Ugly vs Pretty

Yes. No! Maybe? Definitely. You can't beat a razor knife for pure cutting and they are ugly as sin. Especially the Schick and Gillette multi-blade razors. Damn ugly, but WOW!!! they shave nicely.
 
Would a paper cut from a beautiful work of art be worse than a cut from an old ugly piece of legal paper?
 
I don't really know, but,... there has always seemed to be a strong current of thought that ugly knives are for cutting with and pretty knives are for looking at. Also, that making a knife pretty often involves sacrifices in performance, etc... Or, is it just that ugly knives get promoted more for their virtues in performance and pretty knives get promoted more for there virtues in appearance?

Is it just psychological or something else?
 
It's my belief that pretty knives cut much better than ugly knives.

but it seems that I know how a knife will perform when I inspect it. the best performers go up on the pretty scale. SOme knives look more difficult to use, less comfortable, have bad grinds, akward edge, shows up dull ... you get the idea ... doesn't matter if it's the most difficult damascus pattern ever or covered in jewels or hand sanded to 10,000 grit. It's still an ugly knife if it won't do the job.
 
Well, I have heard that ugly women are better than pretty women at ....Oh, we are talking about knives. Never Mind.
 
Los Angeles said:
It's my belief that pretty knives cut much better than ugly knives.

but it seems that I know how a knife will perform when I inspect it. the best performers go up on the pretty scale. SOme knives look more difficult to use, less comfortable, have bad grinds, akward edge, shows up dull ... you get the idea ... doesn't matter if it's the most difficult damascus pattern ever or covered in jewels or hand sanded to 10,000 grit. It's still an ugly knife if it won't do the job.
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I can definitely appreciate that perspective and I do think in many cases if a knife looks like crap, it is, and there is often a relationship between good looks and good performance. Glad you said that.

But sometimes it’s almost like, if we want to have our knives actually used,… we should be making them as cheap, low maintenance and butt ugly as possible. LOL
 
I was just kidding Tai, I know what you mean.

I even saw a knife here recently that had a disclaimer; art knife only, lol!

A good knife has to have it all... nice lines, function, fit, you name it!
 
Could the phrase "rugged knife" replace "ugly knife" in this discussion. Especially in light of Los Angeles' comment. When I think pretty knife an image of a William Henry or a high end custom knife comes to mind. On the contrary, ugly knife brings up images of forge marks left in the flats and solid wood scales. But again that's not an ugle knife, its a rugged one. LA nailed the concept of ugly... it has less to do with cosmetics and everything to do with the lines, fit and utility of the knife.
 
When I started making knives, my intention was to make art knives. I'm into lapidary and thought stone handles would be the coolest.

Now I'm all about g10, thick 5160, stainless hardware... tactical knives, because they are what I want to use. It was a natural progression for me. To me that style is all about function combined with good looks.

I have a Dinosaur Bone Scaled knife that I like so much it doesn't get used. My benchmade vex used to get used all the time until I started making my own knives. My edc has horse stall mat handles, I think I like them more than any other handle material.

The first knife I fully mirror polished got a scotchbrite finish in the end because it would scratch if I touched it with dirty hands. I loved the way it looked but all I could think of was ruining my dads nice Kabar when I was a kid the first time I sharpened it and scuffed up the beautiful finish.

I'm new to knifemaking, I'm sure my perspective will change...
 
I have two almost identical choppers, both forged and filed, no electricity used on either, one is hanging on the wall in a beautiful Mexican sheath razor sharp and polished, the other stuck in a post at the barn where I was chopping charcoal with it last week. The back is beat flat from a hammer used on it during a chopping session on Gum, if it gets sharpened it is with a file or rock. The oak handle has a chunk out of it so it is wrapped with rawhide to keep it together. Rusty, crusty and very useful but not pretty and has never seen a sheath. I forged it from a rock drill bit. The other was made by a famous bladesmith( at least in these circles) and I can't tell you how it choppes 'cause I'm afraid to use it, maker is retired and it can't be replaced. ....... SO UGLY CUTS BETTER.........Randy
 
Tai Goo said:
But sometimes it’s almost like, if we want to have our knives actually used,… we should be making them as cheap, low maintenance and butt ugly as possible. LOL
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I think this is a learned behavior that is ingrained in our culture... western culture at least.

We are taught to protect the delicate from the time we are small children. Delicate, pretty things are used on special occasions... like grandma's china.

Everyday dishware and grandma's china serve the same purpose - and so do paper plates for that matter.

Perhaps we subconsciously treat knives the same way. Disposable knives are abused, "working-finished" knives are used and highly finished knives are rarely used (we don't want to scratch or mar the delicate finish).

Expense plays are role as well, but that is as subjective as the individual opinion on what qualifies as a working finish.

Food for thought.
 
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Check out Snody's or Jeremy Horton's work to see my idea of a beautiful knife that I would use every day.

There are a lot of people out there making really nice looking knifes meant for hard use.
 
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