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2008: My year of living smaller

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Re: 2008: My year of living smaller

#41

Post by jonknee »

mynameishere wrote: post #37
seano wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can get a decent knife for $10 and I've honestly never had a knife put me in a fowl[sic] mood.

^ Only sane comment in this whole stupid thread. Anyone who pays 100 dollars for a knife is a sucker.

I'm guessing you either don't use knives very much or haven't used a really nice one. I use a chef's knife every day, having a good one does not make me a sucker. It's like paying for the leather option when buying a car--it's not essential, but it's damn nice to have. The knife's a lot cheaper too :).

Re: 2008: My year of living smaller

#42

Post by blackguardx »

seano wrote: post #36
sc wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even if you never go through 10 $10 knives and "save money", you lose out in time and happiness (dull blades perform poorly, and every day you prepare food is wasted time with a poor knife, and a blow to your own mood, because dull blades are more apt to slip and cut you, mar your food, and generally put you in a fowl mood). If you don't cook, though, no worries.

You can get a decent knife for $10 and I've honestly never had a knife put me in a fowl[sic] mood.

This is true.

The $10 knife and the $100 knife were probably made from the same material in the same factory in China. The $100 knife was just marketed differently.

If you want good performance, learn to sharpen your knives. The best way to learn is to sharpen many many knives. You can put a razor edge on any knife out there. There is no magic to it. Don't buy any fancy gadgets. Just get 3 good sharpening stones. You can get 3 good ones for under $100.

The $100 knife usually won't have better edge retention because it is probably made from the same material as the $10 variety. It was probably heat treated in the same way too. The only difference is that the $100 knife probably has better quality control. It probably looks nicer and feels nicer in the hand. These things matter to some people, but don't fool yourself into thinking that it will cut better. It won't.

Re: 2008: My year of living smaller

#43

Post by pstinnett »

ahoyhere wrote: post #30
hernan7 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Before going to Ikea, I would try hitting a couple garage sales. Check out the Pennysaver magazine too.

I second this. You can sometimes get really great, durable, nice stuff for the same price or less than IKEA.

Or just search Craigslist's free or furniture section. You can often find people moving who would rather give away or sell their perfectly fine Ikea furniture than move it (probably because they're going to upgrade).

Re: 2008: My year of living smaller

#44

Post by gaius »

blackguardx wrote: post #42
seano wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can get a decent knife for $10 and I've honestly never had a knife put me in a fowl[sic] mood.

This is true. The $10 knife and the $100 knife were probably made from the same material in the same factory in China. The $100 knife was just marketed differently. If you want good performance, learn to sharpen your knives. The best way to learn is to sharpen many many knives. You can put a razor edge on any knife out there. There is no magic to it. Don't buy any fancy gadgets. Just get 3 good sharpening stones. You…

So it is not worth buying good knives but it is worth buying good sharpening stones? Hmm.

I don't see why anyone wouldn't want something that feels nicer in the hand. Wouldn't you also want a chair that feels nicer on your arse? Even tho' you could make do with a cheaper one?

Re: 2008: My year of living smaller

#45

Post by blackguardx »

gaius wrote: post #44
blackguardx wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is true. The $10 knife and the $100 knife were probably made from the same material in the same factory in China. The $100 knife was just marketed differently. If you want good performance, learn to sharpen your knives. The best way to learn is to sharpen many many knives. You can put a razor edge on any knife out there. There is no magic to it. Don't buy any fancy gadgets. Just get 3 good sharpening stones. You…

So it is not worth buying good knives but it is worth buying good sharpening stones? Hmm. I don't see why anyone wouldn't want something that feels nicer in the hand. Wouldn't you also want a chair that feels nicer on your arse? Even tho' you could make do with a cheaper one?

1. Under $100 translates into about $20 if you shop around or buy at garage sales

2. Some people value things differently. Nice feeling is worth $1 to some people and $100 to others.

Re: 2008: My year of living smaller

#46

Post by hs »

sc wrote: post #34
hs wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

spot on for the behavioral changes i'd use the $100 knife LESS than the $10 counterpart -> that's why i use $1 knifes because i cannot care less if it breaks even google doesn't use sun blades, that's pretty telling about home ownership, there are correlations that countries that are low on home ownership level(e.g, swiss) is richer than ones with high level (e.g, spain) those examples are correlation, not causality…

I don't think you can make the call on which knife you'd use till you had both. If you enjoy cooking or if you hate cooking but have to, the $100 knife will likely become your choice knife: preparing food becomes quicker and easier -- you're investment returns in time and peace of mind. The $100 knife is also usually quite indestructible compared with the $10 counterpart. Even a $100 knife in the poorest care is salv…

that's it, $100 knife is wonderful till you lost it or break it

$10 knifes, you can afford to have spares

another example, i no longer use mechanical pencil because it betrayed me so many times (i can't see if there's extra lead inside)

transparent mech pencil is better, but i often forget to bring extra leads :(

that's why i buy 96 counts pencils for $5 ... the lead is visible, it never fails me

and no, i don't bring sharpener (you can always break the pencil and 'sharpen' the lead against rough surfaces)

i bring 5 sharpened pencils instead and put the rest in various places

although it's redundant (to ensure reliability), it's simpler and i'm much happier

Re: 2008: My year of living smaller

#47

Post by Chocobean »

ahoyhere wrote: post #32

I read this essay yesterday (thanks, HN! my addiction pays off!) and got to thinking. I used to live in a prosperous, expensive, beautiful, poorly kept up 1900s suburb of Washington DC called Takoma Park. I had downsized to a 500 sq ft apartment that I fell in love with -- it had such great design, craftmanship, and big trees outside every window, so idyllic (sigh). My wooden deck, out in the trees, was far bigger th…

i suspect getting married had something to do with it. I used to buy tonnes and tonnes of books, collected soundtracks, assembled troops of figurines and model kit mecha units...etc. But somehow I've become like you as well -- I'd much rather spend 20 bucks on dinner and a movie at home cuddled up with the spouse than another CD or DVD. I married young (22) so I should still be in the prime years of blowing away money, but I'm not. The other day a hobby shop was having a 80% off closing sale and I didn't even go.

Re: 2008: My year of living smaller

#48

Post by yters »

whacked_new wrote: post #19

I remember reading that when Einstein moves, the most important things he brought with him were some paper, his pipe, and his violin. Paul Erdos probably was an even lighter traveller. It all depends on what defines you.

I need food and clothing (if it's cold, or nudity is a crime).

Re: 2008: My year of living smaller

#49

Post by jcl »

jonknee wrote: post #41
mynameishere wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

^ Only sane comment in this whole stupid thread. Anyone who pays 100 dollars for a knife is a sucker.

I'm guessing you either don't use knives very much or haven't used a really nice one. I use a chef's knife every day, having a good one does not make me a sucker. It's like paying for the leather option when buying a car--it's not essential, but it's damn nice to have. The knife's a lot cheaper too :).

Coincidentally enough, this conversation has come up on HN before, and the consensus was that professional chefs actually use knives that cost around $30; $100 knives are for people who want expensive knives that are functionally indistinguishable from $30 ones. It's more like paying for a "free-range" leather option when buying a car. :)

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=269945

Re: 2008: My year of living smaller

#50

Post by justindz »

Chocobean wrote: post #47
ahoyhere wrote: post #32

I read this essay yesterday (thanks, HN! my addiction pays off!) and got to thinking. I used to live in a prosperous, expensive, beautiful, poorly kept up 1900s suburb of Washington DC called Takoma Park. I had downsized to a 500 sq ft apartment that I fell in love with -- it had such great design, craftmanship, and big trees outside every window, so idyllic (sigh). My wooden deck, out in the trees, was far bigger th…

i suspect getting married had something to do with it. I used to buy tonnes and tonnes of books, collected soundtracks, assembled troops of figurines and model kit mecha units...etc. But somehow I've become like you as well -- I'd much rather spend 20 bucks on dinner and a movie at home cuddled up with the spouse than another CD or DVD. I married young (22) so I should still be in the prime years of blowing away mone…

I went the other direction. My wife is a natural born materialist. She has a tendency to buy things for me that she thinks I will like which turn out to be things that she would like if she had my interests but had her attraction to object ownership (e.g. anime figures, novelty ThinkGeek keyboard).

EDIT: although I must admit that she nails it sometimes - turns out the under-desk cycle and the rotating push-up handles are portable, useful and multi-tasking friendly.

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