Cool furniture, design objects and desiderata

[NakedYoga]

I’m saying have no preference between #1 or #2 implies many things.

lol okay

 

[Jr Mouse]

This thread took a bizarre turn.

 

[TheFoo]

This is definitely how someone who doesn't care what people think about him posts.

And how do you mean? With full sentences, high school-level vocabulary, reasonable attention to grammar and punctuation, but minus pauses for breathing in and out of my mouth?

 

[gdl203]

Yes, sorry @TheFoo , your comment about sitting on the warm seat of a pretty subway woman was definitely on the creep spectrum. Full creep? Not at all (you don't lick the seat now do you?). Some level of creep? Oh yes.

 

[lawyerdad]

View attachment 1565709

If you are a straight male and this isn’t true for you, maybe you are at least somewhat less straight than you thought.

Or maybe less self-conscious about your height.

 

[TheFoo]

Or maybe less self-conscious about your height.

What the hell does height have to do with anything?

 

[edinatlanta]

And how do you mean? With full sentences, high school-level vocabulary, reasonable attention to grammar and punctuation, but minus pauses for breathing in and out of my mouth?

Someone who doesn't care what others think about them not only wouldn't respond to half the **** that you do they wouldn't take the bait so easily.

 

[venividivicibj]

Is the converse true- if women frequently jostle to sit in a seat I recently vacated, am I to assume they find me attractive? (or maybe I just look clean)

 

[ericgereghty]

That five prong fork makes me cringe every time ?

Pride is beautiful. I would agree the Mellor Minimal reminds me of children's play utensils.

I don't mind, but I don't think anything I say will sway your opinion, so I'm not going to waste a lot of mental energy in it. In fact, I'd guess that the debating over this stuff is why you really like it, that it entrenches you against the Luddites and makes you feel superior.

We already had spent pages on the Potts where I likened it to military mess hall or even my undergrad dining hall's flatware.

All of these pieces are like the formless sack suit of flatware. There is no elegance or definition to them. They're like someone had rectangular pieces of metal and decided they needed to make flatware out of them.

The worst offenders are the fork and knife. The neck of the fork on all three sets looks completely disjointed. It looks like they designed the tines and then just bent the rest of the piece of metal to make it marginally functional.

The knife has no definition or shape to it. It looks like a semi-elipse was cut out of a rectangular piece of steel with no thought.

I don't know why you think you need more surface area for stability, grip, or leverage with your cutlery. Do you have the manual dexterity of a great ape?

I'll close with this. I don't actually care what you buy. If it makes you happy, great. Your original conclusion was the Pott 33. Nothing has changed between then and now, so there is no new information to change your mind (at least if this was actually an objective decision), unless getting shopworn utensils is new information that somehow turns you off to them. In that case, I can only hope you get the professional help you need.

Simple can be elegant. There is nothing elegant about these to my eye, and if the object of discernment isn’t elegant living then you’re just left with the false sense of superiority of the snob.

Though the back and forth is HIGHLY entertaining, I don't care nearly enough (and truly, I don't) to debate the functional merits/philosophy behind flatware. To me, the goods in question look awful. Save quality, little different than the junk toy sets my nieces and nephews play with. Well, price too.
As an aside, after the briefest googling, I would say I find the 33 and 35 to be comfortably the least appealing of the Pott sets.

Wat

Had a literaly belly quality LOL to this. Bravo.

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If you are a straight male and this isn’t true for you, maybe you are at least somewhat less straight than you thought.

Grinding my backside into a vacated seat containing a strange woman's poopoo particles (let's be real, she probably wasn't sopping on her commute home ) isn't exactly how I'd assess one's gender orientation, but, again, tremendously entertaining reading, without question.

I really do need to make a more concerted effort to stalk this page. It's a gem of gems.

 

[gomestar]

i have no idea what's going on here.

but there was a set of flatware posted earlier that seem to have drawn inspiration from short fat fingers. As if you turned those fingers into utensils for your Robuchon potatoes - that's the vibe I got.

 

[Girardian]

I'm not going to get into the heat here, but will a few personal observations (without, admittedly, having read all the banter):

- I do tend to obsess over the little things ... and I think it's OK to do that, even when you haven't met the basics. Sure, prioritize the big things first but, hey, we're not all going to end up with a perfect house, or car, or ____. So, finding joy in some small items can bring moments of recurring pleasure. It can also relieve a bit of pain you feel every day when you look at something and wonder: I just went all out with the sous vide and home made stock ... and I'm eating with ... conventional flatware? Plus flatware is a good example of an everyday something. You use it everyday, right? So why not scratch that itch.

- I find "distillation" in certain design efforts to miss the mark on proportion and balance. I haven't eaten with or held a lot of iconic flatware, but some look a bit out of balance (i.e. excessively flat flatware). Also, I find the lack of definition around flatware heds to be a little strange - it seems utilitarian to have some sensory note as to when the stem starts and ends.

- I bought C&B Couture Flatware, which I found to be nicely proportioned and visually appealing (read: no glaring defects), with the added benefit of being able to replace single pieces (it's been in production for a while). And it hit the right price point ($140 / 20 piece set and about $10/piece for replacements or excess). What I discovered is that the visual appeal has a "performance flaws" -- the flatware is too heavy at the base, so that silver can "fall backwards" off the plate if positioned too close to the edge when clearing plates, and I find the fork prongs a little too close togeher. They also don't stack, which makes storage less elegant. So, I think there's a lot to be said about details like this, and appreciate people who get a little AR over those details being how they want things.

- I'm a cloth napkin guy. I use paper towels too, but I grew up with cloth napkins, and when I set the table on the weekends or any dinner that involves extra effort that's what I put out. Sort of a sign of respect for the food and civility for the meal. I don't equate much environmental impact with this choice, as I'm not washing anything separately, and don't think napkins will ever tip the scale on doing an extra load of laundry, week in week out (except for after a party). Plus I use Chiliwich wipe-down placements so those aren't part of the laundry mix.

- I find one of the "issues" with SF is that it feeds obsessive or potentially obsessive personalities with a bunch of additional stuff to obsess about. Several years ago when looking for a new couch, I read up on a few sites that were homing beacons for people who think about nothing but couches and their details. I wanted nothing to do with that. The wrong kind of education for me. Don't take me down that rabbit hole. Problem is, it's really easy to go down the rabbit hole after reading up here. So I try to be selective and more conscious about where to put energy and focus, and see the rest as a spectator sport.

 

[ValidusLA]

Bespoke chopsticks? I need to get on your level

I should clarify, they aren't really bespoke. They aren't made for me (though I'm sure it is done).

The craftsman makes many many lengths, widths, tapers, and materials, and then they measure your hand at a few points to recommend a size.

 

[NakedYoga]

I should clarify, they aren't really bespoke. They aren't made for me (though I'm sure it is done).

The craftsman makes many many lengths, widths, tapers, and materials, and then they measure your hand at a few points to recommend a size.

That is pretty interesting. I certainly don't eat enough Asian food to justify that, but I'm intrigued. What advantage does a properly sized chopstick set afford you? More natural grip/eating motion?

 

[gomestar]

I read up on a few sites that were homing beacons for people who think about nothing but couches and their details. I wanted nothing to do with that. The wrong kind of education for me. Don't take me down that rabbit hole.

not even designers obsess over this and makers downright loathe these single-item purchase clients. Waste of time, money, and eventually legal fees.

 

[cross22]

Speaking of obsessing, I think sitting after someone on a subway depends on the texture of the seat. On a hard surface I will assess the hygiene of the previous occupant as the basis of my decision. On a soft/cushioned surface I will never sit down after someone regardless of their beauty (it IS creepy) or whatever, you can have it.