Anthony Bourdain - Knife Making

[IronMonster]

I think you may be more biased because this is up your alley and you can appreciate what it takes to craft more than the rest of us who makes some salsa once a month or slices a chicken breast once in awhile.

Definitely beautiful knives though but to me and other heathens, they can be appreciated as art rather than any real utilitarian use.

Only because you haven't used one.

Just like driving the super car, it means little till you are behind the wheel.

 

[IronMonster]

What steel does he use?

For the highest end knives me makes the steel from scratch using an induction furnace and using only the elements he wants. I have made steel with him using hematite for the iron and apple wood for the carbon.

 

[Just Jim]

Are his blades damascus? Or are they just grinds? I can see paying for a really good damascus if it's done right, maker by the name of Bagwell wrote why it's so much better than just a grind blade. Years ago his blades were $100 per inch and he was a busy man. He studied Japanese sword making and found a way to do the same with a hammer mill and furnace.

 

[jbett98]

My late friend Terry had a beautiful vintage Ferrari and he had me build a $125,000 garage to store it in.
Every time he took it out for a drive he freaked out about rock chips, pot holes, stupid drivers and worst of all, where could he park it without some idiot putting a door ding in it.
He never could open it up around the Portland area and he finally confessed he was sorry he ever bought the thing, especially after he just paid over $7,000 for a simple tune up and oil change.
He was a lot happier driving around in his beater Dodge pickup.

I also built an addition onto a residence for a customer that was specifically constructed for just one purpose.
It was designed to showcase an oil painting and nothing else.
Very Zen like in design with smooth plaster walls, sound proof walls, hardwood floors and discreet lighting.
The room had one chair in the middle of the floor facing the painting on a wall, that's it.
The painting that was hung on the wall was of a room with only a chair in it, facing a painting.
I didn't get it at first, but after being invited to just sit in the same chair that was in the painting and focus on the painting, my body started to relax as the outside world drifted away as I contemplated what is real and what my mind thinks is real.

Very relaxing, but then when I entered the world outside that room, it was very disconcerting with how fast everything was moving on the drive home.

Both additions cost about the same amount of money, and I think the man that owned the painting got more in value then my late friend with his expensive toy.

 

[The B]

Only because you haven't used one.

Just like driving the super car, it means little till you are behind the wheel.

Totally disagree. You put your average commuter behind the wheel of a super car and they'll say "wow! This is rad!" but they are gonna crash it and/or not even come close to experiencing the vehicle's potential. Likewise for a $1000 chef knife - the only person who is even going to appreciate that is someone who possesses a biological predisposition for culinary mastery AND spends 8-10 hours a day flipping his knives around. Anyone else is gonna go "wow! This is rad!" and still have no idea WHY it's rad.

We're talking about "marginal gains," over on this side of the bell curve. Like riding $3000 carbon fiber tubular bike wheels or $500 aluminum clinchers... everyone can look and see a difference. Anyone who can afford the difference can own the differerence. But how many will actually appreciate the difference? Unless you are a competitive cyclist who needs to shave 1 or 2 seconds off his 4-hour long bike race time, you will not.

Marginal gains. 99% of people buying them are fooling themselves.

 

[IronMonster]

Are his blades damascus? Or are they just grinds? I can see paying for a really good damascus if it's done right, maker by the name of Bagwell wrote why it's so much better than just a grind blade. Years ago his blades were $100 per inch and he was a busy man. He studied Japanese sword making and found a way to do the same with a hammer mill and furnace.

Most of his are patterned welded steel however he does make some sime carbon steel knives

 

[IronMonster]

Totally disagree. You put your average commuter behind the wheel of a super car and they'll say "wow! This is rad!" but they are gonna crash it and/or not even come close to experiencing the vehicle's potential. Likewise for a $1000 chef knife - the only person who is even going to appreciate that is someone who possesses a biological predisposition for culinary mastery AND spends 8-10 hours a day flipping his knives around. Anyone else is gonna go "wow! This is rad!" and still have no idea WHY it's rad.

We're talking about "marginal gains," over on this side of the bell curve. Like riding $3000 carbon fiber tubular bike wheels or $500 aluminum clinchers... everyone can look and see a difference. Anyone who can afford the difference can own the differerence. But how many will actually appreciate the difference? Unless you are a competitive cyclist who needs to shave 1 or 2 seconds off his 4-hour long bike race time, you will not.

Marginal gains. 99% of people buying them are fooling themselves.

The fact that you can make those assumptions without ever even holding the item tells me everything I need to know about your opinion

 

[slimmer13]

Totally disagree. You put your average commuter behind the wheel of a super car and they'll say "wow! This is rad!" but they are gonna crash it and/or not even come close to experiencing the vehicle's potential. Likewise for a $1000 chef knife - the only person who is even going to appreciate that is someone who possesses a biological predisposition for culinary mastery AND spends 8-10 hours a day flipping his knives around. Anyone else is gonna go "wow! This is rad!" and still have no idea WHY it's rad.

We're talking about "marginal gains," over on this side of the bell curve. Like riding $3000 carbon fiber ptubular bike wheels or $500 aluminum clinchers... everyone can look and see a difference. Anyone who can afford the difference can own the differerence. But how many will actually appreciate the difference? Unless you are a competitive cyclist who needs to shave 1 or 2 seconds off his 4-hour long bike race time, you will not.

Marginal gains. 99% of people buying them are fooling themselves.

Exactly, I used to have a SLP SS Camaro that I paid less than 20k for. It would do 160. Yes a 400k Murcialago would go 230 or so and be alot tighter and smoother but like you said, the bell curve of value vs performance gain is not worth it for 99.999999% of us.

 

[The B]

The fact that you can make those assumptions without ever even holding the item tells me everything I need to know about your opinion

That's not an assumption you can make... I've held some very high-end knives. "Wow, this knife is rad!" is about all I can say about them.

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You seem to have an emotional investment in this topic.... so you might consider unsubscribing from it. No point getting all bent out of shape over a stupid knife thread.

 

[mkwerx]

I can appreciate the craftsmanship and skill and materials however there is diminishing returns on investment. Its like the world of fly rods. A guy can get a beater at Dicks for $20. It'll catch fish. $150 gets you a nice imported rod from a fly shop that will be better built and balanced than that $20 beater. $350 gets you a name brand made in the usa production rod. $1500 gets you a hand crafted rod made of the materials of your choice by dedicated craftsmen who roll or plane their own blanks snd use only the best materials they can get. All will catch fish. The more expensive rods cadt better and get less fatiguing. But to a neophyte or weekend angler - the differences in matetials quality and craftsmanship atent as noticable. The more experienced casters will be the ones who say "yeah, i get it" - but theres lots of guys who buy into the hype or just buy higher dollar stuff because they can or someone else told them it was the best. Those guys keep the market going and make it possible like this knife maker to have a career and not a hobby making expensive hand made knives. Just like the guys who buy Sage, Beulah, or Burkheimer fly rods.

 

[Certaindeaf]

The grim Swedes just use and offer them there laminated bubblegumnivens (Falknivens) oopsie.. crazy! In the kitchen they use a laminated axe.. because Swede. just the messenger here
The wheel.. let us consider it.

 

[Just Jim]

The market will charge what the market allows and there are people that value items enough to pay big money for them. Guess it's how you make your money that sets the true value of an item. I would never pay $4000 for a knife because I don't value a new made knife as worth it. Give me something with a history and a big name carried it and the value is there.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Are his blades damascus? Or are they just grinds? I can see paying for a really good damascus if it's done right, maker by the name of Bagwell wrote why it's so much better than just a grind blade. Years ago his blades were $100 per inch and he was a busy man. He studied Japanese sword making and found a way to do the same with a hammer mill and furnace.

Isn't it interesting that this fellow started out as a sharpener.. and what really actually "makes" a Japanese sword is the sharpener/polisher.. it generally costs more to have a fine blade "sharpened" than what it was worth before it needed tending.

 

[mjbskwim]

So for the knife snobs, please let me in on what a high dollar custom knife does that my $90 set of ss knives from Costco does not do.

Watch this guy and others like him. It's doing the fancy stuff you and I don't even think of that makes the difference

 

[mjbskwim]

You know "someone" would toss that thing in the dishwasher with the long forced "dry" cycle.. along with the handmade cutting boards. Just the way things are.

My old girlfriend was afraid to put my simple Henkle in the dish washer.
But in the case of these knives,no one but the owner has much of anything to do with them. A chef cleans and sharpens his own knives,not anyone else
I watched the guy in the video I posted cutting sushi up. I immediately went on line to buy a nice knife. I got scarred when the $100 knives turned to2k knives when I scrolled down.
I'll tell you there is a vast difference in this nice $100 knife compared to my $50-60 henkles.
When you get to this guys stuff it maakes the job you do for 8hrs a day 5 days a week much much easier
If you making almost or above 6 figures as a top chef,why wouldn't you buy a piece of art to make your $1000 a plate dinner

 

[Certaindeaf]

The thing about knives, most people can't even sharpen one.. a $5 or a $5000 one.
And the thing about Ferrari's, if I had enough money, I'd literally Baja one.. hard.. probably make it 100 yards but it'd be fun.