Hultafors craftsman’s-knife
Mass produced Swedish utility knife with plastic handle, plastic sheath and carbon steel blade
Where and how is it used?
Heavy use for wood carving and every day use, kitchen, outdoors, etc
What did you or someone else pay for it?
under £4
Why do you want to add it to the museum?
Because it is a product for those who use their hands or make things.
Because it represents exceptional value for money. (dirt cheap whilst being durable, with formidable edge retention and sharpenability)
Because it outperforms much more expensive products hands down but at the same time it won't do brand cult and brand cult idiocy.
Because it shows that high quality goods can be made cheaply and because it demonstrates a reasonable use of plastic.
How was it made?
Is made in a factory
Is farmed
Is mass-produced
Is produced by local cottage industry
Is made to particular specifications
Is craft / hand-made
Is foraged
Is found
Is colonised
Is a service
Materials & Making
Who made or produced your commodity?
hultafors sweden
Who was paid to make it?
probably Swedish factory workers
What skills does it take to make it?
some sort of machinist
Where was it made?
probably Sweden
What does it cost to make it?
under £4
What is it made from?
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1. blade:
high carbon japanese knife steel
2. Handle:
orange polypropylene mould
3. sheath:
black polypropylene
Buying & Owning
Who decides how much it costs?
manufacturer, retailer, customer
Who or what assesses its quality?
myself in professional use
Where is it sold?
mostly specialist retailers(tools, hardware more so than lifestyle and outdoor) on the high street and online. I have seen some "cool"shops selling it at 100% mark-up, which is fine by me, since the life style oriented middle classes do need punishing
Who or what sells it?
dto
How did this thing arrive from where it was made to where you got it?
depends on retailer
Where is it used?
work, household, leisure
Where is it kept?
Where it's needed
How and by whom is it cared for?
It's kept in working order ( sharp, corrosion free) by myself
How long will it last?
until the blade has been ground down to nothing, probably 5 to ten years of heavy use in wood, more than a life time of casual and light use
Where will it go when it's finished with?
What's left after use will go to the recycling
What is it worth?
Lacking alternatives I would probably pay 4- 5 times its price. If I could not just go out and buy it or an alternative I would value it very highly as an ireplaceable object indeed.
How do you and others value this commodity?
See the values contributed by visitors and those of the donor. And add your own values to this commodity.
| Total times valued | 5 |
| Positive (↑) | Longevity |
| Negative (↓) | Kindness |
| Overall Positive | 329 |
| Overall Negative | -54 |
| Controversy | 41.95 (0 = most controversial) |
What do these numbers mean?
This data that we have collected over time in our database means nothing without interpretation. A relational database, which we are using here, is technology that enables designers of websites and software to compare, contrast, interrogate and infer relations within data. The act of designing a database is not objective but driven by the agency of its creators and owners.
Within the MoCC Collection data is used to help think through the relations between values, commodities and data. Can we describe our values using sliders and numbers? How do we infer meaning such as controversy from data?
Below is a brief explanation of the some calculations and how these help make decisions about what is shown on the site.
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Controversy Score:
(Total Positive Values) + (Total Negative Values)
The closer the value is to zero the more controversial it is in relation to other commodities. Used to infer that values associated with one commodity divide opinion more than another.
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Average Value Score (used in the sliders):
(Total Positive for Value + Total Negative for Value) ÷ Total Times Valued
Used to infer a collective value associated with a commodity.
How do you value this commodity?
To add your own values click VALUE THIS COMMODITY and move the sliders left and right to add your own values - then click SUBMITQuestions and answers
Help to reveal unknown quantities, properties and uses of this commodity by answering this MoCC curator's questions.
There are no questions.
Conversation
Do you have questions about how this commodity is valued? Or want to talk about your own values in relation to it? Share your comments.
Add to the conversation:
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Even though it is a simple product I do not entirely understand its provenance, which I find unsettling.
by scharfrichter on April 21st at 8:49pm