How particular are you with how a knife looks?

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karloevaristo

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When you are looking to buy a knife, how big of a deciding factor is its appearance?

Will you buy a blade that's very well made, great cutter, and holds it's edge well but is not well finished, unrounded choil/spine/etc, crappy handle?

As for me, I'm a 5% looks... 95% performance kinda guy... knife wise... hehe... :evilgrin:

How about you?
 
Looks are very high for me, since I only am considering knives that perform to start with, looks is the deciding factor. The knife has to speak to me. I've learned that many of the knives that get discussed here that people go gaga over I don't like, because of their look. To each their own though. :)

-AJ
 
Gotta be a looker too, if you ask me. The handle isn't important, since making them is fun and rewarding. BUT, the knife has to cut like crazy and have potential in the looks department.
 
When you are looking to buy a knife, how big of a deciding factor is its appearance?

Will you buy a blade that's very well made, great cutter, and holds it's edge well but is not well finished, unrounded choil/spine/etc, crappy handle?

As for me, I'm a 5% looks... 95% performance kinda guy... knife wise... hehe... :evilgrin:

How about you?

As you I'd rather have a performer!
 
If it is finished well I'd rate performance over looks every single day.

Although I don't know if I'd buy a "Hello Kitty" knife even if it outperformed a Suisin Inox Honyaki or Konosuke HD. :)
 
Aesthetics certainly plays its role, and given two knives that perform on the same level I'd always pick the one that I liked to look at more even if the finish level of the knife wasn't the same as another.

Another example and certainly deserving its own thread is cladded vs. mono-steel. I'd also go mono steel over cladded everytime for a variety of reasons. But yes I have purchased and will purchase again based on looks between two otherwise equal knives.
 
If the steel is great and takes a killer edge and holds it very well, handle and such can be made you your own liking so performance is always going to be #1 in my books, handle would have to be second.
 
I don't care so much about the looks, but with that said, the look of the blade is a definite plus and I would buy a nice damascus or cool blade with 'toothy' cladding any day. The handles don't matter as I can always get them rehandled with something I want.

k.
 
Nothing wrong with a bad ass looking knife..as long as it cuts the way you want it to.

F&F are more than just aesthetically pleasing,it adds to the overall comfort and longevity of the knife..
 
I have some Carters and a Fujiwara Terayasu. The not HG Carters and the Fujiwara don't look like much but they are excellent cutters.
 
Two different categories.

I buy knives for performance and I buy knives for looks.
 
Looks are important to me. All things beimg equal, the prettier knife will win out every time. I also dont think I could bring ,yself to buy a knife that I thought was hideous, no matter how good it supposedly was. That said, aesthetics isn't the most important factor - something with meh looks but awesome performance definitely wins out over so,ethimg that looks great but feels like junk.
 
I have the same relationship to knives as with girls. The performance is extremely important. However when you wanna brag to friends or have a good time of your own, its nice to have some good-looking ones.
 
If you have a well made knife it should perform and look good. I want the best of both!
 
Looks are in the eye of the beholder, what I find attractive in a knife is not what most would like lol. Symmetry in not important to me ether, how the knife handles and cuts weigh in heavily. I have some knives where the spine is not really straight or ground consistanly, but when veiwing it down the edge or cutting thin slices, it's vey consistant and cut very well. Even on the stones these knives feel just fine and you couldn't tell that the spines where off slightly. I wouldn't trade them off for anything...
 
Performance for me.. I don't like my knives to stand out cause of certain 'itchy fingers' issues.. So as normal looking and understated as possibly.
 
Looks play an important role for me (especially the handle and inscriptions on the blade), however the performance does take priority. Then again in my eyes all the Japanese knives I have seen so far look gorgeous anyway.
 
I like sharp spines and crappy handles, gives me an excuse to work on them and upgrade the handle. But the looks in terms of blade shape and profile are important to me. Maybe it is conditioning, but the better performing blade shapes also look more attractive to me.
 
I am a home cook and knives are tools to me. That being said I like to have good tools and if they look good I like them even better. So I would have to say that performance tops looks but if I can have both I prefer that.
 
performance over looks all the way. i like my ebony handles so i was able to get both.

i would like to clarify that F&F indicates care and quality of the smith. i dont prefer damascus but i find that it falls into the looks part along with handle upgrades and things of that nature. usually if a knife is really well made, the details show. there are not many great cutters with great tempered steel and wonderful profile that do not have great F&F.

there are people who like to buy knives for looks and have them as showpieces and there are those who buy a knife because it is a tool. nothing wrong with either, so long as they do what is intended.
 
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