There's more than one way to skin a cat...

Making a knife from scratch can be done in many ways. Historically the process has differed from culture to culture. Culture has been the way a group of people do things, usually for enonomic advantage or to suit their way of life. The ways in which craftsmen have produced their artefacts have been governed largely by necessity and technical ability. Culturally defined artefacts exhibit quirks that make them unique and identifiable amongst the web of other cultures. These quirks allow a product to fit a niche, be it environmental, religious, or simply for the sake of novelty, intellect and beauty.

To distill this, things look the way they do for a reason. It is a sign of good design.