Moritaka on Rakuten International

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I'm curious...what don't you like about them? People seem to love Moritakas!
 
They do some really bad bevel grinding which makes holes in the edge (not contacting the cutting board). The problem with this is that it often doesn't become a clear problem until after the first sharpening which by then is too late for the poor customer to return it. I think the reason why these knives have been so popular is because most people can't see the problems and they're cheap. I have recently seen a few good ones (new stock) so I'm hoping that there's a swing in the positive direction because as it's been it's been 7 out of 10 are bad.
 
You mean the edge of the knife (not the flat of the bevel, but the edge that touches the board) is wavy? I believe you when you say you've found it, I'm just curious about why one can't tell before first sharpening it. Does grinding the bevel when you first sharpen it make the inconsistency show up in some way?
 
Wow! That's some useful (and diplomatic) info Dave.
I had no idea....
 
You mean the edge of the knife (not the flat of the bevel, but the edge that touches the board) is wavy? I believe you when you say you've found it, I'm just curious about why one can't tell before first sharpening it. Does grinding the bevel when you first sharpen it make the inconsistency show up in some way?


What happens is the maker grinds the bevels from the blade face down towards the cutting edge and stops just before he breaks into the edge. If he spends too much time grinding, or is heavy handed, in one section this is an overgrind on the side of the knife that extends down to the edge but because he stops short of blowing through into the edge it isn't seen. Now along comes the knife owner who removes metal at the edge through sharpening and he breaks through into the overgrind and the hole appears and does nothing but grow bigger from this point forward.
 
I own 3 Moritaka's and I haven't noticed any waves or holes in the edge of the blade.What I have noticed,on the gyuto and santoku,is that the heel of the blade is lower than the rest of the blade(I can see light coming through when I place the blade on a flat surface).It hasn't really affected the performance of my knives when chopping,slicing or chiffonade(no ribboning) Is there anything i can do to correct the problem with the lower heel?
 
Is there anything i can do to correct the problem with the lower heel?

Grind it down! Just take it to a DMT or other rough stone and work it, making sure to be spend as much time on both sides of the blade. This is really a minor issue, though it shouldn't leave a factory like that.

Personally, I'm stunned that they sell this prison shank for $125.
img58597469.jpg
 
Thanks for the explanation, Dave. I think I'd get it better if I saw such a knife, but I get the gist of what you're saying. It's too bad, because these knives look really nice (like the Takedas but with better profiles).
 
Moritakas can be VERY good knives, especially for the price according to quite a few people I trust very much.
However, Dave has seen a lot of knives and I bet a lot of Moritakas. I'm guessing when they're good, they're great, but if it's a bad one, you might not know until it's too late.
Hopefuly they are turning it around, as Dave eluded to.
 
Grind it down! Just take it to a DMT or other rough stone and work it, making sure to be spend as much time on both sides of the blade. This is really a minor issue, though it shouldn't leave a factory like that.

Personally, I'm stunned that they sell this prison shank for $125.
img58597469.jpg

I totally agree that these knives should never have left the shop like this,but thanks to Dave I now know what to look for next time I purchase a knife.

Yes but you don't see many prison shanks with a kiroutchi finish :-D. I think Takeda sells one for double the price.
Thanks for the advice johndoughy.Would a 1000 grt stone do the job? I do have a XXc diamond if not.
 
One thing to keep in mind is to blend the new bevel back into the original. This visual might help you make it even. I'd also draw a line where you want the edge to end up.
 
I own 3 Moritaka's and I haven't noticed any waves or holes in the edge of the blade.What I have noticed,on the gyuto and santoku,is that the heel of the blade is lower than the rest of the blade(I can see light coming through when I place the blade on a flat surface).It hasn't really affected the performance of my knives when chopping,slicing or chiffonade(no ribboning) Is there anything i can do to correct the problem with the lower heel?


That's it - you have a hole. Typical Moritaka shows the low hanging heal which is actually pointing out an overgrind in front of the heal. The problem is that too much steel has been removed from the side of the blade in that one spot. The only correction to remove it evenly along the rest of the blade without touching this overground section.....impossible.
 
That's it - you have a hole. Typical Moritaka shows the low hanging heal which is actually pointing out an overgrind in front of the heal. The problem is that too much steel has been removed from the side of the blade in that one spot. The only correction to remove it evenly along the rest of the blade without touching this overground section.....impossible.

Damn! Oh well,live and learn.I still love my Moritaka's.Great performers and I still think great bang for the buck despite this flaw.
Thanks again for the advise and info.Much appreciated.
 
Damn! Oh well,live and learn.I still love my Moritaka's.Great performers and I still think great bang for the buck despite this flaw.
Thanks again for the advise and info.Much appreciated.

When did you buy your Moritakas? I'd hoped that they had fixed this issue.
 
Grind it down! Just take it to a DMT or other rough stone and work it, making sure to be spend as much time on both sides of the blade. This is really a minor issue, though it shouldn't leave a factory like that.

Personally, I'm stunned that they sell this prison shank for $125.
img58597469.jpg
I have seen many that are in that price range, and Iwasaki made ones can get in the $1k range.

As far as Moritaka mine came with a bit of a bird peak and also the equvalent on the heel, it was not hard to correct but definitely a bit annoying.
 
Dave have you noticed the same problem with all Moritaka or just the KU ones?
 
I just noticed this on the slip of paper the comes with the knives under the sub-title Maintenance "Please note that the blade may have a slightly wavy appearance.This is not a defect! The blade is leveled off to the point where there is no problem for practical use and the slight wave has no effect on performance" Well at least they've acknowledge the "wavy appearance" on their blades and I agree that it hasn't affected the performance of the knives. It just would have been nice to know the situation before the purchase.
No regrets....
 
That's it - you have a hole. Typical Moritaka shows the low hanging heal which is actually pointing out an overgrind in front of the heal. The problem is that too much steel has been removed from the side of the blade in that one spot. The only correction to remove it evenly along the rest of the blade without touching this overground section.....impossible.

Couldn't this be done with a jig? It would certainly shorten the blade height, and you'd basically be grinding a brand new profile, kind of making your own knife. But it seems more than do-able. I mean, a slight overgrind at the factory doesn't mean it's immediately sent to the trash heap!

BTW, the manufacturer saying that it will "in no way affect performance" is never reassuring to me.
 
Couldn't this be done with a jig? It would certainly shorten the blade height, and you'd basically be grinding a brand new profile, kind of making your own knife. But it seems more than do-able. I mean, a slight overgrind at the factory doesn't mean it's immediately sent to the trash heap!

BTW, the manufacturer saying that it will "in no way affect performance" is never reassuring to me.

actually, i've found jigs to exacerbate the problem... i get the best results by taking it slow and adjusting dynamically as i go. Even still, i can get a flat edge, but the size of the bevel will vary a bit.
 
Not jigs like an Edge Pro, but I mean a jig setup made from wood, for a belt sander. You'd have to make it, but it would be a fun project for a day off.
 
are you thinking in terms of thinning behind the edge to remove high and low spots?
 
wow that site is seriously cheap. typical though, i bought a 240 gyuto and a 150 petty from cktg a couple of months ago which worked out about $335AU delivered. would have saved myself heaps because that petty is half the price! my gyuto does have a nice octagonal handle though.
 
wow that site is seriously cheap. typical though, i bought a 240 gyuto and a 150 petty from cktg a couple of months ago which worked out about $335AU delivered. would have saved myself heaps because that petty is half the price! my gyuto does have a nice octagonal handle though.

Were yours from the Aogami Super series or were they from the Blue#2 series?

The AS series which CKTG sells is generally $50 more expensive than the Blue#2 series whether you buy it from them or directly from Moritaka; getting an octagon handle adds another $20 above the standard D-shaped handle.
 
just be careful of reputable dealers who say they will "hand pick" a "good one" for you......doesn't work cause they don't *** they're lookin for.....moritakas are a bad deal fellas.....ryan
 
Couldn't this be done with a jig? It would certainly shorten the blade height, and you'd basically be grinding a brand new profile, kind of making your own knife. But it seems more than do-able. I mean, a slight overgrind at the factory doesn't mean it's immediately sent to the trash heap!

BTW, the manufacturer saying that it will "in no way affect performance" is never reassuring to me.

I've been using these knives at work and home for the past 6-9 months,so I can attest to their performance first hand.No problems whatsoever.I just thought it was interesting that they would acknowledge this "defect" on their enclosed literature.They must have had some negative feedback from customers or purveyors. I know how well these knives perform,I don't need any reassurance from them.
 
Were yours from the Aogami Super series or were they from the Blue#2 series?

The AS series which CKTG sells is generally $50 more expensive than the Blue#2 series whether you buy it from them or directly from Moritaka; getting an octagon handle adds another $20 above the standard D-shaped handle.

ah, thanks for pointing that out i didn't realise they were #2 as that site is rather hard to navigate. certainly explains the large price difference! and yep, i happily paid the extra $20 for the octagonal handle, too hard to pass up a great handle for $20 :D
 
....I just thought it was interesting that they would acknowledge this "defect" on their enclosed literature.They must have had some negative feedback from customers .....

SHANKSTER: I don't think the wavy-ness referred to by Moritakas' packaging note is the same thing Dave is referring to, and I really don't think Moritaka is acknowledging a defect....if we were able to go back in time and review the 'conversation', Dave pointed out an apparent flaw on behalf of a customer, and Moritaka's response was more or less..."you're wrong - it's perfect"...and from there the whole Moritaka conversation went seriously south.

I'm actually suprised that Dave posted the link because of his past comments & concerns about the overgirnd issue and the relatively high defect rate. What is interesting to me though is that of the 4 different makers who represent this genre of knife maker (i.e. - the village blacksmith, Moritaka, Takeda, Watanabe and early Carter) this type of flaw is only mentioned in Moritaka's work
 
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