Got a doozy for you: What makes a knife "Real"?

Patrice Lemée

Patrice Lemée

Joined
Aug 13, 2002
Messages
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Does it have to do only with the blade itself?
Does it have to be a knife you can/will use on a regular basis?
... So many possibilities!:confused:

Is there some general consensus or is it in the eye or the beholder?
 
Patrice, It's what YOU think that matters...you're the artist.
- Mitch
 
Is this meant as an existential exercise? The knife cuts, therefore it exists...

Maybe it's a physics problem... Is it possible to make a knife that has no mass (i.e. a knife made of light)? Well, laser scalpels do exist. Are they "knives"?

Perhaps it's more of a procedural matter... "My records indicate that I have one in stock, but I'm having trouble finding it..."

Perhaps it's about manufacturing method. Before heat treatment, is it REALLY a knife or just a hunk of carved metal?

So many ways to approach this.

For me a knife is an idea that can manifest itself in an infinite number of ways. It may be a cutting tool or a piece of sculpture or a light emitting from a wand... it may be anything we choose to make it, and more.

When you get past the physicality of the object and take it to the level of a concept, the possibilities are endless.
 
What makes a knife not real?
The ability/inability to cut seems to be the distinguishing characteristic.
 
has all of the fur been loved off?
is it missing one of the button eyes?

That's what made the Velveteen Rabbit real :D

Will it cut and hold up to use?

-Page
 
The bare bones of it, to me, is that it has been heat-treated and has edge geometry that deem it able to cut.
 
I think a knife becomes "real" when in the process of making it you cut yourself with it. A real knife should have a little bit of your DNA on it. ;-)

LonePine
AKA Paul Meske, Wisconsin
 
Patrice... I think someone may have slipped something into your poutine, my friend.



Rick
 
I consider it a knife if it is a hand held implement smaller than a sword with an edge designed for cutting. If it won't cut it's not a knife. It's not the heat treat, it's not the material or how long it lasts. You can make a knife out of wood if you can put an edge on it. It won't cut much, but that just determines the quality of the knife.
 
Funny you should say that... I was thinking earlier about a wax knife... wouldn't cut anything, less you dip in in liquid nitrogen.
 
I will step up and explain the question.

Patrice sent me photos of a knife he was making asking for my critique. I answered that the main problem was that it wasn't a real knife, but a fantasy knife. I didn't mean to imply that the knife was poorly made, or wouldn't cut things, but that it was not a functional knife.

What makes a knife "real" to me is the ability to be used primarily as a knife. A fantasy knife, or an extreme art knife may be lovely, but they are not made to any ergonomic or structural norms. A knife with zig-zag razor wings for a guard is surely deadly, but not a real knife. A knife made in shapes that will not work in the hand ,or with blades shaped in ways that they will be difficult to use are not real knives.

To say it in a short sentence - If it can not be easily used as a knife, easily transported, and safely used, it is not a real knife.

If Patrice wishes to post the knife photos, then the discussion can be more specific to that one knife, but the above thoughts are the way I see a "real knife" in general.
 
Stacy, I did not want to make it about this knife in particular or your critique of it. I knew it was more of an artsy piece but since I was also 1095 heat treated, ground and all it just made me curious about what makes a knife real or not.
And as always you guys have lots of interesting points and ways to approach the question. Thanks for your input.

I also think along the same line as Nick, heat treat and edge geometry is a must to be called real.

PS: Rick now you did it, I want some poutine. ;)
 
Personally I believe if it can be used as a functional knife (i.e. it holds an edge and can perform it's duty as the tool it's know for) then it's a knife.

This of course goes a bit against my outlook the discussion of natural or "fake" boobs. Where my feelings are: If you can touch em they're real :p
 
A "real" knife has the attributes of whoever designed it. Decoration, form, function, soforth...
 
Patrice Lemée;8825175 said:
What's the difference between a fantasy knife and a art knife?
Click to expand...

One begins with an "F" and the other would sound silly if it did.:thumbup:


I think there should only be two (2) categories.... Functional and Non-Functional.

This real vs art vs fantasy vs user vs tactical vs decorative vs etc... gets really confusing. People know what they like and what are willing to pay for, regardless of what genre it fits into.

Thinking a bit more on it... categorizing does help the "seeker" zero in on the look they are after... with regard to internet/catalogue searches...


Forget it... I take it all back.:p


Rick
 
What follows is my opinion only, and likely has no bearing on reality.

A fantasy knife is one that follows a design paradigm defined by some outside element, such as a story line. It may involve elements that are not really useful to the function of the knife in order to make it fit into the fantasy being described.

An art knife follows a slightly different path, in that it is based upon some artistic concept that is generally independent of fantasy elements. Consider Picasso's cubist phase, in which he deconstructed an image, combining "planes" of view from various angles into a singl (albiet non-cohesive) image. These artisitic concepts may be simple or complex, but they are generally orthogonal to the functional design.

- Greg
 
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