This knife sits in a cabinet along with my most expensive blades:

Why, you ask?

Well I will admit this particular blade is gaudy. And cheap. And not historically accurate in any way. Not functional. Not good steel. Gold plated plastic fittings, fake plastic same grip, stainless alloy blade (not sharpened, nor can it be).

But WHY? Why does it sit beside blades rare and priceless in a place of honor? Whatever could possess me to place it with the sword of my Sensei?

Why I value this blade is a function of why I have this blade. You see, 20 years ago a 13 year old student gave this to me. She saved her allowance and all the other money she received for months on order to buy this for me. You can get one these days for about $40.00; 2 decades ago an uninformed public was willing to pay much more for this type of thing.

But all of that is beside the point. She saved all she had and went without things she wanted in order to gift me with a thing she believed I would treasure. And in that she was correct. 20 years have gone by; she is 34 years old now and probably with children of her own. I have not seen her in many years but her gift remains safe in my cabinet.

The value of a thing is not always its intrinsic worth, but resides in the meaning you attach to it.