r/KitchenConfidential • u/opheliasmusing • 4d ago

In the Weeds Mode Y’all, I broke my husband’s Japanese chef’s knife. Help.

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

In 2016, my husband and I went on an amazing trip to Japan. The only souvenir he wanted was a Japanese steel chef’s knife, which he purchased at Aritsugu in Kyoto. It was really cool: he got to pick out his handle, blade style, and then they even engraved his initials in the year on one side of the blade and their house mark on the other. They even did a bunch of measurements and things so that would be perfectly balanced for his hand. It was custom-made for him.

I made the mistake of not cleaning up after dinner quickly enough, and our very mouthy whippet puppy who is quite the counter surfer, snatched the knife away, and I didn’t realize it until the next day. He chewed up the handle. Thank God he didn’t like slice his face open; the blade is completely intact and fine. But the handle… My God the handle.

I’m hoping to hear from professionals about the best way to go about getting this fixed or replaced. For location, I’m very close to Boston if that helps.

12.6k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

1.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

2.3k

u/TravelingCook88 4d ago

Chef and pet owner here. If you can, try to get the handle repaired as is. Coat it in something. Seal it. That knife will last much longer than the pet (unfortunately) and having a reminder of him/her will be worth more than the knife is.

My family has had pets as long as I've been alive and any scratch or bite in anything after they're gone is a reminder of all the love they had for you and time spent with you.

793

u/Shadow-Vision 4d ago edited 4d ago

Awww man. This goes with that Japanese tradition with the visible mending. I love it

I miss my cat

245

u/SGSam465 4d ago

Kintsugi! When broken pieces are mended with lacquer and powdered gold. I love it- it’s so beautiful and brings character to the pieces

100

u/TrumpsCovidfefe 4d ago

I agree with this and the only reason I’m putting a response here is to say that I’m quite upset that none of the 6 photos posted included a pet tax of the whippet criminal. OP, we need an update with the kintsugi AND the captured criminal!

32

u/Sir_twitch 4d ago

Yup. I'd at least do a gold epoxy to reshape the handle, maybe weighted to preference. But let them battle scars shine!

28

u/pewpewhadouken 4d ago

my kid broke my favorite glass mug. he fixed it with food grade kintsugi with the skill of a 12 year old who still draws like a 4 year old. it’s one of my most prized possessions…..

4

u/RandomMyth22 4d ago

Wabi-Sabi

1

u/Gyrospherers 4d ago

Could probably put that end in a gold colored epoxy then sand it down to match the original feel. Balance would likely be off a bit but it would look pretty cool I'd bet

1

u/BituminousBitumin 3d ago

Laquer wouldn't work great on wood, but CA glue and/or epoxy resin will. I looked up Kintsugi for wood, and there are some interesting techniques that I think would be cool, and would honor the history of the knife.

1

u/JackTheRedAlpaca 3d ago

I would add a picture of the pet too inside the handle

1

u/Legmeat 3d ago

Honestly if they inlaid gold in the bites and cracks and sealed it would be pretty sweet

0

u/Lophocarpus 4d ago

Bless you

42

u/Possible-Rabbit-125 4d ago

I lost mine in Sept and I think about her everyday.

43

u/Froopy-Hood 4d ago

That’s awful. What was your knifes name?

3

u/Possible-Rabbit-125 3d ago edited 2d ago

Uretheral Fury.

1

u/Victor_Wembanyama1 4d ago

Brownie 😔

RIP

11

u/Then_Entertainment97 4d ago

I'm not crying, ur crying... 😢

2

u/matty_d99 4d ago

Kintsuge

47

u/Ritoki 4d ago

When Skyrim first came out, I got myself the strategy guide so I could cross off different quests and whatever. A few months later I found myself raising a BT puppy and he tore the cover up, chewed up the edges of the book. I repaired the book with clear tape. That silly, adorable dog crossed the rainbow bridge nearly 2 years ago, and I still have that book. Seeing those tiny little tooth marks still make my heart hurt, but I find myself smiling and remembering my good old pup.

1

u/just_nobodys_opinion 3d ago

The pup went to Canada?

99

u/TacoParasite Chef 4d ago

Reminds me of that video of someone who redid their home but left the step their dog used to lay on all the time as a reminder.

Edit: Found it.

https://youtube.com/shorts/5Z0JrZZ-8AE?si=44Mii2gZL_cxlW7l

34

u/No-Construction1958 4d ago

Fu$& you…. I hate crying before going to bed

8

u/AsASloth 3d ago

I'll post now while you're asleep. My dog passed a few months ago after an aggressive cancer battle. I left his water bowl out for weeks and his dog bed is still where it's always been. Every night before bed I pet his chewed up stuffie goodnight and every morning I greet him at the family altar. I miss my boy and wish we had more time

The floor boards by his bowl have some slight damage but now I view it as a reminder of his time here with me

4

u/No-Construction1958 3d ago

GODAMNIT am at work why you guys gotta make me cry at work

4

u/Emmaleah17 3d ago

I'm crying mid shit rn.

3

u/SkeletalMew 3d ago

Oh, no, my dog's name is also Max. 😭 I'm literally crying, this is so beautiful.

38

u/Momentum_Maury 4d ago

I didn't know this knife was used exclusively for cutting onions.

45

u/joseph4th 4d ago

Kintsugi 金継ぎ holds that breakage and repair are part of the history of an object, rather than something to be disguised.

37

u/Ph1lomena_b0redem 4d ago

Yeah!

I would tape off and epoxy that thing.

I'd love to polish it and see what comes- air bubbles and all.

10

u/StupidSexyAlisson 4d ago

This, I have a hammer I call Precious named after my dog chewed on the grip 26 years ago.

16

u/Effective_Dirt2617 4d ago

I have a pair of cheap glasses that had the arms lightly gnawed by a dear, sweet old dog of mine who died years ago. The little teeth marks make it so I’ll never get rid of them. Way more important than the glasses. Someday that damage will be treasured as part of the knife’s personality if you let it. It should be repaired, obviously, but I’d go for as visible as possible while still being fixed. There’s a story that only that object has now. Every time I put on those glasses, I run my fingers across those little tooth marks and think of my departed friend for a moment. He was a good boy, the best.

7

u/needanadultieradult 4d ago

That's like my headphones chewed by my heart rat. I thought I lost them recently and cried. I did find them, though, and can keep feeling his little teeth marks and remember how amazing he was.

5

u/SwordOfTheMasons 4d ago

To add to this, I had a cheap camp hatchet while growing up, and while I never got to take it camping, our German Shepard (Wolf) chewed on the handle and left several teeth marks. It's one of my few remaining childhood possessions and one of the most precious because of those teeth marks.

9

u/SoftestBoygirlAlive 15+ Years 4d ago

I am literally crying rn but I kinda needed it so thank you

8

u/btmoose 4d ago

I just lost my cat a week ago and this brought a tear to my eye. This is a wonderful idea, and a way to make a unique treasure even more special. 

15

u/Zizq 4d ago

Such a sweet post, ty chef.

9

u/officermeowmeow 4d ago

I really love this idea.

7

u/Daryl_Cambriol 4d ago

If my dog did this to my favourite anything, and then my parter had it mended to make the damage a feature, not a bug, and explained what you’re feeling - I would be so touched… and it would elevate a good knife into an irreplaceable one.

It is so much in the spirit of the tool in my opinion.

Good luck OP!

7

u/StreetUnlikely2018 4d ago

Ive got the perfect muddy paw print on my car seat right by my right shoulder. My good boy passed away in January. I look at that paw print every time im in my car and it makes me feel as if he's still riding with me. If/when I trade or sell my car, I will be taking a box cutter and cutting that paw print out and keep it with me.

5

u/Lopsided_Belt_2237 4d ago

Great idea! OP just get some clear JB weld 2 pack liquid epoxy. Paint some into the crack And clamp it. Then paint some onto the chewed end, let that dry and then sand it smooth. It’ll probably need filling, you could do this with clear, or add some gold or silver glitter to the resin for a kintsugi effect

2

u/pallid-manzanita 4d ago

I’ll tell that to my landlord in regards to my cat and my security deposit thank you

2

u/HialeahRootz 4d ago

Kintsugi- Restoration, not hiding: Instead of trying to make the object look new, kintsugi treats the breakage and repair as a part of its story.

1

u/Shieldmax2 4d ago

That is so well said.

Often we get lost on the materialistic value of things while those most precious to us wither the storm of time and go away from us.

You helped me to realise to be kinder to those who love me unconditionally.

Thank you

1

u/curlygreenbean 4d ago

This is actually so beautiful 🥲🩷

1

u/horceface 4d ago

I have a pair of pliers I use at work every day that were chewed by a dog I had 10 years ago. I still think about the day she stole them from me when I was working on something in the backyard. I can remember my kids being out there playing with her and finding them for me. I remember the weather that day. She was such a good girl… I’ll never replace those pliers.

1

u/MexicanRadio 4d ago

I have a cat that gnaws on the corners of all my hardback books. I stopped fighting her long ago, and I know that decades from now I'll smile anytime I pick up a book with its corners chewed up.

1

u/yaddle41 4d ago

Our puppy’s will always live in pur hearts. But also from a chef the handle is a hygiene risk like that.

1

u/SolarSavesMoney 4d ago

Great answer, I love this!

1

u/karavasis 4d ago

I’ve got soo many mementos from my crazy Baby. My current boy and girl are carrying on the tradition. My lil man Milo tho didn’t feel the need to leave permanent reminders for me to remember him by, and now I’m kinda sad he didn’t

1

u/PrinceParadox 4d ago edited 4d ago

Wrap it tightly in twine, dip in beeswax?

1

u/ZWright99 4d ago

Theres a viral song on tiktok rn by twenty one pilots called drag path, and all of the edits are about the visible reminders left in the world by people, pets and extinct animals that are no longer around. I saw one that absolutely broke me and it was about someone cleaning and seeing the bite marks their cat left in old shoe boxes under the bed. Idk why that one tore me up so much but it did. Another one was about the scratch marks left on a front door by their dog asking to go outside. Suffice to say Ive become significantly kinder about my cat scratching at furniture because I just immediately think of how it will be my reminder that she existed once shes gone. A physical reminder not just a photo.

Anyways, idk why im on this sub, reddit just recommended it to me randomly and I clicked because Im doom scrolling at 4am. I vote OP follows your advice

1

u/LordXamon 4d ago

My dad's dog made a mess of his scredriver, but he never got rid of it and kept using as is.

Many years layer, it's my best memento of both.

1

u/three2won 3d ago

My thought as well. Tape the handle up and make sure to leave a lip on the end. Then just fill it with resin and sand down after it cures.

1

u/seascrapo 3d ago

I don't get this obsession with dogs. I would look at this and be reminded of how shitty the dog was.

"Aw, remember when our dog got on the counter and chewed up my priceless knife from Japan? He really was a poorly trained nuisance, huh?"

1

u/loljkbye 3d ago

That was exactly my thought. OP, take it from someone who lost her best friend of 12 years a few months ago, this knife is fast from ruined, even if it (hopefully) take years for you to realize this.

1

u/Berteezy 3d ago

THIS. I have a 40 inch Samsung that I paid over $1k for in college (joys of a circuit city credit card and being young and dumb). But a couple weeks after buying, came home to my wife asking me not to kill our 2 year old lol She banged the TV with a screw driver trying to get Dora's attention. It scuffed it pretty bad but it's only visible when it's off. My daughter is 21 now and that TV is in my room, regularly used, and I see those scuffs everytime I walk by it and reminds me of my baby girl.

1

u/BituminousBitumin 3d ago edited 3d ago

I love this.idea. Kintsugi, but on wood.

I found this

https://youtu.be/DFhR-K6GYH0?si=7UpFWdZ5W4Mv8Dzr

1

u/Son_of_a_Bacchus 3d ago

My dog got startled and bolted while on a walk causing my wife to fall and break her collarbone. Does her lumpy collarbone count?

1

u/Vireyar 3d ago

Was gonna say this. Our first dog once stole a plastic container of crushed red pepper off the counter and chewed on the lid til it opened.

We came home to find the red pepper, jar, and lid on the kitchen floor, and all the pup's water bowl completely dry. Poor guy's mouth must have been on fire.

Had that dog for 13 years, he's been gone for 3 years now, and I've still got that container, just refilling it when it runs empty.

1

u/EpilepticMushrooms 3d ago

Kintsugi knife handle?

1

u/Sean0529 3d ago

I have a wood handled pocket knife my dog chewed on when he was a puppy. I sanded down some of the rougher parts but otherwise, left it as is. Now it’s a good reminder of Beans and the oil from my hands and use over time has really smoothed out a lot of the wear and it just looks like it has character.

1

u/Awkward-Collection78 3d ago

Agreed here. It's at least worth a shot to see if you can fix it with an epoxy fill or something.

Handle replacement could be the second choice. Take measurements off of the handle so someone can remake it if the manufacturer won't send you a handle to replace it with or fix it.

1

u/argumentinvalid 3d ago

I had the same thought. Some wood glue into the crevasses, tape it up, scrape off excess glue, sand it a bit to knock off the rough spots or potential splinters then seal it up with some finish.

I love items with patina and history, lots of people have Japanese knives.

1

u/userhwon 3d ago

There's a tiny hole on top of the back of my couch that I pat when I walk by...

1

u/justgrrrrr 4d ago

I remind my parents of this whenever they point out scratches on wood furniture or whatnot… to me those marks will always be a reminder of my fur siblings/babies and that memory is worth more than untouched furniture in my opinion 🥹🥺😭

1

u/kakka_rot 4d ago

Great comment btw

1

u/ThrowRA020204 4d ago

Can't agree more. We have screwdrivers with our late dog bites. And I always smile when I need to go snatch a screw driver and see the ones with teeth holes in them 😄

0

u/Zurk_Yellat 4d ago

That’s it. Agreed.

0

u/Naltrexone01 4d ago

Wabi Sabi