Expensive Knives

[DanCole42]

My uber-pretentious hipster foodie magazine (Lucky Peach) ran an article on the "best knives in America."

Are knives like these worth it, or just conspicuous consumption?

[monavano]

I'm too tough on my knives to spend a fortune. I take decent care of them, never put them in the dishwasher, wash and dry asap after use etc, but the one thing I do is let them go dull.

I'll spend $100- $150, but that's about it.

I think some people have a passion for knives and I get that.

[DC Deb]

No way I would spend that much. Even Bob Kramer (in a lecture at Sur La Table) says it's how you take care of your knives that matter.

My better knives live at home--even then, they are no where close to the $500+ range. My work knives are in the $100-$150 range. They take a lot of abuse so I get solid but not expensive ones.

[ol_ironstomach]

Are knives like these worth it, or just conspicuous consumption?

Trick question. To a pretentious hipster, conspicuous consumption is why it's worth it, but the knife won't cut worth beans if not maintained properly. A master sharpener will work their magic on any knife made of good steel.

That said, I would claim that the use of esoteric steels by the vast majority of custom knifemakers in this country is little more than vanity. The market is 90% driven by aesthetics, and the widespread gratuitous and inappropriate use of pattern-welded damascus steels bears witness to that.

The prime exception is Japanese knives, particularly the specialized sushi forms, not because of "blind faith" but because the Japanese repeatedly display a centuries-long history of testing the hell out of things and searching for improvements. The elevated aesthetics are on top of that.

I've spent a moderate amount of moolah over the years - meaning not as much as some of my friends - on custom knives and swords, but to be honest a good ordinary production piece tends to be free of quirks and you just don't worry about harming it if you use it. IMHO.

[lperry]

I'm going to agree with the point on sharpening. When I first got my Edge-Pro, I practiced on a set of lower-end, stainless steel Henckel knives that Mr. lperry has. By the time I was through the block, the paring knife would pass the tomato test with the weight of a pretty small knife taking it right through the tomato. My four-star Henckels are sharper than other, much more expensive knives I've used in friends' homes. I cut up a lot of produce, and I think the investment in the sharpener was so much more important than putting that much cash into a boutique knife. A sharp knife makes the job so much easier. If I had money to burn, however...

[chefn8]

I spent $50 bucks on a 12 inch japanese knife( don't know the brand because there wasn't any english anywhere on its package). point is it will go straight through a pork spine and come back to a perfect edge with 2 minutes on a stone. No nicks. More importantly I am not constantly worried about damaging it like I would be if I spent hundreds of dollars. I do have a custom boning knife and a couple knives around $200, but unless you need them for a specialized purpose, fancy knives are purely asthetic. I agree with the post above - investing in good stones and learning to use them is far more important.