EverydayCommentary: The Cure for Rainbow Trash Metal

Some of you might know that I enjoy woodworking. While the majority of the pieces I have made have been one of three woods—cherry, maple, and most recently walnut—I have had the pleasure or working with some more exotic stuff in small amounts over the years and I think that the knife world would be better off if some of these woods were more often used in knives.

Before we get to species, let me, one more time, assail to the stupidity of MokuTi and its rainbow trash metal brethen. First, of course, these materials are ugly. The same dudes that prance around with MokuTi pocket clips are driving huge, manly trucks (which I also think are silly, but for entirely different reasons) with extra fenders and grills and the like. Taste is not what these folks do. But here is the fundamental problem with the appearance of these materials—its gauche. Like the couches with gold painted lions for the endcaps on the arm rests, or Swarovski “crystals” as an upgrade, MokuTi appearance is cloying and visually assaultive. I don’t want rainbow swirls on anything I own, probably because I have never been a 6 year old girl. Its just ugly. Then there is the cost. MokuTi is all manmade (which means it is not actually an exotic material…we can make as much as we want) that is labor intensive to produce. So it is inordinately expensive compared, say, to the base material like titanium. It has no weight or strength advantage, its just swirly. So you are paying more for, in my opinion, less. Finally there this inescapable fact—this stuff is not rare. Since it is entirely manmade, we can made as much or as little as we want. It is artificial scarcity that makes DeBeers diamond hording look honest.

I think MokuTi is ugly as well, but what makes me smile about this piece is his inclusion of his Sawby. It has been fun to watch Anthony enjoy his grail knife.

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