Wantanabe pro blue #2

I don't see these mentioned much here (at least not since I have been a memeber)

I just picked up two of these as they seemed to be a reasonable price. Haven't had a real chance to work with them too much but the fit and finish seemed okay and the blades seem well made. Not nearly as thin as one I received from Jon, but darn sharp out of the box and I don't feel I would have to baby the blade in use.

How do they stack up t the others I see posted on more often?

They aren't the cheapest ones. Nor do they has best F&F. But they definitely has a decent geometry and are a great cutters. I don't remember seeing any big reviews of Watanabe's knives lately, but they do get mentioned here and there. And all the mentions I've seen were positive. They just aren't trendy.

Flavour of the month around 8 years ago. One of the first makers to be "discovered". A hefty gyuto, excellent geometry, tough, highly regarded aogami #2 hagane , reactive soft iron cladding. Kurouchi version less popular. (petty, santoku, nakiri and 180 gyuto also available in kurouchi stainless clad)

Meh, I got disappointed in Shinichi Watanabe. With so many other makers around....

Ruso said:

Meh, I got disappointed in Shinichi Watanabe. With so many other makers around....

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If I remember correctly your issue was related to yanagiba, which has nothing to do with his PRO line of knives.

icanhaschzbrgr said:

If I remember correctly your issue was related to yanagiba, which has nothing to do with his PRO line of knives.

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I specifically did not mention a knife in my post. Since my disappointment is mainly with the maker not with his knife/knives. Hence, if you notice, the maker's full name not the knife brand.

I am a big fan of him ,bought the last year 5 knives from watanabe,find him correct and does what he promised.The fit and finish of his pro line is very very good.Very sharp out of the box.Price is nice for the moment;go up 15% end of the month.

I've owned a Mario watanabe and currently a watanabe honyaki. Both 240 gyutos. Love both of them. Wish I didn't sell the first

I also like his knives. My first one was a 300mm gyuto pro that i wanted to compare to a 270mm tramontina century to slice things too hard for sujis (stuffed chickens that went to oven, for instance).

If anything happens to your goods, you won't get a replacement. Extremely pricy but bad customer service. His knives are one of the most expensive stuff around. Overrated & overpriced.

Not trying to defend my purchase, and have no experience with his customer service, but am having a hard time seeing how they are the most expensive.....not from what I have seen is all I can say.

I've been happy with my Watanabe knives. Only one was bought directly and it was fine, and the others were all second-hand so I have no real experience with his customer service. I do like his knives though and my attention perks up anytime I see a Watanabe knife looking for a new home.

I am very happy with my stainless clad Pro Nakiri, it's really an impressive cutter. (The only minor comment would be that the choil and spine could have been eased.)
I will buy again from him in the future.

Ruso said:

I specifically did not mention a knife in my post. Since my disappointment is mainly with the maker not with his knife/knives. Hence, if you notice, the maker's full name not the knife brand.

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See http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/18821-Yanagi-is-not-100-straight-ok

I've handle several Watanabe knives and still own and use 2 of them (both from PRO line). Maybe I was just lucky, but Shinichi was a VERY nice in our email exchange. He replied on all my questions with patience and even offered some free handle materials when I told him, that I'm gonna make custom handle for my knife. Both my orders were handled very well.

He seems to use EMS for shipping (at least to Russia) which is reasonably fast and fully insured. The price for shipping is exactly the same as I got from any other vendor. So no miracles here. I keep wondering how JCK manages to ship with EMS for just 7$

I couldn't agree less with LKH9 on his bashing of Watanabe knives. I can't comment on pricing, since it's pretty personal thing to decide if something is worth money or not. Let me mention that I haven't had a single regret about paying for his knives. About 2 hours ago I prepared a meal using 180mm guyto from his PRO line and it just puts a smile on my face.

I own several knives from Watanabe, all bought direct. Some of them custom, others from his pro line. I am happy with every single one of them. He has been a pleasure to deal with as well, always courteous and explaining in a very detailed manner every question I had.

riba said:

I am very happy with my stainless clad Pro Nakiri, it's really an impressive cutter. (The only minor comment would be that the choil and spine could have been eased.)
I will buy again from him in the future.

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true the stainless clad nakiri and santoku aren't eased,but the last two knives from his pro line I bought, the spine and choil are nicely rounded.

I just picked up another Watanabe. I have had three. I have liked all of them and think they are very competitive for the price.

He seems to use EMS for shipping (at least to Russia) which is reasonably fast and fully insured. The price for shipping is exactly the same as I got from any other vendor. So no miracles here. I keep wondering how JCK manages to ship with EMS for just 7$

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Every package has the price paid for the postage. Take a look next time you get something from overseas.
JCK charges $7 for shipping while his actual cost is around $14. So he splits the cost half half with the customer. (This is cost to Canada, actual cost to Russia might be different)

Watanabe charged me $40 for shipping while it cost him around $18 (close to the price of JCK). Speaking about service....

As for OP, glad you had better luck. Enjoy your knife.

Ruso said:

Every package has the price paid for the postage. Take a look next time you get something from overseas.

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Here's what I was charged for shipping during last year:

From Canada to Russia 70$ untrackable Canadian post.
Australia to Russia ~60$ EMS.
US to Russia 40-60$ Priority Mail.
From Russia to Taiwan 76$ EMS.
Several purchase from different Japanese vendors ranged from 7$ to 40$.

I can't blame Watanabe with such background.

icanhaschzbrgr said:

Here's what I was charged for shipping during last year:

From Canada to Russia 70$ untrackable Canadian post.
Australia to Russia ~60$ EMS.
US to Russia 40-60$ Priority Mail.
From Russia to Taiwan 76$ EMS.
Several purchase from different Japanese vendors ranged from 7$ to 40$.

I can't blame Watanabe with such background.

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I think you have misunderstood my point. There is no moral problem in paying any shipping costs if they are true. I had to pay $80 from Canada to Japan. But this is what Canada Post charges. This number appears on the label.
As I said earlier, each package has the shipping cost written on it (like a Stamp on the letters). I wonder if you can check what you paid and what the actual cost was for each of the recent shipments.
I dealt with numerous vendors in different countries, not only knife related, and it is nice when you are charged the actual cost.

Actually, now days it is rare to find vendors who charge you more. It was quite common in early days of e-commerce. However this era is long gone, luckily.

Getting a reply with "it's just a kitchen knife..." already sickened me, how can a globally reputable craftsman say something like that? @Ruso, did he even offer you a tutorial on how to fix that blade?

I agreed to LKH9. For me it is like an instrument.

LKH9 said:

If anything happens to your goods, you won't get a replacement. Extremely pricy but bad customer service. His knives are one of the most expensive stuff around. Overrated & overpriced.

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LKH9 said:

Getting a reply with "it's just a kitchen knife..." already sickened me, how can a globally reputable craftsman say something like that? ...

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LKH9 - Do you have any personal experience with Watanabe or his knives? You? Any? Ever? Any first hand basis for slinging crap or are you just regurgitating what you've read here?

I understand that Ruso has had a regrettable experience with Watanabe and the forum is better for knowing about it. Should I ever order a knife from him (and its on my radar) I will make sure that my expectations are clear.

I just read the entire other thread. I suppose if I had expected perfectly straight and had gotten what you did, I would have asked the same questions. However after hearing from several resident experts and having a 15 dollar local option to straighten it for me, I would have quit fussing 7 pages earlier and gotten the thing fixed. Darn sight cheaper than paying the shipping back.

Actually what the other thread did was reinforce my desire to further purchase from Jon.

I received a package from Watanabe today. Three day delivery from Japan to San Francisco. Obviously I have not used it to any great extent but it sure is a great looking knife--exactly as described and as I desired. Assuming it lives up to my expectations I would have no reservations about ordering from him again.

i've owned one wat pro and it was unbelievably good, only reason i didnt hold on to it was it was simply too large. had i ordered custom size, i would have most certainly kept it.

daveb said:

LKH9 - Do you have any personal experience with Watanabe or his knives? You? Any? Ever? Any first hand basis for slinging crap or are you just regurgitating what you've read here?

I understand that Ruso has had a regrettable experience with Watanabe and the forum is better for knowing about it. Should I ever order a knife from him (and its on my radar) I will make sure that my expectations are clear.

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After seeing such painful experience from a real victim here, do you think I'll gamble my hard-earned money on him?

LKH9 said:

After seeing such painful experience from a real victim here, do you think I'll gamble my hard-earned money on him?

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I think that what is meant is that probably for the casual reader your post(s) read like they are personal experience (e.g. your post "If anything happens to your goods, you won't get a replacement. Extremely pricy but bad customer service. His knives are one of the most expensive stuff around. Overrated & overpriced.) " which apparantly is not the case. Personally, I think that a link to the thread describing Ruso's experience is sufficient for anybody interested to get all information first hand and make up their mind.

daveb said:

I understand that Ruso has had a regrettable experience with Watanabe and the forum is better for knowing about it. Should I ever order a knife from him (and its on my radar) I will make sure that my expectations are clear.

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+1


Of course, my post(s) are coloured with my very positive experience with Shinichi and his knife that I'll be using for dinner this eve again

And to answer the question: my stainless clad wanatabe pro nakiri blows my stainless steel Yusuke extra hard gyuto out of the water (comparing pears with apples). The nakiri seem much harder though prone to chipping (resolved with a microbevel) and has a grind that I prefer.

daveb said:

LKH9 - Do you have any personal experience with Watanabe or his knives? You? Any? Ever? Any first hand basis for slinging crap or are you just regurgitating what you've read here?

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LKH9 said:

After seeing such painful experience from a real victim here, do you think I'll gamble my hard-earned money on him?

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I take it that's a "No".