Overhyped/ underrated knives

I'd say the Singatirin Honyaki from Maksim are underrated

 

+1

 

+1. I have had a couple of these.Thin behind the edge,surprisingly unreactive and good edge retention.Not the best handles though.I also have a 210mm OEM Sakai gyuto with Tsuchimi finish that i got from Blueway long time ago that has really surprised me with the edge retention and its ability to take an edge

 

Great Question. I have been putting 'Lost Knife Sensei' signs up all over the neighborhood with nothing to show for it. I believe his comments on the Takeda geometry were regarding what is often referred to as an 'S' grind lately. I think his point was that Takeda forges them to have that geometry as opposed to stock removal. Justin's Nakiri is a particulaly stunning example. The new Takeda's still have the same general geometry as they use to, they just aren't skinny and sexy anymore. My body can relate.

 

As far as underrated I would say watanabe...he used to be much more popular than now with so many other makers....I don't think I've ever had a knife from him that was messed up....now as far as overrated, well I will keep my mouth shut but I have had many many other blades that were thoroughly jacked up beyond the point of keeping.....from TOP makers......RyanRyan

 

Wow, you guys are killing me. This thread really appeals to me for its promise of finding knives that excel in my price range. And it does that but I see I must tread carefully. I'll own a lot of ignorance here, but I was thinking in the underrated category I'd see things like a $115 Tanaka or as noted above the Yamawaku nakiri at $70 and other knives like that. You know, "This thing is such a good knife I can't believe it only cost's $115, it is underrated" And that when a knife goes for $600, not even a custom, I was expecting it to reside in the over rated category unless it was outstanding. I mistakenly thought that since the price of admission is $600, we are expecting it to be superb in every meaningful way and that if it is not, it should not be costing $600-it is overrated. I have a lot to learn.

 

Alright Moto, I'll bite.
Underrated: Tanaka ginsanko. Seriously outcuts my SIGNIFICANTLY more expensive Saji R2 at a quarter of the price...It's also amazingly easy to sharpen

 

I'm not sure if it is truly underrated as much as overlooked, but Suisin INOX Western line. THAT line Moto is the "This thing is such a good knife I can't believe it only cost's $115, it is underrated" knife. And in my admittedly very limited but not humble opinion is the best bang for the buck best introduction to Japanese knives that few ever suggest. (need a devil with horn grinning emoticon here)

 

Ajitakaya direct from Japan right? If I remember, you had that one for 2-3 mos and then sold it.

 

dont hold that against him. i sell off great knives all the time :thumb

 

Thanks... Nothing up my sleeve, honest.

 

popularity does not go hand in hand with over/underrating. That said I think watanabes are highly regarded and rightfully so. Tanaka ginsanko has a lot of potential, but one would have an even rougher time ootb than a 'wedgie' Takeda. It takes a lot of work to reach its optimal performance, but once there it is one hell of a cutter and very easy to sharpen. My only gripe is the cladding is not pleasant on stones, as is any soft stainless cladding.

 

For those that didn't like the DT ITK AEBLs, did you get a chance to try the 52100 version? Curious if it's the steel or the profile/grind that you didn't like.

 

Agree

 

I wasn't impressed with the grind or profile either, and the handle was way too long/heavy.

side note, if there are any unhappy Takeda owners, I've got a Kochi migaki I would gladly trade you.

 

Overhyped
- hd2 steel, I know it's not a knife, but seriously overhyped. It's a good semi-stainless, nothing more nothing less.

Under rated (really just +1's)
- Singitrin Honyaki - current avatar, we're still on our honey moon though
- Takamura low end line- laser in R2 w/ good F&F under $200(too bad no 24cm)

Can't chime in on the Takeda debate, as I can't see myself ever buying a 24cm clever/santoku highbred. Maybe a great knife, just not the profile for me.
Might try out a Sasanoha, some day.

 

So youre trying to say, that in order to thin behing the edge, one doesnt need to touch the core steel?? To me??

Working long hours we do, we shouldnt waste time in such a silly manner but here you go:

Lets say you have a knife in which the core steel is a 1mm thick. cladding is 1mm on each side. You only thin cladding, never core steel.
How thick a blade behind the edge you get after you sharpened much [2-5mm off of the blades height] ?

 

i dunno. do what you want to. eventually the core steel will need thinning i guess. thinning is really all about adjusting the secondary bevel so the blade falls through food differently.

 

Let's say that I was working on new grind Takeda. The knife was 6cm wide and bevel was less than 1 cm. Squirrel trust me it looks like flat piece of steel in which some unexperienced guy cut out small cutting edge. I spent many hours trying to rise bevel and I definitely touched the core stell and you know what? The grind was so bad that on the right side knife was laying flat on the stone and I couldn't rise bevel any more. Knife was cutting only a little bit better and then was sent back to Japan. Sorry mate but I think that knife which costs 350$ should cut well. It shouldn't be thinned straight away and then sent back to manufacturer. It's not only this knife. More people were moaning about it. Maybe old Takedas were good but new are ********. There is no quality control. If Shosui Takeda have new guy on the grinding wheel then he should check what is he doing.

 

wait, the right blade face was laying flat on stone? that means it wasn't even forged properly, there should be a small gap. somebody was lazy that day when the knife was made.