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>The attention that carbon-steel knives require also makes them wonderful gifts, because they represent a show of confidence in the recipient: I think you can t
by ycombinatrix 10mo ago
>The attention that carbon-steel knives require also makes them wonderful gifts, because they represent a show of confidence in the recipient: I think you can take care of this without reducing it to a slab of rust.
I strongly disagree with this take. Gifts that require extra responsibility are the worst. Might as well gift someone a puppy to represent your confidence that they have the ability to take care of a dog.
- tptacek 10mo agoIf you never use them, they just look cool in your kitchen, so at least there's that.
- ycombinatrix 10mo agoI don't disagree - I just think this "show of confidence" take is nonsense.
- tptacek 10mo agoI liked it --- it doesn't have to be true to be thought-provoking, but also: it was the logic I used when I bought a carbon steel nakiri for my brother; that he would read the intent behind the gift as a show of respect. If he doesn't want to maintain the knife, he doesn't have to use it! Erin came back from Tokyo a few years back with a stainless-clad nakiri that I use every day, and a carbon steel nakiri with my surname engraved on it that I use maybe once a year. I'm still thrilled to have the carbon-steel nakiri! (I have a carbon-steel gyuto I use all the time, but I bought it specifically so I could get good at sharpening it when it eventually dulls, which it stubbornly refuses to do.)