku and a Kajiwara K tip Gyuto
This is the state of the affair now:
IMG_0086.jpeg
View attachment 254460
IMG_0259.jpeg
IMG_0260.jpeg

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Just curious, is this extreme do I need a 12 step program, or just another knife?
Only partly joking here. Wanted to pole the audience
 
There are lots of reasons to own knives and only some of them are about practically cutting food. A lot of this hobby is experiencing different steels, grinds, and profiles so that you can better understand both your own preferences and the design philosophies of various knifemakers. To gain that kind of knowledge and experience, you have to use a bunch of knives first hand. And for most of us, that means buying (and then often eventually selling) "way more knives than we 'need'".
People outside the hobby think that you only need the knives that let you cut food properly. But those within the hobby have purposes beyond simply cutting things and those purposes require more knives. There's a point where people end up buying knives for no reason other than to have them, and they end up unused. That's the realm of the true collector.
I don't personally understand that subset of the hobbyist subculture... the people who spend thousands on unicorns that end up spending spend their lives in drawers or boxes rather than doing something genuinely useful. Or maybe I do understand this approach and it simply holds no appeal to me. Having knives that you neither cut with nor sharpen is a waste and a shame. Having lots of knives that you use and enjoy is neither.
It is important, however, to check in with yourself every once in a while to make sure that you're buying things for good reasons and not just burning money on the hedonic treadmill.
 
It doesn't look like a problem to me, but what @btbyrd said is pretty spot on. I try to evaluate why I'm making another acquisition, and making sure it's fitting in with the direction I'm interested in, and that I'm not spending uncomfortably. It's good to try to make sure the relationship with these tools is healthy and providing you benefit.
 
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btbyrd said:
A lot of this hobby is experiencing different steels, grinds, and profiles so that you can better understand both your own preferences and the design philosophies of various knifemakers. To gain that kind of knowledge and experience, you have to use a bunch of knives first hand.
Click to expand...
Most knives I buy now are dual-purpose: to learn, as you say, about new steels, makers, shapes/sizes, and grinds … and to give away to friends who cook, and who I match to their ideal knife, in my head. Down this road one ends up opening a boutique knife shop lol

Proposed design pattern: the 5 knife sampler
A “tasting flight” of five knives chosen to highlight certain similarities and differences.
The owner assembles the flight, and sends them out as a package for a month away; they are returned to the owner for inspection and touch-up, before going out again. (This should mitigate the “it’s a rental” associated with passarounds.)
For high value knives, sampler sets are exchanged as swaps between collectors, of roughly equal value.
 
Last edited:
Genghis_F said:
A year and a half ago, my gateway drug was a Takamura chromax santoku and a Kajiwara K tip Gyuto
This is the state of the affair now:
View attachment 254459View attachment 254460View attachment 254461View attachment 254462
View attachment 254463
Just curious, is this extreme do I need a 12 step program, or just another knife?
Only partly joking here. Wanted to pole the audience
Click to expand...

Every knife collector has their own objectives. Too many knives for one collector, might be viewed as not enough for someone else.
Whether a knife collecting becomes an addiction, or problematic in one's life—also depends on the individual. Buying knives can be viewed as a problem for someone with just five knives, or a hundred. I've a decent sized collection, way more knives than I need for two life times—I've never viewed buying knives as an addiction, same as with other things I collect.
C199FDC6-0224-49D4-9AFA-D8D3E9426473.jpg
 
For me, if knives aren't getting used, or I'm only using them because I feel like I should rather than because they're what I want to reach for, it's too many and I need to start posting on BST. For me that's about 6-7 full size gyutos/cleavers plus a few smaller guys and specialty knives (suji, butcher, bread, parer).

I pretty regularly exceed that but it's what I'm consistently targeting getting back to as I try new things.

btbyrd said:
Having knives that you neither cut with nor sharpen is a waste and a shame. Having lots of knives that you use and enjoy is neither.
It is important, however, to check in with yourself every once in a while to make sure that you're buying things for good reasons and not just burning money on the hedonic treadmill.
Click to expand...

Well said.
 
Admittedly, I've 2 knives of almost identical specs from 3 different makers—not a problem at all, I also have numerous pairs of Levi's 511's and Dr. Martens in the same size.

Knives are no different.

Never understood some of the self imposed limitations on buying, beyond preferences and wallet—like 'only buy what I use'; or '...what fits on the knife rack'; etc. If I see something I want, I'll buy it, if I can afford to.
 
I have a process in my mind, and I managed to create some steps to develop my collection towards my goal.

1- Explore a lot of makers, the more the merrier. Test all knives, none shall escape the testing.
2 - Decide from those I tested the ones I liked the most.
3 - Proceed to aquire more of those makers, normally the main models, gyuto and suji (The models I currently like the most, and maybe some more haha).
4 - Sell the ones that I didn't fall in love with.
5 - Go back to step one and continue exploring.

It's quite the cycle, probably it will never end, but I'm quite happy with that hahahahha
Sometimes I end up selling some of the ones I like the most as well, to let others try them
 
timebard said:
For me, if knives aren't getting used, or I'm only using them because I feel like I should rather than because they're what I want to reach for, it's too many and I need to start posting on BST. For me that's about 6-7 full size gyutos/cleavers plus a few smaller guys and specialty knives (suji, butcher, bread, parer).

I pretty regularly exceed that but it's what I'm consistently targeting getting back to as I try new things.



Well said.
Click to expand...
I have a very similar philosophy
 
btbyrd said:
There are lots of reasons to own knives and only some of them are about practically cutting food. A lot of this hobby is experiencing different steels, grinds, and profiles so that you can better understand both your own preferences and the design philosophies of various knifemakers. To gain that kind of knowledge and experience, you have to use a bunch of knives first hand. And for most of us, that means buying (and then often eventually selling) "way more knives than we 'need'".
People outside the hobby think that you only need the knives that let you cut food properly. But those within the hobby have purposes beyond simply cutting things and those purposes require more knives. There's a point where people end up buying knives for no reason other than to have them, and they end up unused. That's the realm of the true collector.
I don't personally understand that subset of the hobbyist subculture... the people who spend thousands on unicorns that end up spending spend their lives in drawers or boxes rather than doing something genuinely useful. Or maybe I do understand this approach and it simply holds no appeal to me. Having knives that you neither cut with nor sharpen is a waste and a shame. Having lots of knives that you use and enjoy is neither.
It is important, however, to check in with yourself every once in a while to make sure that you're buying things for good reasons and not just burning money on the hedonic treadmill.
Click to expand...
If Hinoura started churning out River Jumps with unhardenable core steel how many would notice? At the point where people don't use the knives, they're just collecting bars of steel
 
DitmasPork said:
Perplexed by seeing so many BNIB knives for sale on BST—for me it might take some time to conclude whether I like a knife or not, took me a few years before I warmed up to my Watanabe iron clad gyuto.
Click to expand...
I have some of the same sentiments
I try to cook a few meals with every knife I buy
Plus some come so dull that I have to sharpen
I have a few I haven’t gotten to yet but plan to use at some point
 
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