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I'm no fan of prepper content, but as an engineer, this criticism seems really weird and misguided to me. There's a reason we use steel in tools and knives. I

I'm no fan of prepper content, but as an engineer, this criticism seems really weird and misguided to me. There's a reason we use steel in tools and knives. It's very difficult to find a material that can match the properties of steel. Having good edge-keeping while still maintaining toughness and avoiding brittle failure is REALLY hard.

themodelplumber 5y ago
This is conflating people who want or need to use steel with those who don't. Look at the JunkFoodTasterDotCom YouTube channel for example. He always cuts stuff. He uses a plastic knife. He's not an engineer. That is more to my point: Steel isn't needed in a surprising number of knife use cases. I'm not surprised that an engineer wants to speak on behalf of steel and its properties. But that probably won't stop product designers from noticing a huge and tantalizing materials gap, around redefining what makes a knife useful to a consumer.
- convolvatron 5y ago
  what? steel works well. its really cheap - both in economic and physical terms. it recycles perfectly, and if you do leave it in the ground on the water, its not going to harm anything. lasts a really long time, more with care. seems like a really great design fit. Maybe there are better opportunities elsewhere?
  - themodelplumber 5y ago
    I mean if you really want to defend steel, celebrate it, be my guest. But materials research and design for product development is a really cool area of focus and quite a different direction from what you are talking about. Especially in that we just don't know--it's not about the past, it's about the future. I hope to see it more with things like knives and tools.
    - leetcrew 5y ago
      can you give an example of a material you would prefer over steel and why?
      - themodelplumber 5y ago
        Hm... I don't think you're reading closely. The point is not whether I already know (IOW the properties of my subjective past are not needed). The point is that there are definitely possible future outcomes that I do not know. Can you see why that might be helpful in thinking about the future of technology?
        User23 5y ago
        > IOW the properties of my subjective past are not needed Your website in your profile already establishes that you're a professional bullshitter[1], so I don't think we need to dwell on that. Even so, things of value can grow in manure. Do you actually have anything concrete to say or is it just handwaving all the way down? What's a superior alternative to steel for the general knife use cases? Maybe nanocarbon-quantumfiber? [1] http://www2.csudh.edu/ccauthen/576f12/frankfurt__harry_-_on_bullshit.pdf http://www2.csudh.edu/ccauthen/576f12/frankfurt__harry_-_on_...
        themodelplumber 5y ago
        From this passionate reply it sounds like your feelings have been hurt, 100%. But is it really fair to expect me to read a 20 page pdf on the strength of some rhetorical hand-wave? You could just say it: The unknown makes you uncomfortable. Do you think everything that was invented was just a cheap copy of what we had in the past? The logic here is underwhelming. The strange emotion is also unimpressive.
        User23 5y ago
        See how the bullshitter recoils on being named and doubles down with more bullshit.
  - Ekaros 5y ago
    Also I would argue that good design and modern quality stainless steel last forever in such things as cutlery. And forever here is decades. Probably centuries if stored even somewhat sensibly avoiding worst possible conditions. Not to forget how easy and resilient as material it is to clean.

themodelplumber 5y ago

This is conflating people who want or need to use steel with those who don't. Look at the JunkFoodTasterDotCom YouTube channel for example. He always cuts stuff. He uses a plastic knife. He's not an engineer. That is more to my point: Steel isn't needed in a surprising number of knife use cases. I'm not surprised that an engineer wants to speak on behalf of steel and its properties. But that probably won't stop product designers from noticing a huge and tantalizing materials gap, around redefining what makes a knife useful to a consumer.

convolvatron 5y ago
what? steel works well. its really cheap - both in economic and physical terms. it recycles perfectly, and if you do leave it in the ground on the water, its not going to harm anything. lasts a really long time, more with care. seems like a really great design fit. Maybe there are better opportunities elsewhere?
- themodelplumber 5y ago
  I mean if you really want to defend steel, celebrate it, be my guest. But materials research and design for product development is a really cool area of focus and quite a different direction from what you are talking about. Especially in that we just don't know--it's not about the past, it's about the future. I hope to see it more with things like knives and tools.
  - leetcrew 5y ago
    can you give an example of a material you would prefer over steel and why?
    - themodelplumber 5y ago
      Hm... I don't think you're reading closely. The point is not whether I already know (IOW the properties of my subjective past are not needed). The point is that there are definitely possible future outcomes that I do not know. Can you see why that might be helpful in thinking about the future of technology?
      - User23 5y ago
        > IOW the properties of my subjective past are not needed Your website in your profile already establishes that you're a professional bullshitter[1], so I don't think we need to dwell on that. Even so, things of value can grow in manure. Do you actually have anything concrete to say or is it just handwaving all the way down? What's a superior alternative to steel for the general knife use cases? Maybe nanocarbon-quantumfiber? [1] http://www2.csudh.edu/ccauthen/576f12/frankfurt__harry_-_on_bullshit.pdf http://www2.csudh.edu/ccauthen/576f12/frankfurt__harry_-_on_...
        themodelplumber 5y ago
        From this passionate reply it sounds like your feelings have been hurt, 100%. But is it really fair to expect me to read a 20 page pdf on the strength of some rhetorical hand-wave? You could just say it: The unknown makes you uncomfortable. Do you think everything that was invented was just a cheap copy of what we had in the past? The logic here is underwhelming. The strange emotion is also unimpressive.
        User23 5y ago
        See how the bullshitter recoils on being named and doubles down with more bullshit.
- Ekaros 5y ago
  Also I would argue that good design and modern quality stainless steel last forever in such things as cutlery. And forever here is decades. Probably centuries if stored even somewhat sensibly avoiding worst possible conditions. Not to forget how easy and resilient as material it is to clean.