To embrace a stereotype, there are two types of people in the kitchen: Tool enthusiasts and food enthusiasts.

The tool enthusiast has beautiful Japanese steel knives treated as family heirlooms; the knives are sent out for professional sharpening once or twice a year.

The food enthusiast has a pile of fibrox knives and a chef's choice electric sharpener. The knives go through the sharpener once a month and the dishwasher daily; the knives get replaced every decade or two.

The tool enthusiast's knives are pretty, but the food enthusiast's knives always pass the paper test.

Nobody has ever complemented me "wow, this meal was prepared with such pretty knives!"

Your kitchen example also functions as allegory for software development