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Buying Japanese Knives Online


gfron1

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Just a general thought ... we should be careful about generalizations regarding knives and countries of origin. There are great knives made many countries, and there are crappy knives made in Japan (including some of the more famous brands). 

 

"Japanese knife" is generally shorthand for "good knife that's been made with certain important Japanese knifemaking conventions." By these standards there many small knifemakers in the Americas and Europe (and probably every other part of the world) who make "Japanese knives." And I'd say that brands like Wasabi and Global are not really Japanese knives. Not in the same sense.

 

 

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Notes from the underbelly

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10 hours ago, rrigreid said:

There is no $50K value in this knife and to offer this knife at that price, well I’ll leave you to offer judgment.

 

This is one of those areas where there's crossover between something being a tool and being an art object. The thing's value as a tool has no bearing on its art value. A fancy knife doesn't even have to be a good knife (although I understand that Kramer's are pretty good). The value of art objects is influenced by rarity and by some agreed-upon standards of craft, but the rest is pure subjectivity and the whims of the market.

 

Consider how much people spend on handmade, mechanical watches. You can get a more accurate timepiece for $20, but this has nothing to do with the allure.

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Notes from the underbelly

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Facing a couple unpaid weeks off work, I perhaps should not be reflecting on another knife -- but for anyone* who is, I read in The Economist that the Yen is in freefall against the Dollar.

 

 

*in the US

 

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

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