Posted on 01/14/2021 11:08:50 AM PST by mylife
High-end custom knives run from $400 to $40,000. Here's what makes them so expensive, and why they could be worth it.
Buying an expensive knife won't turn you into an excellent cook anymore than going to the Container Store will make you an organized person. But well-crafted custom knives are things of physical beauty, and they can have a kind of talismanic power. Super-luxury chef's knives start at about $400, and go up from there. Famously, some custom knives, like those from legendary knife maker Bob Kramer, sell for upwards of $500 an inch. At auction, Kramer's knives often fetch prices in the low-to-mid five figures.
A very fancy chef's knife is also a kind of paradox. A chef's knife, the 8- to 10-inch blade used for everything from breaking down chickens to dicing vegetables, is a tool that gets used frequently. As such, it's often subject to wear and tear, dings and scratches. It's a Ferrari that needs to be used like a Jeep. Plus, plenty of excellent professional chefs use knives that are in the $20 to $50 range to make incredible food.
(Excerpt) Read more at foodandwine.com ...
Only if it came with a chef. And a steak.
One of the best knives I have ever owned was a $2 Japanese cleaver.
Also some very inexpensive tramontina paring knives
A knife is useless without a sharpener. My favorite knives are old carbon steel blades I got for $2 at a thrift store.
My wife bought one of those expensive ceramic blade knives.
It broke........................
If I knew a $400 chef and he really wanted to sell me his knife, maybe...
No... But I do have nice cutlery. A sharp knife makes quick work of food preparation. My favorite tool in the kitchen now is a 13” Husqvarna hunters hatchet. It is sharp sharp sharp and looks cool when you are trimming up steaks. Brings out my inner cave-man😀
I have a Japanese stainless steel santoku I bought for $30 like two years ago.
Still sharp as the day I bought it.
We still have one of the original GINSU knives from the TV ads of the 70’s!..................... Still sharp!..................
I like knives, and I like learning about various steels.
$400 is a lot for a knife unless it has some rarity or special thing.
You can get great usable knives every day that don’t need much sharpening for $35-$40.
If you you have decent knives and they are dull that is your fault, not the knife’s fault.
A $400 knife will get dull just as quick as a $35 knife if you don’t know how to care for it.
plain old Arkansas hardstone works for me
nope
They don’t bend...
I’m a hi-fi enthusiast. I have a membership at audiokarma.org.
They are supported by advertising dollars so it’s really hard to get into discussions about “snake oil” products, and that hobby seems to have more snake oil than any other.
I started a thread laughing at nine meter speaker cables priced at $70,000. Dead serious.
The thread was closed after about 20 posts.
I’m sure you have some crappy serrated knives in the drawer for cutting some certain items.
That’s what most people don’t understand is how a knife blade works and how to care for it.
No. Even if it’s the best knife ever, it won’t be enough better than more modestly priced alternatives.
Japs make good blades.
Japs make good blades.
I had to look up talismanic. It isn’t worth $400.
Then forget the steak...
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