While I mostly lurk here, I've seen countless threads about how to choose a knife, asking for recommendations, etc etc. Ultimately, most of these threads wind up with answers like "I like X, Y and Z, but you should use whatever works best for you." That's all well and good, but as a few posters have pointed out, it's tough to actually determine what works best for you without actually having a knife in hand for a few days. Buying and returning/reselling is an option for some people with good kitchen supply stores and who are willing to risk getting stuck with a few extra knives. However, many people don't have that option, and while they may end up with very good knives, they are often left wondering about the knife that got away.
In order to solve this problem, it would be great if we could organize some type of knife-swap, so that people can try out a few unfamiliar knives and get some better ideas about what they are really looking for. Obviously there are some risks and logistical challenges to this, but I think it would be really great if people could figure out a way to make it work. I know I have a few knives that I wouldn't mind sending around for people to lay hands on. For example, I splurged on a Kyocera ceramic nakiri, which after weeks of use, I wish I hadn't purchased, and I'd be happy to save other people from a regrettable purchase. (I do know people who love ceramic, but it seems to be more an issue of weight than cutting performance). Better still would be if people could post brief reviews after having each knife, it would really add to the breadth of reviews we see.
In order to solve this problem, it would be great if we could organize some type of knife-swap, so that people can try out a few unfamiliar knives and get some better ideas about what they are really looking for. Obviously there are some risks and logistical challenges to this, but I think it would be really great if people could figure out a way to make it work. I know I have a few knives that I wouldn't mind sending around for people to lay hands on. For example, I splurged on a Kyocera ceramic nakiri, which after weeks of use, I wish I hadn't purchased, and I'd be happy to save other people from a regrettable purchase. (I do know people who love ceramic, but it seems to be more an issue of weight than cutting performance). Better still would be if people could post brief reviews after having each knife, it would really add to the breadth of reviews we see.