If you cook a lot, a $1k nice net is really nice to have. It'll pretty much last you the rest of your life, so it's a one-time expenditure. I'm planning on putting a set of Shun knives on my registry -- I've got a decent set of forged Chicago Cutlery knives right now, but I've played around with some Shuns and they are reaaaaaally nice.

When you compare what people spend on their hobbies -- i.e car parts, motorcycle stuff, flying lessons, R/C cars, whatever -- $1k for something you'll use almost daily isn't that big of a deal.