Knife Brands I should look for, and ones to keep away from

It can also be due (partly at least) to never having had any of the high regarded knives in hand to try, or compare next to the big store type common "high end" brands. So its one of those "don't know what I'm missing" things, and never felt a need to research further. I have kitchen knives, they are definitely functional and nice enough for my level of use and cooking in the kitchen. I know enough about knives/blades in general that I avoid obvious junk knives for tools, but past that, comparing like the Calphalon ones I have to any other brand/name... Never had the chance.

 

This is just my 2 cents, but I'm not sure how many brands/makers should truly be avoided. This site is geared more toward the finer knives and ,with ymmv coming into play, might make it impossible to actually come up with a knife or brand. Even the cheapest knives cut things, and unless it has a design flaw or they just break from normal use, are "good enough" for some people. I have a drawer full of Chicago cutlery stuff that will last me for a lifetime. I wouldn't tell anyone to avoid it, but I also know that there are nicer options if one wishes to get something better just because.

 

C'mon Tom!

Delbert Ealy

Tilman Leder

 

couple more obscure names but very very tasty:

Nesmuk (Germany)
Blades of the Gods (Bali)

 

Takeda
Mizuno
Watanabe
Shigefusa
Gesshin ( I trust all of Jons blades that he sells 100%)


I recently acquired a kanehiro 150mm petty from the bst at the other place and I am in love with it.

I feel like these japanese makers are very consistent and make great knives.

 

Because noone will name name's out of courtesy and politeness.

I did that once because of lack of care really and got banned from the other KKF. That is how it goes. Funny enough, I got some PM's and emails afterwards just confirming what I was thinking about said product, but thats just confirmation of whats written above.

Other thing is, is there anyone in knife industry, or any other, who is making a product for it to be poor and not perform? So when youre not happy with what youve got, return it.
There was a guy at the other place who returned delaminated Shigefusa, and made a drama about that. It can happen to anyone, I dont think Iizuka made delaminated knife for purpose, but it happened, as a buyer I would do exactly same thing.

 

Every manufacturer I am sure has knives slip out that are sub par; even custom makers have goofed up from time to time. I have seen laser type knives delivered to customers with very thick edges. Also, look at the Masamoto KS; many of them are ground different, some are fat, some are nice and thin. Same with Takeda, some are thin, others are very fat behind the edge. I recently picked up a couple of $40 Tosa style knives; both had over ground heels and ripples in the blade road, so I flattened them out a bit, but didn't take it all the way to a clean bevel. I will do that as time progresses, but I have seen overground heels on MANY knives, including some brands that were listed as "good-excellent" in this post. Japanese knives are more often hand made and have more hands in the pie so to speak and may have more issues than other mass produced items due to this. One guy grinding 50-100 blades a day on a water wheel is bound to have some slips ups and they may not be noticed until the customer gets the knife where the custom maker may spend days on 1 knife and may still miss something. It happens! The Japanese culture accepts this more (like sharp spines and choils) due to perhaps the Wabi Sabi concept (imperfections and being hand made is better than machine made perfection as a quick interpretation), but most Western customers want the F&F nailed and the grinds done better/cleaner, HT spot on, etc. We want it done right the first time and OOTB!!

Some manufacturers/line of knives aren't what everyone want to see. Some lines are hated by one group, but loved by another group. Most of us here dislike Henckels and Wustoff and prefer the Japanese blades, yet there are ton's of people that love those European style knives and think they perform great! Some people insist on stainless, others love carbon. Doesn't mean that one is "worse" than the other. Many of the knives designed have a specific market and price point in mind and even though it doesn't correspond to with the ideas here doesn't always mean it's a "bad" knife. Some may hate a oddly shaped handle and it hurts their hand, but other people love the handle. It's a lot of personal preference. Just because a group of people don't like something doesn't make it "bad" for everyone, just like if a group of people like something, doesn't make it "good" for everyone across the board.

As far as brands to stay away from, every brand has had some lemons slip out, but across the board, it's up to the consumer to do some research, see what they want and get it. If it's not what they want, return it! If the quality isn't there, return it! Just because I don't like something doesn't mean than it's not good for someone else. I think on the forums we expect every manufacturer to make products that WE want to see and forget that there are more people than us in the world and that people have different wants and needs and just because WE don't like it doesn't mean that SOMEONE won't like it! Many of the people on here use knives more in a week than some do all year and what WE look for in a knife is different than the person that uses a serrated steak knife for all of their knife and cardboard cutting needs! We are the vocal minority though, but there are many more people who are just fine using their Dexter Sani Safe and other knives that we turn our noses up at.

If you don't like it, don't buy it in the first place or return it. It is important for people to be able to give their opinions about a product so people can decide if it's the right product for them or not and not get trashed and bashed by others if they do not agree with the "hive mind". I may like a knife that someone else hates and it's pretty self centered to assume that everyone has the same needs/standards as you do and likes only what you like and if you don't like it, then it's junk.

Manufacturing defects are a whole other issue; best bet is to send it to the factory for them to see and repair/replace. This is the common practice in the firearms field to deal directly with the manufacturer, not the retailer and in some other industries, too.

 

*cough, cough*

 

And Adam Marr! :lol:

 

Adam really is in this list. I love his knives.

 

Yes yes yes

Apart from this: performance is not a preference. I never heard anyone said "I dont like a knife because it cuts well. "
So yeah you can like or dislike shape, thickness or any other detail.
But performance has nothing to do with that. Either ones knife has it, or its rubbish. Especially when its a made-one-at-a-time custom