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Amon-Rukh

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Inspired in part by our wonderful ugliest. knife. ever. thread and as a big fan of horror stories, movies etc., I thought it might be fun/awful to have a thread dedicated to some of the worst things we encounter out there. :shocked3:

First up, a pair of pictures of one of my fiancee's former roommate's knives. Not too horrifying at first, but then again, this was after just a few weeks of use....
2012-02-29124329.jpg
horror3.jpg


Last weekend I did some dog-sitting for a friend of a colleague. My first thought on entering the kitchen at this person's house was "Cool--look at all that cast iron! And is that a chinese cleaver? Awesome!" Then I got closer to it and saw things for what they really were. The cast iron cookware (sorry, no pics, but if I'm ever over there again, I'll try and sneak some) had not been used in so long (ever?) that the dust was caked on to the point where I couldn't wipe it off with my finger. As for the knives...

horrortips.jpg

Not sure what this person typically cuts, but apparently it breaks the tips off of any knife it comes in contact with.

And then there was the cleaver, errr... saw?
horrorblade.jpg
 
That's horrible. Must have been a great choice of cutting surface.
 
I was looking at my brother's JAH's over the weekend and they are in about as bad a shape as the top one - but he has been using them with only a steel for about 15 years. His had no bevel left whatsoever. I may be sucking him into my addiction now. heehehee.
 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/65555800@N08/6696572025/

My buddy had this knife for two weeks, left his knife roll at work, came back two days later and it had that huge chip in it.


That is BS. What makes someone think they can use someone else's knives? Honestly, I've never worked in a pro kitchen so I'm not sure what the work environment is like. Does the average cook think a knife is a knife and he just grabbed it because he needed a knife not thinking it was a big deal, or did he think it was a super fancy knife and wanted to try it out?

I run a mechanic shop and all the guys own their own tools, NOBODY just walks over to someone else's tool box and uses a wrench or impact gun without asking first.
 
We think that someone maybe tried to open a jar with it? I am not really sure how someone can be so stupid. I know where i work, people know how i take care of my knives and they know not to use them. And nobody admitted to doing it. Luckily for him, Williams Sonoma exchanged it for a new one.

Mike
 
So a person had a hard time opening a jar (or whatever), looked around, saw a coworker's knife bag, pulled out his fancy blade, destroyed it, put it back, and pretended like it never happened? If I were your buddy, I would have a hard time showing up to work knowing that someone in the room was capable of that. If I owned the restaurant and found out, I would be tempted to pay someone to administer a polygraph to everyone in the kitchen and fire the guilty party!

Say what you will about Williams-Sonoma, but their customer service is top notch. I wouldn't blame them for refusing to take that back.
 
So a person had a hard time opening a jar (or whatever), looked around, saw a coworker's knife bag, pulled out his fancy blade, destroyed it, put it back, and pretended like it never happened? If I were your buddy, I would have a hard time showing up to work knowing that someone in the room was capable of that. If I owned the restaurant and found out, I would be tempted to pay someone to administer a polygraph to everyone in the kitchen and fire the guilty party!

Say what you will about Williams-Sonoma, but their customer service is top notch. I wouldn't blame them for refusing to take that back.

probably a server or porter, I'm leaning toward server.
 
Yea i would lose all respect for my coworkers if something like that happened to me. And yup thats the knife, it's actually pretty nice. He brought it over for a test run before it got ruined and i was impressed. I know there are more popular knives for around $300, but i liked it.

Mike
 
I posted this one about 4 months back. It was at a vacation rental I stayed at.

k.

I recognize that pattern. That is from trying to use it as a screwdriver. How do I know- had a construction worker decide to use one to unscrew something. glad that knife was only 5$.
 
Good to know you guiys get discounts at those stores. But how do you prove to them you are a pro?

Pay stub, but the way I got mine were I just walk in after class in my T.A. chef coat it shows I am an employee at the school so I never had to show it.
 
That is the same as the Gekko line from JCK, the Togiharu line from Korin, and a bunch of other places that have the same OEM make them a knife. He should return it for a refund and buy it somewhere else for WAY less.

My interest in the Kikuichi (if you choose to call it that, given what I have just learned) waned as soon as I hit the forums, but I would still rather have one of those than anything else on the wall at Williams-Sonoma.

I find it interesting that when you choose to "shop by brand" on the W-S site, "Kikuichi" isn't listed, nor are they found on the "what's new" page. One must choose the proper category (chef's, paring) and then scroll all the way to the bottom of the page to see them. Perhaps W-S doesn't want to anger the Germans and/or Shun!

They do tell a nice story about the brand though:

"The Kikuichi history of fine craftsmanship dates back to 12th century Japan, when an ancestor became a swordsmith for the emperor, marking each sword with the monarch’s chrysanthemum symbol. Today this proud tradition of metalwork continues with beautiful cutlery etched with this enduring emblem. Handcrafted in Japan, their chef’s knife has the power and precision you need for slicing, chopping, mincing and dicing."
 
That is the same as the Gekko line from JCK, the Togiharu line from Korin, and a bunch of other places that have the same OEM make them a knife. He should return it for a refund and buy it somewhere else for WAY less.

Yes but if he had originally bought it at any other place, they would not have replaced this knife for him, so I say he's already ahead.

Really surprised they replaced that knife though. It wouldn't even have occured to me to go to a store and ask them to replace it if someone broke it.

Also, words cannot express the fury I felt reading the story and then clicking the picture afterwards.
 
So what is up with pro kitchens? Are all knife bags considered to be house knives?

Jay
 
Generally speaking no, I don't use anyone else's gear without asking first and expect the same of mine. Working with 75 cooks at peak season you would never be able to hold on to them if that where the case. I'm slowly rotating my Wusthof's into my tool box for loaners as I replace them.
 
So what is up with pro kitchens? Are all knife bags considered to be house knives?

Jay

You mean "are all knives cooks bring in considered communal property"? Maybe by some tools and d-bags, but I give every new person a stern talking to, especially the dishwasher. I tell them what's what, I show them my knives, let them use them to show them how well they work, and then show them how many knives and knife-related things I have on my person every day(it's a lot). They generally end up laughing or staring with their eyebrows raised, but they don't touch my knives.

One coworker hid my knife and my phone from me one day. As soon as I found it, I walked out for the day. Never happened again.
 

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