TheDispossessed
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2013
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Interested in hearing about others' experience here.
Have bought a couple of knives, a stone and a few accessories from Korin, and so far have slightly less than enthusiastic impression overall.
the staff has always been courteous, and i appreciate that this is a family run store serving a need for japanese cutlery in nyc.
however, i've had a couple of things happen i wasn't too crazy about.
both sayas i have purchased for a gyuto have almost instantly split open when getting a little wet, so i'd say the generic ones they sell kinda suck.
the togiharu 1000/4000combo stone i bought (admittedly an entry level item), cracked all over the place even when i just soaked the coarse side (now i just soak the whole thing, **** it). this stone dishes and loads incredibly fast as to make even quick touch up work a bit of a hassle, not a great product by any stretch.
i bought a yanagiba in tokyo (i'm a lefty and couldn't find a fitting saya at the shop), when i called korin and asked about getting a saya they first said, 'we won't sell you a saya for a single bevel knife you did not buy here.' ***? i mean, if you respect knives, you would want them to be cared for, whether you sold them or not. then at the store they did say, well we can try and order one but if it gets here and doesn't fit you still have to buy it, no returns. wasn't impressed here.
just this week i purchased two of their 'mizuyama' stones, a 2k and 6k only to find when getting home the 2k was so warped and untrue it was unusable, returned both immediately.
i also feel some of the knowledge they share (or lack thereof) relating to the care of japanese knives, and purchasing advice for novice cooks is either out-dated or simply innaccurate.
doing business there has always felt very impersonal and stiff, in stark contrast to the JKI experience.
anybody have similar, different experiences? please share, thanks!
Have bought a couple of knives, a stone and a few accessories from Korin, and so far have slightly less than enthusiastic impression overall.
the staff has always been courteous, and i appreciate that this is a family run store serving a need for japanese cutlery in nyc.
however, i've had a couple of things happen i wasn't too crazy about.
both sayas i have purchased for a gyuto have almost instantly split open when getting a little wet, so i'd say the generic ones they sell kinda suck.
the togiharu 1000/4000combo stone i bought (admittedly an entry level item), cracked all over the place even when i just soaked the coarse side (now i just soak the whole thing, **** it). this stone dishes and loads incredibly fast as to make even quick touch up work a bit of a hassle, not a great product by any stretch.
i bought a yanagiba in tokyo (i'm a lefty and couldn't find a fitting saya at the shop), when i called korin and asked about getting a saya they first said, 'we won't sell you a saya for a single bevel knife you did not buy here.' ***? i mean, if you respect knives, you would want them to be cared for, whether you sold them or not. then at the store they did say, well we can try and order one but if it gets here and doesn't fit you still have to buy it, no returns. wasn't impressed here.
just this week i purchased two of their 'mizuyama' stones, a 2k and 6k only to find when getting home the 2k was so warped and untrue it was unusable, returned both immediately.
i also feel some of the knowledge they share (or lack thereof) relating to the care of japanese knives, and purchasing advice for novice cooks is either out-dated or simply innaccurate.
doing business there has always felt very impersonal and stiff, in stark contrast to the JKI experience.
anybody have similar, different experiences? please share, thanks!