Fit and finish problems with Devin's ITK knives

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RiffRaff

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I am posting this well-aware that Devin's custom knives are the ultimate in craftsmanship, and also grateful that we are getting properly heat-treated, AEB-L at a price much lower than custom in his mid-techs. Also aware that the whole idea of mid-tech is to lower costs by outsourcing one or two aspects of the production process. And I have no complaints about their performance "in the kitchen."

But when I received the pictured petty (bottom pic) and cleaver (first two) I was disappointed to find small gaps where the tang joins the ferrule, his name not fully etched/stamped. Has anyone else seen this?

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A.) Have you ever seen a Carter stamp?
B.) Have you ever seen a Takeda ferrule?

Lol...these look pretty acceptable to me....
 
I'd tend to agree with NoChop that the ferrules--especially the top one--are well within what I would expect from a properly finished knife. Sure, the maker's mark is uneven. Up to you if that's important or not.
 
They look to me like "Hand Made" imperfections. As far as the maker's mark, you get one shot at it and it's either perfect or it's something south of that. The little gaps between the tang and the ferrule can easily be fixed with Zap-A-Gap or some super glue. Did you buy these knives new?
 
They look to me like "Hand Made" imperfections. As far as the maker's mark, you get one shot at it and it's either perfect or it's something south of that. The little gaps between the tang and the ferrule can easily be fixed with Zap-A-Gap or some super glue. Did you buy these knives new?

Yes, knives were bought new. And of course, I understand there's room for stuff like this in mostly hand made knives.
 
I had an ITK, and did notice some issues in a similar vein, but I don't think they were deal killers. In fact, mine had some minor grind and profile issues, which I think are far more serious. But I don't think I was appalled. These aren't his customs. They aren't even CLOSE to his customs. At that price, and given the sheer number of them, they can't be, there's just not enough time to do that. So I don't think I was very disappointed, or if I was it was only because I'd heard and seen some truly legendary DT customs, and thought that this was a more affordable avenue to get exactly that. But it was still a great knife, with great steel and geometry and quite good F+F. It was comfortable and very pretty and cut like the dickens. With that said, I should probably also note that I don't own that knife today...
 
Those look ok to me. I assure you that when the stamp didn't take just right, he probably kicked himself a bit. But I think a slightly faded stamp is better than two stamps.
 
Have you reached out to DT about your issues? I have always found Devin more than accommodating when it came to rectifying any problems I had with his knives.
 
In my opinion, those imperfections are inconsequential. I wouldn't be super happy about them but I would just seal the holes and not worry too much about it. There's no way to fix the stamp and they are all different since he makes them with an actual stamp and a hammer and I think it has to be done prior to hardening.
 
I have seen worse on what were supposedly "higher quality knives" the stamp yes it would irk me but only because it was luck of the draw and could have been nicer. The ferrules I'd just get a dab of epoxy or some such and fill the slight gaps if I did anything which I probably wouldn't cause like I said I've seen bigger gaps on more expensive knives and while it bugged me it wasn't enough to make me regret my decision, nor to contact the maker about fixing it, it's just nature of the beast to me.
 
Thanks everyone for your support. There have been some issues with the ITK knives. Because of the expectations of my customers, I have had to work on fixing some things. Thank you for holding me to a higher standard.

@ RiffRaff, please let me try and fix these problems. I can't fix the name stamp though. One day it may have more value because it.

Hoss
 
Lol, Getting a "perfect" tang hole fit it pretty hard to do and seldom accomplished in even in more expensive knives.

How do the knives cut?
 
If you bought it from a retailer I'd contact them about trading it for another.
Glen
 
I think the thing you're missing here is that these are working knives. I bought my ITK and was working in a kitchen 10-14 hours a day. I could care less about what it looked like. I wanted a pure cutting knife and this was it.
 
Thanks everyone for your support. There have been some issues with the ITK knives. Because of the expectations of my customers, I have had to work on fixing some things. Thank you for holding me to a higher standard.

@ RiffRaff, please let me try and fix these problems. I can't fix the name stamp though. One day it may have more value because it.

Hoss

That is the true mark of a professional! And unfortunately, yes DT is held to a much higher standard, but that only says how good he really is!

Cheers,
 
I just looked through a bunch of knives and I almost don't have any that look that good at the tang-hole. Several have big blobs of epoxy filled in around the tang, and a few of the Japanese made knives I filled with bees wax.
I realize you paid a lot for the knives and you obviously expected better, but the truth is, you GOT better.
If you want the best, then be prepared to pay double or triple what you just did.
An expectation of perfection shouldn't be expected until you get to a high-dollar custom, and even then... you are buying a hand-made item.
This isn't a factory knife; If one wants Shun F&F... buy one.

People keep asking "how does it cut?"
That's because, quite plainly, you bought a knife that promises performance.
If that is missing, then you have a real gripe.

Devin has generously offered to "do something" but, IMHO, it would be unreasonable to ask him to do so based on these minor cosmetic blemishes.

I hope you can get past these imperfections and still enjoy your new knives with the utmost confidence and joy.
If you don't think that will be the case you should talk to you retailer about a return, then you might consider a factory knife or a full custom order.

I realize F&F are highly important to some users (the Mrs. being one of them) but I am a utilitarian, so I apologize if my opinion here comes off a bit brusk.
 
There have been some issues with the ITK knives. Because of the expectations of my customers...

I agree with that. Devin has upped the ante on quality standards, and as a group, we do have some pretty high -- and at times unreasonable -- standards. If we applied the same standards to our women and family, we would all be single and living in a hermit shack in the woods.

k.
 
...This isn't a factory knife; If one wants Shun F&F... buy one...

Actually, I've been looking at my old Shun, lately. I'm less impressed now that I once was.

...Devin has generously offered to "do something" but, IMHO, it would be unreasonable to ask him to do so based on these minor cosmetic blemishes...
+1
 
Shoot, maybe that stamp 'error' will make the knife go up in value like an upside-down postage stamp one day :cool2:

As far as the tang goes, that is not uncommon in this price range, and even in knives that are a bit more expensive. Go the DIY route to fix it, or take Devin up on his offer.

I'm lucky enough to have scored a 240 AEB-L gyuto and a 150 52100 petty from the DT ITK collection, and those or two of my most-used knives.

Devin's ITK line is, unfortunately, held to a higher standard, as many felt like F&F should be equal to his full customs. As bprescot said, the real issues are the ones that have some grind issues, and Devin has been very accomodating in correcting those problems when they have been brought to his attention.
 
Actually, I've been looking at my old Shun, lately. I'm less impressed now that I once was.

hah, i had the same reaction when i looked at the 6 inch Shun santoku i had given my fiancee. that knife was my first good knife, years ago, and i hadn't really looked at it in years. after looking at it, i looked at the other Shuns i still have kicking around, and also decided that the F&F wasn't what i remembered.

anyway, the issues with the knives in question aren't really issues.
 
It wouldn't change my mind as its really quite a small fix (re the gap in the handle/ferrule) although I disagree re price point both my hand made professional knives from Shinichi Watanabe (Deba and Yanagiba) are perfect when it comes to fit and finish and both come in at less that these "mass produced" knives.
 
Tell you what Dav, I'd be happy to buy both of those DT knives from you. I'm not beat'n up on you over your issues, but I realize that for some people these kind of things just really bug the crap out of them.
 
Lol I'm sure they do we are all different I guess and have different standards/likes/preferences. I really don't have many knives to make comparisons so perhaps shouldn't be lol
 
Tell you what Dav, I'd be happy to buy both of those DT knives from you. I'm not beat'n up on you over your issues, but I realize that for some people these kind of things just really bug the crap out of them.

No way, i have dibs on cleaver. Lol
 
It wouldn't change my mind as its really quite a small fix (re the gap in the handle/ferrule) although I disagree re price point both my hand made professional knives from Shinichi Watanabe (Deba and Yanagiba) are perfect when it comes to fit and finish and both come in at less that these "mass produced" knives.

I have seen a good number of Watanabe (or are they?) knives, and single-beveled seem to be a little better in terms of grind, fit and finish than double-beveled under Watanabe brand name. However, I would not call them "perfect" - I could find minor flaws - overgrinds, dips in the edge, bends on the spine on most I have seen (most flaws didn't affect performance, but some did).

Maybe you just got lucky and got perfect ones but I suspect you haven't inspected them closely enough.

M
 
I can say that even with Shigefusa, for what we collectively count as one of the pinnacle of blade making, have had some issues with forging separation (although very slight). Marko can attest to that because it was my yanagiba that he worked on and sold me, but I completely understood and am very OK with it.

I know it sucks because we all want a perfect blade and the price we pay isn't exactly cheap. However, take it in perspective. Even though it is not a full custom knife, it is still a hand made product. There are still going to be inconsistencies.

If that still bothers the OP, he can put it on the BST section, and I am sure someone will relieve him of the knife really quickly.
 
Yes, even Shigefusa knives come with imperfections, thought much more minor than from other makers (seen dips in the edge, but no overgrinds, but their knives are ridiculously thin at the very edge).

M
 
But seriously, has anyone ever had a Carter with a perfect stamp? Mine is closer to half a C, a space, and a "ter"....
 
But seriously, has anyone ever had a Carter with a perfect stamp? Mine is closer to half a C, a space, and a "ter"....

the Carter i owned had a good stamp, though it had other (cosmetic only) issues. good knife, just not quite to my tastes.
 
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