He seems like a genuinely good person trying to make a life for himself. there's only so much useful you can say and you can't build a YouTube career on that. So he does his best.
Burrfection Commandments?
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He was a good intro to sharpening and stones for me. Commandments are hilarious though
I will be honest and say if i didn't find his videos i may have never found my love for this hobby, i then found KKF, Jon, Peter and others. He was my entry drug. I do not watch him after finding much better sources for information but his production is top notch and therefore it does lock newbies in.
Michi
I dislike attempts to rewrite history
Similar story for me. He was the first thing I found after looking for knife sharpening information. His early videos are quite good, IMO. I managed to pick up enough about sharpening technique and stones to at least get me started.
But then, it didn't take long for me to find @JBroida's and Peter Sailor's videos, and the ones from Korin. Those are much better, but not obviously so: it takes a bit of experience to understand that these videos are better because they do lack somewhat in production value and didactics.
I've noticed that Ryky's output has declined a lot over the past two years or so. The later videos, maybe post-2019, have been getting more and more self-congratulatory ("see what a great guy I am for donating all these knives") or self-promoting ("I will sell you my knives, which are great").
Over the past year, he's released very few videos, most of them trivial. Recently, there was a bunch of "shorts", that are obviously snippets that he edited out of much older material.
Regardless, I think he has helped a lot to get people interested in sharpening and how much of a difference it makes to have a truly sharp knife. Personally, I wouldn't vilify him. He established a presence in a truly niche market when no-one else did, and he probably managed to make some moderate amount of money that way. Fair enough. He taught me something, I paid absolutely nothing in return, and I walked away from the experience with a little bit of extra knowledge, as well as an understanding of his limitations.
I am a member of this forum only because Ryky got me interested enough to go looking for something less shallow. Make of that what you will
But then, it didn't take long for me to find @JBroida's and Peter Sailor's videos, and the ones from Korin. Those are much better, but not obviously so: it takes a bit of experience to understand that these videos are better because they do lack somewhat in production value and didactics.
I've noticed that Ryky's output has declined a lot over the past two years or so. The later videos, maybe post-2019, have been getting more and more self-congratulatory ("see what a great guy I am for donating all these knives") or self-promoting ("I will sell you my knives, which are great").
Over the past year, he's released very few videos, most of them trivial. Recently, there was a bunch of "shorts", that are obviously snippets that he edited out of much older material.
Regardless, I think he has helped a lot to get people interested in sharpening and how much of a difference it makes to have a truly sharp knife. Personally, I wouldn't vilify him. He established a presence in a truly niche market when no-one else did, and he probably managed to make some moderate amount of money that way. Fair enough. He taught me something, I paid absolutely nothing in return, and I walked away from the experience with a little bit of extra knowledge, as well as an understanding of his limitations.
I am a member of this forum only because Ryky got me interested enough to go looking for something less shallow. Make of that what you will
bahamaroot
Idiot Savant
Ryky is just another product of the social media culture that has arisen, he's definitely not a pioneer or aberration of it.
Lizzybee55
Member
He managed to intrigue me to further explore this fascinating activity; I, on my own, felt after a while that he wasn’t providing any truly masterful wisdom so I went and found this goldmine of a forum and Jon B. I thank the heavens for that.
Lizzybee55
Member
Perfectly stated- he certainly has heart and a sweet personality. I have the same history with his vids as you recounted. He said in a recent one that he is off to further “pastures”.Similar story for me. He was the first thing I found after looking for knife sharpening information. His early videos are quite good, IMO. I managed to pick up enough about sharpening technique and stones to at least get me started.
But then, it didn't take long for me to find @JBroida's and Peter Sailor's videos, and the ones from Korin. Those are much better, but not obviously so: it takes a bit of experience to understand that these videos are better because they do lack somewhat in production value and didactics.
I've noticed that Ryky's output has declined a lot over the past two years or so. The later videos, maybe post-2019, have been getting more and more self-congratulatory ("see what a great guy I am for donating all these knives") or self-promoting ("I will sell you my knives, which are great").
Over the past year, he's released very few videos, most of them trivial. Recently, there was a bunch of "shorts", that are obviously snippets that he edited out of much older material.
Regardless, I think he has helped a lot to get people interested in sharpening and how much of a difference it makes to have a truly sharp knife. Personally, I wouldn't vilify him. He established a presence in a truly niche market when no-one else did, and he probably managed to make some moderate amount of money that way. Fair enough. He taught me something, I paid absolutely nothing in return, and I walked away from the experience with a little bit of extra knowledge, as well as an understanding of his limitations.
I am a member of this forum only because Ryky got me interested enough to go looking for something less shallow. Make of that what you will
I would like to blame everyone here at KKF for introducing me to him, as I had not heard of him prior to coming to the forum a few years ago. I did however venture to this place from ck2g and before I went there, almost bought a shun.
He does seem like a hell of a salesman
He does seem like a hell of a salesman
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Uh oh. I'm starting to be persuaded by this argument. I think I need a break. I'll just drop into the Massdrop thread and look at the cows.
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Never actually watched a Ryky video, but I do instinctively shy away from people who seem like skilled salesmen. I prefer to keep my fences intact, and away from experts armed with bolt cutters.
I did buy a Shun, and I'm glad I did. It gives a nice grounding to my criticisms.
Like many others I started off watching a few of his videos. Something really off-putting that I noticed is that anyone who questioned him in the comments got a really terse, nasty reply so completely at odds with Ryky’s video persona that I would do a double-take with a “huh???”. One that stood out was Ryky’s video explaining that the way to sharpen an asymmetric edge is to simply do 2x more strokes on one side….. somebody rightly questioned that wisdom and Ryky’s response was something like, “if you know everything why are you here?”
So I don’t believe his video persona necessarily reflects his actual personality.
Ya, he does that cuz hes trying to get the veiwer to pay attention to his disclaimers. A lot of the questions he feels is posed to him are questions hes answered over and over again. Like when people keep asking him to take his logo off his knives, he kept saying, just turn them the other way if you need to take pics. It really bothers him when you claim to watch his videos whole and keep asking the same questions about it. And I really think he shouldnt do social media streams anymore, not when hes getting critized more than useful feedback. I thought he was going to Japan, meet with the guys again and write a book like he was implying. Look, believe or not, half these makers and smiths would not have even spoken a word to the collectors if it wasnt for him. Hes really not for the above novice crowd. And if you ever want to meet a maker, hes the one, his friends list is the Rolodex of makers. We splitted...he took the high road, the monitized road and I took the grassroot FB clubs low road to help the makers get exposure.
You guys are not giving Ryky the credit he deserves. Who else taught you that before sharpening you must drag you edge against a brick first to make sure it is sufficiently dull so you lose as much metal and stone with each session just as 'big knife and stone' intended you learn!
Dan-
Senior Member
Jon does both:
silylanjie
Well-Known Member
How Jon sharpens the flat side yanagiba seems the way how we do at our sushi bar
Carl Kotte
Senior Member
Whenever I hear of Ryky I’m reminded of all that paper he cuts, and I’m upset, and sometimes I even cry a little.
Totally agree!
Thanks for the response. I see in his yanagiba sharpening video he positions the back side of the knife perpendicular to the stone and goes straight up and down. While in your video you sharpen the back mostly at an angle but also put the knife perpendicular to the stone and the drag the knife lengthwise.
So essentially there are three motions here. Not sure which is right. Or if it matters at all.
silylanjie
Well-Known Member
its perpendicular because you want to avoid hitting the handle
This is not at all what anyone is talking about. Please watch both videos and see if you can add something informative.
Michi
I dislike attempts to rewrite history
For anyone curious why the linked post from 2021 talks about "must have stones of 2019," that's because r/Burrfection was much later. The original post came from the r/chefknives Discord and it was first published in r/chefknifememes here:
Se1ryu
Senior Member
People sharpening the ura side some Sharpen the back side of the knife perpendicular to the stone, some 45 degree or more, some are straight horizontal to the stone ( like President Sawada of Nenohi Sharpening video on Double bevel he did it blade straight horizontally to the stone from heel to tip )
Masano hirano (Tsukiji Masamoto) sharpen ura side 45 degrees starting at the tip and perpendicular when it reaches the heel of the knife
Every sharpener has its own way based on experience. Myself I do it perpendicular to the stone when doing uraoshi on Yanagiba. The reason you want to sharpen it perpendicular to the stone is because you want the spine and edge align in contact with the stone and doesn't scratch the urasuki. Also you need to put pressure on push and less pressure on pull, this way you won't end up having wider Uraoshi on the spine side. We need that nice ITO URA (balance) when doing Uraoshi Sharpening
Best way is to experience it ourselves and use the method that best for us.
I think @JBroida single bevel Sharpening video are perfect. Follow every step and you will be alright
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thatsnotaknife
Active Member
I placed on order from burrfection.com. A few days later without informing me, they cancelled my order.
Below is a copy and paste from their website. No email was sent to me advising me of the issue, reason or status.
Placed on April 01, 2023 12:25AM
Order Cancelled on April 03, 2023 09:02AM
Below is a copy and paste from their website. No email was sent to me advising me of the issue, reason or status.
Placed on April 01, 2023 12:25AM
Order Cancelled on April 03, 2023 09:02AM
| PRODUCTHasegawa Non-slip Mat - FYS-5025 | SKUHGFYS5025 | PRICE$77.00 | QUANTITY1 | TOTAL$77.00 |
| PRODUCTSabitoru Rust Eraser - Medium | SKU4903051901004 | PRICE$6.99 | QUANTITY1 | TOTAL$6.99 |
| PRODUCTHasegawa Soft Cutting Board "FSR" Series - FSR20 - 5030 | SKUHGMTFSR205030 | PRICE$124.00 | QUANTITY1 | TOTAL$124.00 |
| PRODUCTHasegawa Cutting Board Scraper | SKUHGCBS115P | PRICE$9.90 | QUANTITY1 | TOTAL$9.90 |
| Subtotal | $217.89 | |||
| Shipping (Express (2-5 Business Days)) | $0.00 | |||
| Total | $217.89 USD |
Did you place the order before or after reading this thread?
(IIRC both MTC and Korin have the Hasegawa products - probably other reputable dealers as well. Don't remember what I paid for my board but it was in that same range. Can't think of a need for the mat or the scraper.)
(IIRC both MTC and Korin have the Hasegawa products - probably other reputable dealers as well. Don't remember what I paid for my board but it was in that same range. Can't think of a need for the mat or the scraper.)
thatsnotaknife
Active Member
beforeDid you place the order before or after reading this thread?
(IIRC both MTC and Korin have the Hasegawa products - probably other reputable dealers as well. Don't remember what I paid for my board but it was in that same range. Can't think of a need for the mat or the scraper.)
