Which of your expensive knives disappointed you(or steel)?

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andoniminev

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Wonder if anyone out there has been disappointed by an expensive knife and which brand was it?
 
Define "expensive."

Kagayaki VG-10 gyuoto. I think it's pretty much turned me off to VG-10 for life. It seemed expensive at the time, since it was my first gyuto...
 
Hiromoto AS. Got it through a group buy with a rehandle by Dave, and while the handle work was excellent, the knife itself just felt awful to use. So not only was it a disappointment, it was a disappointment I'd spent months waiting for and lusting after.
 
My biggest disappointments have been custom jobs and Shigefusa. They just didn't cut as well as I'd hoped they would. (Hiro AS was a little underwhelming, as well, now that I think about it.)
 
I am myself a bit doubtful about the PM and never had a PM knife. If I go for one it should be Cowry or ZDP but they dont come cheap. SRS 15 is a cheaper option to start with :)
 
Hiromoto AS. Got it through a group buy with a rehandle by Dave, and while the handle work was excellent, the knife itself just felt awful to use. So not only was it a disappointment, it was a disappointment I'd spent months waiting for and lusting after.

Did you have it thinned or was it just the stock grind?
 
I am myself a bit doubtful about the PM and never had a PM knife. If I go for one it should be Cowry or ZDP but they dont come cheap. SRS 15 is a cheaper option to start with :)
What characteristic(s) is it you are doubtful about?
 
My biggest disappointments have been custom jobs and Shigefusa. They just didn't cut as well as I'd hoped they would. (Hiro AS was a little underwhelming, as well, now that I think about it.)
Which is your best cutter, interesting to know
 
Edge holding and chipping are my biggest concerns. I have knives in white 1 and 2, blue 1and 2 and spicy swedish and never had an issue with chipping. How do these compare to ZDP and Cowry
 
I've used both grinds and while the stock grind is a bit of a clunker, Dave's work turned it into a fantastic cutter. Hint, hint.
 
Which is your best cutter, interesting to know
That's a tough question. Different knives cut a little differently. The other problem with answering the question is I often modify my knives in one way or another. If I could only have one stock knife and not allow myself to change it in any way... I'd probably choose a Gesshin/Ashi or Suisin but it would be a tough call. I haven't used my Gengetsu enough to allow it into the running but that might be the one. If I could only take one custom job, it would have to be a Devin... or a Rottman... or a tk59, lol.
 
Edge holding and chipping are my biggest concerns. I have knives in white 1 and 2, blue 1and 2 and spicy swedish and never had an issue with chipping. How do these compare to ZDP and Cowry
That's a complicated question. I will say that I have some PM steel blade and I don't have a problem with chipping. Edge holding is far superior to white and blue steel, in general. A lot of it depends on the angle at which you are sharpening and the hardness of the blades. Harder is chippier. In general, the big advantage to carbon steels is edge keeness and ease of sharpening.
 
Stock grind. Dave wouldn't do thinning during the second group buy. :(

I have thinned my bosses Hiromoto out considerably and finally have it sharpened where the AS holds and takes an edge like I feel it should. Took about 8 sessions starting at 400 and thinning each time. Cuts everything like buttah.

Sorry didn't finish the thread...saw that Theory said the same thing...not trying to beat a dead horse.
 
Define "expensive."

Kagayaki VG-10 gyuoto. I think it's pretty much turned me off to VG-10 for life. It seemed expensive at the time, since it was my first gyuto...

+1 but was tojiro DP. Just not a fan of VG-10.
 
The only one that ever really disappointed was a WildFire Cutlery Thai cleaver I ordered many years ago. The bolster was loose, the Handle shrunken, and the blade was essentially a piece of flat stock with an edge added to the last millimeter with no taper in any direction. It was pathetic. Sent it back and got a replacement that at least had the bolster fixed and handle fixed. The rest of the knife had the same issues.
 
I have thinned my bosses Hiromoto out considerably and finally have it sharpened where the AS holds and takes an edge like I feel it should. Took about 8 sessions starting at 400 and thinning each time. Cuts everything like buttah.
Sounds almost like you bought a blank and ground in your own geometry. To me, that means Hiros are stinkers, OOTB just like A-types (at least the old ones). The difference is a lot of folks tout Hiros but everybody knows you have to thin an A-type.
 
I've so far only bought into the Masamoto mystique, and I'm very pleased. Thankfully I'll now avoid the Hiromoto mystique. LOL
 
VG-10 Kasumi. Bought it years ago when not knowing better and getting into Japanese knives. Really don't like the thing. But then again, I've never held a Damascus VG-10 that I've liked.
 
Although not what I would consider expensive by todays standards....My very first real Japanese knife was a Moritaka 180mm AS Santoku, and it cost me more than I had paid for any other knife up to that time. It was a massive let down. Not only did it chip on everything, but it had some sort of coating that made the food taste horrible. When I finally got the coating off, the KU finish came off quite abruptly afterward. Then once I started sharpening it, a huge hole near the heel appeared. It was just one problem after another.
 
Define "expensive."

Kagayaki VG-10 gyuoto. I think it's pretty much turned me off to VG-10 for life. It seemed expensive at the time, since it was my first gyuto...

They were having a bad day I guess. My Kagayaki VG-10 is made of the best VG-10 I've ever seen, good HT I suppose. Great F&F in its price range. Sharpening VG-10 is an art in itself I must admit, and not that rewarding. Still love it for acid fruit; don't want to dull my carbon favourites...
 
Although not what I would consider expensive by todays standards....My very first real Japanese knife was a Moritaka 180mm AS Santoku, and it cost me more than I had paid for any other knife up to that time. It was a massive let down. Not only did it chip on everything, but it had some sort of coating that made the food taste horrible. When I finally got the coating off, the KU finish came off quite abruptly afterward. Then once I started sharpening it, a huge hole near the heel appeared. It was just one problem after another.

Wabi sabi bro. :thumbsup:
 
Wabi sabi bro. :thumbsup:

taka.jpg
 
Carter...three times! Each time I thought I just got a dud and they were so well praised I tried again, and again... Underwhelming and way over hyped. (the blue was okay, but the white bites)
 
Carter...three times! Each time I thought I just got a dud and they were so well praised I tried again, and again... Underwhelming and way over hyped. (the blue was okay, but the white bites)

I maintain to the day that TK's 270(ish) Carter HG is the best cutter I've ever used. Maybe I have low expectations?
 
A takagi honyaki (blue #1); cheap handle and rivals the german knives in terms of thickness behind the edge. I've been thinning it out and cutting performance has improved significantly, but I still have a ways to go before it can even match my ichimonji tkc
 
Masamoto HC. I was still using my mac pro and tojiro dp at the time and was looking to upgrade and try out carbon at the same time. Really didnt like the handle on the HC, it was way too heavy...I wasnt nearly as good at sharpening then as I am now-maybe i never unlocked its full potential. who knows.
 
This may come with some criticism...DT ITK 270. The steel cut performed well, as did the grind, but this knife's specific profile was off. One of the board members referred to it as "clunking"...

...I'm sure this is not an issue with Devin's knives in general but sadly for this knife it was.
 
Ray Rogers 10" custom chef knife in 01. Spent a lot of time working with him on it and when I got it it looked okay, the handle was a giant block and the blade was flat ground, no distal taper, wedged cutting garlic and every thing stuck to it. when you put it on the stones it felt sticky like taffy. emailed him about it and never ever got a reply back. have had it for 15 years now and haven't used it but a half dozen times. It sucks, the matching paring knife to this day was the best paring knife I have ever used. (the ex got it though) go figure.
 
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