Customer Feedback Thread!!

So, in light of the recent discussions regarding positive or negative feedback/constructive criticism...and the lack of it that we usually get as bladesmiths/knifemakers...I thought I'd give my customers a specific place to talk about the knives they've purchased.

And...here it is, lol.

All commentary is welcome...as long as its honest. Good, bad, indifferent...I'll use this thread to help me improve my work...which is something that will benefit everyone involved in the end .

So...feel free to post as little or as much as you like...from a full blown review, to a few words about your experience. Pictures are highly encouraged . If you've compared it with other knives, I'd love to hear your thoughts. If you've let others use it with the aim of hearing their thoughts (yes @larrybard lol...that means you my friend!!)...I'd love to hear them as well!

In closing though, I'd like to say thanks to you all for the opportunity to make my living doing something I love so much! The fact that you all seem to love the results of that work is something I am grateful for on a daily basis.

 

Delighted to have something to post (either directly, based on the comments of someone who borrowed mine, or by asking them to post directly) within a day or two. It's the least I can do to show my appreciation for a wonderful knife. (Yeah . . . buying a half dozen more sure would be another neat way of showing my appreciation, but despite your reasonable -- and that may be an understatement -- prices, relative to what one gets, at the moment my wallet contents fall a bit short of what would be needed for even one more.

 

As promised, I am posting below comments given to me privately by someone to whom I loaned several knives, including the one by Cris which I am fortunate to own. The commenter gave me permission to post his comments publicly, though at least for the moment I will not identify him. (As one might gather from what he wrote, he is an experienced, perceptive user – infinitely more so than I am, which is why I asked for his comments, and why I think they are valid and worth reading, whereas mine would be relatively worthless.) I hope they are helpful. This is what he wrote (in very slightly edited form, but not changed substantively):

"I compared Cris’ knife to several other high-end knives by other makers (Catcheside, Martell, Marko, Carter, Tilman Leder, Mike Davis, Misono Dragon, etc.) that I used during the same time period. From using these knives I definitely have a much better idea of what I like and don't like. From reading my own notes and thinking a bit I can tell I'm most definitely a laser/thinner-is-better sort of guy in that all the stuff I really enjoyed (Martell, Carter, Cris and Misono Dragon) were on the thinner side, especially those by Carter and Cris. Generally speaking I like a western handle but the one by Cris actually showed me that I can feel totally at home with a wa; that was an unexpected surprise and something I will definitely remember.

"Cris’ knife was probably my favorite of the whole lot. The curved and extended choil/emoto area felt absolutely perfect in my grip. Never used a more comfortable wa handle! Long knife but super thin and agile, it cut so smoothly and easily. Haven't been this surprised or impressed in a while, tied with Carter for best all-around cutter. Handle was small, but somehow it just worked and fit me perfectly. Not a lot of sticking either, which I didn't understand given how thin this one was; normally thin sticks quite a bit....

"I found the knife to be exceptionally flexible near the tip and through the front 1/3 especially. I don't think this is a major flaw or anything but I would prefer more stiffness. That said though, if that stiffness would come at the expense of having to make the knife thicker, and not as thin and light, then I wouldn't do it personally. I adore how thin and light this knife is and wouldn't want that to change yet I would like more stiffness.... Interestingly, I subsequently found out that Cris’ newest passaround knife is a bit stiffer near the tip.

"Aside from the flexibility, however, I pretty much found the knife perfect for everything I would possibly want. Was a wonderful knife in every respect and out of all the custom stuff I have tried it would be the only knife I think I would consider buying myself (Martell as well, potentially, but a knife by Cris would be above it for my taste)."

 

Time for a quick review of my 265mm Gyuto in W2 from Cris

Please remember I am just a home cook and don't have any pro cooking background


First of all the thing looks even better in person and the fit and finish is great.

Got to have some pics!!




The wa handle is the perfect size for me and is comfortable and feels genuinely great to hold.
I was unsure how the curved choil would feel but it works very well for my pinch grip and is very comfortable and the knife balances just around the makers stamp, pretty perfect for me and makes the knife feel quite nimble for it's size. The blade is pretty thin but has a good amount of stiffness and I haven't noticed any unwanted flex during normal use.

It cuts great and doesn't require much effort to slice through food, only good things to report with regards to food sticking, pretty much everything falls off.
I haven't had any wedging either, no issues with large onions and potatoes etc. Due to the length I have been using it as a slicer quite a bit and it does the job well, just the right amount of stiffness and not too tall.

The edge is holding up great in my home cooking environment, it gets used about 3-4 times a week for an hour or so at a time preparing meals, it's still slicing tomatoes great after a few weeks of use, looking good so far.

I was surprised how easy it was to use at 265mm, it doesn't feel like a huge beast of a knife and just does what you want it to with no fuss or effort.

A couple more pics in slightly different lighting


Overall I am extremely pleased with the knife, great blade, great handle, great cutter and looks AMAZING:cool1

Also, Cris is a great guy to deal with as well, always on hand to answer questions or offer advice on maintaining the knife etc.

So there is my very basic home cooks review, hope some of you might find it useful

 

Thank you Warren and Larry, for your kind words!!

 

Hello Everyone,

I'm the anonymous person that Larry mentioned in his post, those are my short summaries of some of the various knives of his I tried and how I felt they held up in relation to each other. I would like to take the time now to post a much more in-depth and detailed review/impressions. Not to say there was anything wrong with what Larry posted (he passed it by me first) but just that I would prefer to add more to this to give anyone interested more info and comparisons.

At this point in life I'm a home cook so all of my impressions are from that, I have worked in kitchens and a bakery in the past so I have my fair share of experience around knives of all sorts. I've used quite the collection so what I'm about to say shouldn't be taken lightly. Out of everything I have owned there are only a handful of things I would ever buy again, for simplicity sake I'm going with just 3 now that I have had further time to reflect on price, value and performance of everything I have owned. I would buy these CCK 1303 Cleaver, Misono Dragon 240mm Gyuto, Cris Anderson 260-270mm Gyuto (honorable mention to the Kohetsu Blue#2 and Takamura)

To put that into perspective here is everything I can remember having owned or used extensively (everything is either a 210 or 240mm gyuto):
Germans like Wust and Henckles
Fujiwara FKM
Tojiro DP
Suisin Inox Western
Suisin Inox Honyaki
Gesshin Ginga Western
Gesshin Uraku
Zakuri
Z Kramer Essential and 52100
Takamura Migaki R2
Shun Classic
Sakai Yusuke Extra Hard Stainless
Shigefusa Kasumi
Kato Workhorse
Moritaka KS
Konosuke HD2
Konosuke Fujiyama W2
Kikuichi TKC
Kohetsu Blue #2
Hattori FH
Goko
Sakai Takayuki
HHH Production
Del Ealy
Martell
Carter Funayuki
Marko Practice
Will Catchside
Mike Davis

That should put some backing to what I'm going to say, the gyuto from Cris I was able to test out was the only WA handle I have ever felt perfectly comfortable with. I have continually struggled with comfort with WA's and as a result tended to favor Westerns but Cris's gradual curve and shaping made the knife feel at home in my hand. Possibly one of the most agile feeling knives, balance was spot on where it felt neutral and even throughout, excellent in this regard.

Further, this thing held an edge flawlessly through a week of home use, granted that isn't a ton but that is meals and dinners every day along with some random prep work. No need to touch the edge up, it was fine and shaving tomato's for fun at the end of it. Aside from the edge holding, the knife was incredibly thin and had surprisingly good food release for something of this nature. I have used some exceedingly thin knives before like the Takamura but they did tend to suffer from sticking (not that this is a huge deal for me, cutting performance is top). In speaking of cutting performance, this knife was top, no question there. It was lightsaber-esque and wonderful to use as a result. You didn't hear carrots break in the cut if that makes sense.

In the short summary I mentioned that I didn't really like the flex especially in the front 1/3 of the blade, this is correct and true however, in speaking with Cris, I understand that this is part of the deal to get something so thin. I already had a feeling that was the case and in any rate, I would vastly prefer the performance associated with this level of thinness vs. what might occur with a thicker but stiffer knife. This point for me was absolutely a nit pick type thing but I can't just go around saying a knife is perfect, that is silly because there is always something an owner/buyer/user might want to chance regardless of if its totally rational or do-able or not.

When I mentioned that the knife showed me/helped me confirm what I like in a knife I meant that it firmly stamped itself in my mind in regards to what I want. For me, the rest of the custom's and production knives I have tried, be it Marko or Martell, Kato or Shig, aren't worth it. This knife, quite simply put, was better. It really is as simple as that, I arguable have tried just about all the "heavy hitters" out there be it custom or production and this was what I would buy. Cris put out something better than the rest.....and it wasn't close

*Note* please excuse any spelling or grammatical errors, I like to type as I think and just let the words "flow" to give a more honest review.

 

I trust SolidSnake's reviews b/c he has tried A LOT of knives, and I mean A WHOOOLEEE LOT

 

Sounds just fine when you go with the flow.

 

Thanks Coqavin,

I have tried many knives and spent some quality cutting time with all those listed. The 3 I choose represent the best I had/have ever used at very distinct price points.
The CCK 1303 is an amazing value, it looks rough and ugly but it simply performs better than many gyuto's at 2x or 3x the price.
The Misono Dragon is the next step or teir in my mind, it's not a better "value" than the CCK for example but it holds an edge well and performs wonderfully all around
The Cris Anderson is the "top teir" or dream class for many people. Again this is not at all a value item but if you're interested in that level of knife I don't see a reason to go with anything else.

That's the easiest way of breaking those 3 down, they all have a great place in my kitchen and in any discussion on knives. Each is stellar at what it does without pause and for me, without peer in their respective groupings for a variety of reasons (long long discussion possible there I know)

I would argue that going with the flow would be something more along the lines of "each of these custom makers had a great product for their own reasons etc...." Instead, I chose the more confrontation path overall in that I straight up said, this one (Cris) is better than the rest and that I wouldn't bother personally with any of the others after using it. When you call out one custom maker as top dog after having owned and used quite a few that can bring out some strong feelings regardless of if it is in that makers thread....because other's will read it and may or may not agree despite the location of the posting.

Anyhow, just one guys take on the whole thing, it's an end game knife without question for me

 

You guys are kind of leaving me speechless here...truly.

Honestly though...thank you for your praise. I can only hope to continue to produce knives that people feel are of the caliber and level of performance that you have stated here.

 

I think I'll see if I can get one from Cris on layaway.

 

Actually most knives I sell are basically layaway knives lol. I get a deposit...and usually like 4 payments till its paid off.

It works for everyone involved...so I run with it!

 

Chris, I had a chance to both cut and sharpen your Mitzu Gyuto at the EDC this past Sunday. The edge on the knife was sharp, but I wanted to see if I could get it sharp sharp. A couple of strokes on JKI 1000/6000 diamond stones gave the edge more bite but was still refined ( Theory said those stones puts what looks like diamonds on the edge). then I gave it to Marc and we played with it, passing it back and fourth, with reckless abandonment obliterating onions and potatoes. Marc diced up a potato into risotto sized pieces.

For prep work, I usually prefer taller heels and more a spear shaped (shig) tips. But the grind that you were able to achieve allowed me to still push cut. Its a serious pull cutting machine though. The steel felt extra hard in hand. I handled about 100 knives that day and cut with half of them. Despite my initial assumptions about the profile, it was a stand out cutter and in my personal top five knives I messed with. Way to go Chris.

 

Thank you sir!

I'm glad someone put a finished edge on it, lol. I didn't have time before mailing it...so the edge that was on it was pretty unimpressive. With all the cleanup I did before I boxed it up the edge had been pretty well abused. 3000 grit paper isn't crazy aggressive, but its not healthy for the edge when run lengthwise down it either. It was a last minute thing getting the box made though, and I made it to the post office 5 minutes before they closed...so there simply was no chance.

Anyhow, thank you again for taking the time to put the knife through its paces, as well as for the commentary. I hope to hear from more of the guys that used the knife at the ECG also...so if you know of anyone who used it I'd love if you could point them over here (or to the passaround thread). The more I learn from you guys about what you like and don't, the better these knives come out...which is good for all of us .

Oh, also...for those of you that don't know, this is the knife he was speaking of:



And one of Marc's pictures from the ECG

 

I thought I would add a little to this thread by quoting the two reviews I've received for the passaround knife above. You can see those here.

Thank you gentlemen for your feedback! Hopefully I'll be adding Marc's review here soon .

 

Pretty amazing reviews, Cris! I had a feeling your work was unreal, and this is starting to prove it.

I have a sneaking suspicion that your knives cut like a Harner when you go, "Hey, Butch - make it cut like crazy...like crazy crazy". Yup.

 

Thanks Tom! That is high praise indeed my friend!!

 

In the interest of consolidating performance reviews, I thought I'd move (by quote) Julian's public review of his ko-gyuto to this thread as well. I hope he doesn't mind...as he's been working 10hr plus days covering shifts for a missing cook lol.

Thanks for the feedback Julian!

 

OK this is going to be a short review. The knife looks incredible and it cuts even better then it looks. It is the best gyuto that I have gotten a chance to use. Here are a few of the makers that I have or had in the past Burke, Rader, Carter, Heiji, kagekiyo, Takeda, SIH, Ealy, Kato, Mizuno tanrenjo I'm sure I'm missing some. One of the best parts of the whole custom knife was the communication with Cris. If I wanted a zebra saya he would get a price for me haha. It's a great journey you go on from start to finish.

Sam

 

Hi everyone, just a quick review for now. Let me start by saying a huge thank you to @CrisAnderson27 for these amazing pieces of functional art!! This order started with a 'stock' 225mm XH Gyuto with a custom handle and progressed to what you see before you. I'm yet to use them as I can't stop from drooling over them, cutting review will be added soon. Oh I did test them on my arm hair if that counts, I now have serious bald patches
As soon as you pick one up it just feels "right". The balance point is perfect and the handle style itself fits beautifully in the hand. The f &f is amazing!
The journey with Cris is truly fantastic. Complete customer emersion and interaction throughout the whole build process. His passion and enthusiasm is very contagious.
I have obtained some very special knives from world class makers here on the forum (you know who you are ) along with Kato, Shig and Carter to name a few, Cris goes straight on that list and rightly so, look at these 'beauties'

Ok, will update review after they have had a work out.....oh the anticipation.

Again, thank you very much my friend!!