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JBroida

KKF Vendor
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I was hoping you guys could help us out... here are a few questions i have for everyone here...

First... on the subject of videos

What, if any, subjects do you guys think we are missing in our youtube video series?
I've got a list of things i want to get around to as soon as i have time, but its always helpful to hear from you guys since i dont always run into the same problems anymore.

And second, on our product lineup

We constantly have new product lines in various stages of development and testing. I have some interesting things i'm currently working on, but i was wondering what gaps you guys see in our product lineup? What kinds of things would you like to see in the future from us?
We cant promise anything, but most of the time we do our best to make things like this happen. Our product development tends to take a bit longer than some of our competitors, but this is because i spend so much time testing and revising before i'm happy with what we have. For anyone that's been here to our store, i'm sure you've seen all of the prototypes we have here... both knives and stones. Again, we're constantly going through this process, but i was hoping you all might have some more insight into what would be interesting/fun/useful.

Thanks so much.

-Jon
 
A: video of knives in action i.e. you and Sarah cooking something :)

B: Chinese cleavers with rat tail tang, like sugimoto handle for example ^_^
 
sara is always shy about stuff like that, so not so sure about that one

on the cleavers, its already in the works
 
I've said it before and I'll say it again: video overviews for each and every line you carry in the store (like the Gesshin Ginga video for example).
 
slowly working through them
it seems like i'm missing:
some gesshin heiji
gesshin hokubo
jin
kochi
suisin
gesshin uraku

i can do those soon-ish
 
it would be like a dream come true if you could make
1)zakuri blue steel #6cleaver
2)gesshin kaegro wa gyutos
3)gengetsu or some other stainless clad blue steel gyuto(theres really not alot to choose from out there)
youre videos are soo great they really help me a great deal. seeing the knives in action would be a plus though.
 
This may be out of line to suggest, but how about a straight razor by one of your artisans? :D
 
How about a JKI RV?

Travel the country teaching sharpening classes, showing off your toys (and taking orders, obviously), showing Sara the amazing size and diversity of America, and spending the evening with your favorite customer based in Central Arkansas <ahem>.
 
just finished shooting videos for kochi, gesshin heiji, jin, gesshin hokubo, and suisin... uploading all of them now. Whats next?
 
just finished shooting videos for kochi, gesshin heiji, jin, gesshin hokubo, and suisin... uploading all of them now. Whats next?

Impressive.

How about a little video tour of the store? I can't quite picture the layout...

video of the wheel

+1

Maybe you should get some sleep first though and execute a wardrobe change.
 
Not exactly what you asked for, but here are a couple of suggestions for the website:
1. When you hover over the main menu items (like "By Type"), you get a dropdown of the different types, but if instead of hovering, you click on "By Type" it takes you to a the items page. It would great to be able to select the different types after clicking. Not a big deal on a computer with a mouse, but a real pain on a device like a Kindle.
2. Would love to see a comparative (written text) summary of each of the product lines you carry. What makes each of Ginga, Heiji, Hide, etc., unique? What are each of their strengths?

Thanks,

Mark
 
Would love to see a comparative (written text) summary of each of the product lines you carry. What makes each of Ginga, Heiji, Hide, etc., unique? What are each of their strengths?

I like this. I was thinking there could/should be a short, general, written overview of each brand that appears when you click the brand link (before one drills down to an individual blade's page). Having it all on one page would work too. This could/should include whether special orders are possible (sizes, handle types, etc.).
 
1. When you hover over the main menu items (like "By Type"), you get a dropdown of the different types, but if instead of hovering, you click on "By Type" it takes you to a the items page. It would great to be able to select the different types after clicking. Not a big deal on a computer with a mouse, but a real pain on a device like a Kindle.

+1,000
It's not iPad friendly either, it usually takes me a half a dozen tries to navigate to a page I want because of the drop down menus. An intermediate page offering manual icon selection would be nice.
 
i have plans to have someone redo the website with better coding early next year... sorry about all that. I wrote the whole thing myself and clearly i'm not the best at it :(
 
The web site is geared towards knife enthusiasts, which is great for many of us on the forum. A lot of the questions on the forum on from people wanting to upgrade their knives from either German or the entry level Japapense, i.e. Global to a nicer Japanese brand. When I first stumbled into ITK, the terms were almost over whelming. Yo-Deba, Wa-Gyuto, Blue Steel, White Steel, Geometry, Profile, Laser, Work Horse.

A brief description of the types of knives. What is a Nakiri? Maybe a video, showing tasks, where it excels. What kind of users might find a Nakiri to be helpful?

What types of knife should a beginner be considering? What makes a good beginners knife? What techniques should a beginner concentrate on? The same type of questions could be used for intermediate and advanced users.

Jay
 
Not to try and make you go crazy with too many suggestions, but as others have alluded to, I think if you had a bit more stuff or even videos about the makers of your knives it would be very interesting. I think what makes guys like you and Maxim different is that you are so close to the makers and really understand why their knives are so good
 
I've hesitated to mention this because of the scope of the project but the black background on the site and photos is not the best for readability for me or the best to highlight the photos of the knives. Maybe a survey for preferences on this? Since you are planning a rebuild.... The black background is almost branding for you, but good photos I think would make a big difference since most of us don't get to visit in person and we buy based photos, narratives, and reviews.
 
i have plans to have someone redo the website with better coding early next year... sorry about all that. I wrote the whole thing myself and clearly i'm not the best at it :(

Actually, now I'm kinda impressed...you did a great job for someone not in the industry.
 
I've hesitated to mention this because of the scope of the project but the black background on the site and photos is not the best for readability for me or the best to highlight the photos of the knives. Maybe a survey for preferences on this? Since you are planning a rebuild.... The black background is almost branding for you, but good photos I think would make a big difference since most of us don't get to visit in person and we buy based photos, narratives, and reviews.



From this viewer's perspective, an elephant in the room remains the dark images/contrast, and image size... like trying to view a map by candlelight in a cave.

Also (as long as you are asking :wink: ), perhaps an incentive for buyers to leave a review or feedback to boost the quantity ?
 
I would really like to see Sara show how to wrap knives(whether in Sayas or not) in those cloth things for storage and travel. That sounds like a really fun part of the J-Knife hobby.
 
I'd like to see closer shots of the knives in your videos. I think you provide great detail and have a clear voice in your videos. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind your mug in the shots. But, I think if you were to shoot using a table tripod or table dolly to get close ups on your knives then your explanations and details mentioned in the video while viewing the knives will make the videos more useful. I tend to listen to what you say in video then pull up the pictures on your site after watching the videos so I can get a better view of the points you highlighted. Also, +1 with what Seth said and the other post about viewing the site on an iPad.
 
The web site is geared towards knife enthusiasts, which is great for many of us on the forum. A lot of the questions on the forum on from people wanting to upgrade their knives from either German or the entry level Japapense, i.e. Global to a nicer Japanese brand. When I first stumbled into ITK, the terms were almost over whelming. Yo-Deba, Wa-Gyuto, Blue Steel, White Steel, Geometry, Profile, Laser, Work Horse.

A brief description of the types of knives. What is a Nakiri? Maybe a video, showing tasks, where it excels. What kind of users might find a Nakiri to be helpful?

What types of knife should a beginner be considering? What makes a good beginners knife? What techniques should a beginner concentrate on? The same type of questions could be used for intermediate and advanced users.

Jay

[video=youtube;ieHxW1RAEm0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieHxW1RAEm0[/video]

[video=youtube;RZrmHOz5LAE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZrmHOz5LAE[/video]
 
To offer constructive criticism of the videos, I'm not sure that your new format with the close-up of your face best shows of the knives. You've become a great presenter on camera, but we don't get to much about the knives. You hold the knives up in front of your face for a short time, turn them around a but, and then put them down. It would be nice to see the knives in a close-up shot and in a slower presentation.

I think some of the earlier video formats, such as the Hide video, offer a better view of the product being shown and discussed. Or, as rsacco suggests above, doing table shots of the knives. This would perhaps require cutting the sequence from a shot of you talking about the maker to a close-up shot while you describe the knife. The two videos you just linked above do a great job of showing the knives' shape, profile, etc. With your new shooting equipment and editing skills, this would be even better!

AFA products go, I'd personally like to see one of your makers do a hon-kasumi KS profile 240-270 gyuto with stainless (or low-reactive) cladding and some super-steel core, like AS, ZDP-189, etc.

For stones, I'm really don't know. There's so much more to that whole realm, even more than with knives! You've already got many great stones, and there are so many others out there, I'm not sure what to even ask for or suggest. Perhaps a video of a basic overview of the stones you carry, which are soakers, which are splash-n-go, and the general characteristics of each. Also, suggest some stone progressions for different needs and what the results would be.
 
Impressive.

How about a little video tour of the store? I can't quite picture the layout...



+1

Maybe you should get some sleep first though and execute a wardrobe change.

i can probably do something like that at some point... gotta get a merlin first though... anyone want to donate to the cause? :p

if you dont know what a merlin is, click here http://www.tiffen.com/handheldmerlin.html
 
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