you're right, the broader point is "buy what is the best [for you]". i assumed the "for you" is implicit, given the obvious subjective nature of what it is we're talking about.
are you suggesting he's trying to imply that there is a canonical "the best" of everything?
Well I could be wrong, but I assume he was trying to make a broader point than "Hey everybody, these Yanagi forks are best for me".
I'd also imagine discussing any individuals particular preference for some random product, is of little concern to HN.
Without getting into the materialism debate or Curtis's obvious aestheticism bias, I thought some might be interesting in a discussion about
"What does 'the best' actually mean?"
My bias, would that I'm thinking about the question mostly from the perspective of businesses wishing to supply products or services to consumers.