Ok, I have committed the nightmare/fantasy of all Sebenza owners. Frustrated with owning a wonderful tool and never using it, I did the unthinkable: I took out a ceramic stone and placed a huge scratch on both the handle and the blade. Ouch. I still feel the pain of it.
But miraculously, I now use my knife, all the time, for anything a knife is called for. What I've gained in appreciation has far outweighed the drop in aesthetics.
One thing I am very much impressed by is how well steels have developed over the years. I remember my SAK as a kid, and how quickly it would seem to get dull. BG42 is a whole different animal. After sharpening my Seb to hair-popping two months ago, I've whittled sticks, cut paper, opened boxes, cut all manner of food: and it still shaves.
In short, I have come to believe a knife leads too lives. On the one hand, it is a work of art with aesthetic value. On the other, it is a tool with functional value. In the case of Chris's knives (according to my tastes), they not only rank highly in both respects, but highly enough to interfere with each other!
Thus my decision to shed one for the other. I am constantly glad I did it, at the same time I wish I'd never had to. What better thing to say about a knife, than to say that you gain by getting past appearances? There are too many things these days where that is no longer the case.
But miraculously, I now use my knife, all the time, for anything a knife is called for. What I've gained in appreciation has far outweighed the drop in aesthetics.
One thing I am very much impressed by is how well steels have developed over the years. I remember my SAK as a kid, and how quickly it would seem to get dull. BG42 is a whole different animal. After sharpening my Seb to hair-popping two months ago, I've whittled sticks, cut paper, opened boxes, cut all manner of food: and it still shaves.
In short, I have come to believe a knife leads too lives. On the one hand, it is a work of art with aesthetic value. On the other, it is a tool with functional value. In the case of Chris's knives (according to my tastes), they not only rank highly in both respects, but highly enough to interfere with each other!
Thus my decision to shed one for the other. I am constantly glad I did it, at the same time I wish I'd never had to. What better thing to say about a knife, than to say that you gain by getting past appearances? There are too many things these days where that is no longer the case.
