07-16-2009, 11:43 PM
Without wanting to reignite the tired old "Japanese vs. Roman steel" thing, I do want to mention that the Japanese were able to polish their blades to a high level using fine-grained stones. Of course, the way they do/did it, that's very labor-intensive work for a highly-trained craftsman. (Yeah, I've made knives myself at the forge, but I'm not enough of a purist to polish them by hand. That's why I have four grinders.)
It's been pointed out that a well-polished blade resists corrosion much better. For a more pragmatic point of view, it's also a lot easier to clean (and I think the Romans, while not squeamish, would have preferred their food cut with clean knives -- especially with the level of importance they apparently attached to food). Both are good enough reasons, regardless of cultural esthetic choices.
It's easy to imagine a Roman cook or butcher valuing a set of knives very much like his modern counterpart does -- they're the tools of his trade, and well-made ones are precious to him. He'd clean them, sharpen them regularly, and probably yell at anyone who touched them without permission.
My guess is that the cheap knives the average or poor Roman could afford probably would be fairly mass-produced, with minimal polish, to keep the prices low. If the customer is willing to pay for an apprentice's time at the grindstone, he could probably buy a blade with a much higher level of finish. And a composite, forge-welded blade -- like we've seen the Romans did have -- probably represented enough investment in time, effort, and valuable steel that it would be polished, if only to ensure its endurance.
It's been pointed out that a well-polished blade resists corrosion much better. For a more pragmatic point of view, it's also a lot easier to clean (and I think the Romans, while not squeamish, would have preferred their food cut with clean knives -- especially with the level of importance they apparently attached to food). Both are good enough reasons, regardless of cultural esthetic choices.
It's easy to imagine a Roman cook or butcher valuing a set of knives very much like his modern counterpart does -- they're the tools of his trade, and well-made ones are precious to him. He'd clean them, sharpen them regularly, and probably yell at anyone who touched them without permission.
My guess is that the cheap knives the average or poor Roman could afford probably would be fairly mass-produced, with minimal polish, to keep the prices low. If the customer is willing to pay for an apprentice's time at the grindstone, he could probably buy a blade with a much higher level of finish. And a composite, forge-welded blade -- like we've seen the Romans did have -- probably represented enough investment in time, effort, and valuable steel that it would be polished, if only to ensure its endurance.
Wayne Anderson/ Wander
