I am the kind of person who is open to buying and using second-hand goods. In fact, when it comes to getting tools, I prefer to choose used ones rather than brand-new ones. That’s because there is something interesting about used items that can’t be found in new things—the traces of their previous owners.

The picture below shows an outdoor burner. When I obtained it, I found a note on its surface written with a pen by the previous owner. I could have dismissed it as a mere scribble, but I used my imagination to assume that the owner had decided to customize the tool to improve its usability while using it again and again. In fact, I have a feeling that the burner contains the owner’s wish to update the human-tool relationship. Presumably, after making the note, the owner was satisfied to feel the relationship was improved. Even a sense of attachment may have developed. I find such a play of imagination enjoyable.

As a product, the burner might have lacked user friendliness and refinement. In fact, its design accepts some compromises for cost reductions. Yet ironically, that incompleteness left room for humans to fill in the gap, leading to a close human-tool relationship. 

Every time I come across a tool that contains a trace left by its previous owner, I find myself reflecting on the relationship between humans and tools.

CMFG Design Dept.
Unit Leader
Hajime Kikuchi