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tgraypots

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Does anyone have any thoughts on Mark Richmond's new Addict's?
Thanks-Tom
 
The Richmond Addict production models are just shipping now, so any impressions are of the prototypes that were going around, but that's really not a good indicator of the production models.

I have one of the unhandled prototypes that was ground by Eddy White, and it was not particularly thin behind the edge. As a result, performance suffered. It took me several hours of grinding to bring it even close to acceptable, but that's what a prototype is for. I will say that the Addict's profile is pretty nice, with a tall heel.

I'm hoping Lamson Goodnow does a better grind on the production models. For the price, it looks to be a pretty good value.

Rick
 
I've never used the Addict, but it looks pretty nice to me. It's made with a good, reliable steel (better than vg10 to some, worse to others).
Mark is a smart guy and he knows what people like/want. He thought about a nice flat profile for the first, what looks to be) 3-4", and offering a nice Rosewood handle for only $20 more.
My only concern is, I personally don't like overly tall knives and I feel 55mm would be too much for me. I have the belief that 50mm is basically perfect for a 240 gyuto, BUT others will disagree depending on their cutting style and hand size.
I hold my knife VERY lightly, so I can get away (and love) 40mm at the heel for many knives.
If a person prefers a Suji, I don't imagine the Addict will be up their alley, but for those who like a big, yet thin knife (think Takeda), I think the Addict looks very nice.
Only time will tell....
 
I bought one w/o a handle last Friday, got my shipping notification a few minutes ago. I'll see how I like it compared to my other knives. I had a couple of PM's with Mark and he seemed pretty happy with the results. This guy has staked his name and reputation on this knife and with this hardcore group of knife fanatics, that takes guts.
 
For me it looks like a Watanabe replica.
And all here knows Watanabe makes hell of a knife, but is to reactive. If Mark have got the same profile and geometry as Watanabe Im sure it will be a great knife. Im looking forward to reviews, but as with all other knife reviews written by a forum member its probably the best knife in the world. Hopefully are more objective person will write a review so we for sure can tell if this is heaven or hell.

I have no fight with Mark however, as others at KKF might have. For me Mark has always been polite and helpful, so I wish him the best.
 
I bought one w/o a handle last Friday, got my shipping notification a few minutes ago. I'll see how I like it compared to my other knives. I had a couple of PM's with Mark and he seemed pretty happy with the results. This guy has staked his name and reputation on this knife and with this hardcore group of knife fanatics, that takes guts.

I'm looking forward to your impressions, especially regarding how thin yours is behind the edge.

Rick
 
I spoke at length with Mark about this knife. Bottom line this guy knows knives. Took a good shape and made it out of good steel....at a great price. $170 barely covers the cost of a Stephan handle w/ shipping. This is a hell of a deal.

Pesky
 
Some food for thought.

Knife making is like eating out - you can have a meal in a small restaurant ($$-$$$) or a large cafeteria ($-$$) where you have many economies of scale.

A friend of mine (a member here) told me once something that stuck with me for the rest of my life. He said "out of three things - price, quality, and customer service, you get to choose two". So each of us decides what is important to each of us.

M
 
I'm sure there's a reason for putting the "p" in cpm. Nevertheless, I'm curious just not curious enough to buy one. I'd like some behind the edge measurements myself as well as spine thickness 1 and 2 cm from the tip.
 
The specs on it look good. And I am slightly surprised by the price. I thought it would be a little higher.

The question I have is how the grind is? I've been seeing some flat blades lately. Not crazy about the pudgy tip area either but that's just me.
 
I don't like the blade shape at all, and have zero interest in acquiring one...yet I'm still curious to see how these turn out.
 
So far there have been a lot of great points that have been brought up. One more thing that I would like to add is that Mark looks to be positioning his knife at a price point that is uncommon for a wa-gyuto. It will be even more interesting if he is able to present said knife with good quality fit and finish at this price point and if he is able to accomplish this I think he has brought something useful to the market.
 
I wonder how it feels to hold it, too. The handle looks like it's mounted high since the machi/tang is so small.
 
I have purchased many a knife from Mark. I can attest his customer service is top notch; I often receive my knives next day via fed ex, at no charge! He is easy to contact and personally answers his phone. He has done a terrific job building an awesome website, and keeping stocked with great product. I applaud his efforts to bring US a well made knife, at a very reasonable price; and I am sure this was his intent. It is as much a service to US, as it is a sound business decision to him. Hate the man for being business savvy? These are the concepts this country was built on.... competition is healthy; competition will only benefit US, the consumers. Everyone must step-up their game.....
 
I hate to be drawn in arguments like these, but you are forcing my hand.
Ever heard of dumping? Why 'live and let live' is so hard for some to accept?

I have been longer around on forums than you (NoChop) and I know what I am talking about. I also know knives, and know who knows about knives and who doesn't. And who doesn't know how to sharpen. So when I hear comments like "he knows about knives", what are you basing this on? A phone conversation? YouTube videos? Show me the beef!

I am not being a snob, but I am being tired of folks who haven't done much with their hands, who don't know what makes a good knife, who don't know how to sharpen, yet they get on public forums and offer their "expert" opinion which is repeating somebody else's opinion.

Learn something from guys who know their stuff. Want me to list them? Here: Jon, Dave, Bill, Devin, Niloc and list can go on and on. If you read posts carefully, you would know who they are.

M
 
For Mark this is brilliant and fits his business model.....make a cheap knife cheaply.....sell many....make very little$ on each knife. Add many cheap products together in a web store, lower the prices to rock bottom, you then add all the low profits made off of each item together and you have an internet success story.

Remember that Mark has no investment in these knives besides his money, no sweat & blood, he only needs to make a few $$ to make money on them. Again it's about grouping a ton of products together and low balling the prices of said products to make the $$ through volume sales. Quality is a secondary concern to quantity here.

I actually wish Mark success with this venture, I figure that there's a need for cheap knives just like there's a need for higher end knives and I'd rather let him put his name on the cheap ones than to have to do that myself.
 
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Doesn't he use a phone answering service now? I heard that he didn't want to use his time answering the phone, so he has a company do it for him.
 
I hesitate to wade into this one because I am aware that passions can run high around certain issues and characters, but at the end of the day, what you're arguing over is the best way to run a business. There are successful business owners that know the ins and outs of all of their products, the roles or their employees, and the needs of their end-users, and then there are those that take a 50,000 foot view, relying on others to get them the knowledge they need in order to sell product. Which you are will depend a lot on the size of your business, or rather, the size you want your business to be. I know plenty of guys that have started as one and migrated to the other as their business grew. Neither approach is right or wrong. Among a crowd (myself included) that likes the idea of the elder bladesmith sitting atop Mt Fuji honing his honyaki blade on 10,000 yr old 10K stones, soaked in mermaid tears and Elysian ambrosia, the 50K foot view approach won't be preferred, but it's not invalid.

Regarding the knives, they're not one of a kind, hand-forged knives, and I don't think they're intended to be. They're factory knives. Smaller production, probably, with a few more bells and whistles, but still, they're mass-produced for the mass market. Kinda like TKCs, DPs, Aritsugus, and countless other blades that I use and appreciate. I'm not going to ding them just for that. Not every blade needs to have some sort of special significance in order for me to like or use it. I still use my forschners every day for Pete's sake.

And if the objection is the marketing and hype-generation, hey. Dude's got business savvy. That stuff didn't work on me for the Evercut and it won't here either. Though I guess I can understand the objection to the expert statement. I mean, I'm around plaster teeth all day. It doesn't make me a dentist. Just because a person is around blades all day doesn't necessarily make them a bladesmith. But it might give them a good idea as to what type of blade might sell. And once again we're back to the "what type of business owner" question.

Anyhoo, just my $.02.
 
I'll say one thing...the robot shop seems like a nice, quiet place to work!

All in all, it doesn't really matter what CKTG does. Caveat emptor.
Prospective buyers will research a product until they're satisfied with the amount of information they have, then make a decision. If they ask the right questions in the right places, then they'll eventually find resources like Gator's interactive steel charts, Salty's, Niloc's, and others vids & reviews, Dave's treasury of knowledge of stones and sharpening, etc., etc.
If they don't, well then hopefully they will learn from the experience. :headbonk:

To paraphrase what you said, Dave, 'better them than me'.
 
The free-market economy is a system. We all do what we can to use it to our advantage in some way or another. It pervades our society and the way we live as individuals in more ways than we might think and far more profoundly than many of us would care to admit. Regardless, if it's a good knife at a good price and that's what I was looking for, I'd buy it and recommend it.

BTW, that robot is freaking cool.
 
Now I get it. Walmartization of America is a good thing. As is outsourcing, subcontracting, etc. Bring the price down and everybody wins. Look around you, only happy faces around you. :)
And this will conclude my posting in this thread.
 
I'm not sure where your sarcasm is directed, Marko. Obviously, everyone doesn't win. It's more of an unfortunate, unintended (or not) consequence of the system design. It would take some sort of miracle to go about living in this country without taking advantage of it in any way, either directly or indirectly.
 
Now I get it. Walmartization of America is a good thing. As is outsourcing, subcontracting, etc. Bring the price down and everybody wins. Look around you, only happy faces around you. :)
And this will conclude my posting in this thread.

I've feel that way too Marko. Short of becoming anarchists, what can we do about it? It's the reality, sad but true.
 
Quality, price and customer service? I'll add one more.....EXPERIENCE! Quality and price go hand-in-hand and quality can't be obtained without experience. Experience is slowly obtained by practice and work, not gotten in a month or a year of occasionally dabbling at whatever. You do get what you pay for even if it can't be seen!
 
What I fail to see is how the Addict (horrible name, btw) differs from, say, the TKC where an OEM mass produces a blade, Ichimonji takes it stamps it's logo on it, Kikuichi takes it, stamps it's logo on it, etc. How is that not commoditization (or walmartization) any less than the Addict? Granted, I'd buy the TKC and not the Addict, but that's not the point here. It just seems like this knife is vilified for being mass-produced, yet other knives in the same situation (DP anyone?) are held up as being awesome. Even the Hiro AS's are mass-produced blades, yet many here own, use, and enjoy them. I just don't feel like the Addict's assembly line nature should be a reason to dismiss the thing.

The reason I'm not really interested has more to do with the profile and steel choice. Something about that tip bothers the hell out of me and I've not enjoyed the few 154 knives I've tried. For some reason that little p makes a big change, for reasons beyond my understanding.

-Ben
 
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