Moritaka strikes again

Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
One of my Moritakas has a visible overgrind which is about midway up the blade in the kurouchi portion, thankfully it is not near the edge. There must be some particular step in their manufacturing process which is causing these problems, what I see is the biggest problem is that it seems like they were not willing to work with customers to identify and fix the problem, if they had they could have put this behind them. Which is kinda weird, because in other cases Moritaka has been very accomodating about taking custom orders etc and working with customers.
 
Anyone have an opinion as to whether these problems are just poor grinding, or perhaps related to the forging process? These knives are very thin, and to be forging the blades this thin perhaps it's more likely to have some warpage in heat treatment.
 
I think the point is not every knife is messed up, but maybe 1 out of 7-10. There are plenty of people out there without defective Moritakas. But I don't like the odds of spending $200+ with a chance that it might be messed up down the road. I don't think it says a lot about a company that admits there is a problem but tells you to suck it up and deal with it if you knife's bad. I would rather do business with a company that strives to put out a perfect knife each and every time.

Can't argue with that. Well said.
 
Anyone have an opinion as to whether these problems are just poor grinding, or perhaps related to the forging process? These knives are very thin, and to be forging the blades this thin perhaps it's more likely to have some warpage in heat treatment.

That is probably true, if there are twists in the core steel - it is usually the difference in thickness of material during cooling than can result in a twist.
 
I think the point is not every knife is messed up, but maybe 1 out of 7-10. There are plenty of people out there without defective Moritakas. But I don't like the odds of spending $200+ with a chance that it might be messed up down the road. I don't think it says a lot about a company that admits there is a problem but tells you to suck it up and deal with it if you knife's bad. I would rather do business with a company that strives to put out a perfect knife each and every time.

I think the panic is because its warikomi style knife, not san mai.

Unfortunately you wont buy perfect knife for 200 bucks or close.
Im not sure now if i seen the same problem on Shuns santoku?
Poor craftsmanship? Maybe Moritaka uses 2" wide wheel/belt?
 
I think the panic is because its warikomi style knife, not san mai.

Unfortunately you wont buy perfect knife for 200 bucks or close.
Im not sure now if i seen the same problem on Shuns santoku?
Poor craftsmanship? Maybe Moritaka uses 2" wide wheel/belt?

No, the "panic" is because these knives occasionally show up messed up. regardless of their manufacture.
 
I use a Moritaka AS as part of my rotation in a professional kitchen for the last year or so. Its very thin but I have had no issues with the grind. I had a problem with the kurouchi coming off causing rust problems but after I forced a patina on to it I've had no problems. I sharpen my knives at least once every 2 weeks, the moritaka no exception. It's unfortunate that some people have had a problem, but personally I haven't seen it... and I beat the crap out of it. It was a relatively inexpensive knife that far exceeded what I thought it would do.
 
These dips can be concealed with finish, so one won't see them until a knife is on the stones.

What does this mean? Maybe I need to start a new thread about the finish on knives?
 
It means you won't see it with a naked eye. You will see it when you put a knife on stones, as low spots will not touch a stone.

M
 
Is the finish some sort of coating?
 
Anyone have an opinion.........

Thin yes, but Takeda is equally on even thinner and we don't see as much verbage on Takeda problems (and some of my Takedas had swells and swalls in all 4 directions!)

In my humble opinion there are three problems with Moritaka blades....

First, in our community we have elevated the image and expectations of Moritaka knives above and beyond the reality...Moritaka is an artisan or craftsman in the genre of village blacksmith capabale of producing multiple styles of household, field and hunting knives plus farm implements and general hardware, quickly and at a reasonable price. When we confuse his product with that of the craftsman who only produces a highly refined kitchen knife aimed at the elite kitchens and chefs, we have created a problem.

Second, when these problems started to surface, the PR or customer service side of the equation failed. It's probably part language barrier, part cultural differences, part failure to understand 'the market', whatever, but certainly the way this issue has been addresed or not addressed would have to be called a failure.

Finally, there is a member of the community who early on became very involved with and passionate about, even enamoured with Moritaka. This individual is extremely articulate and verbose. If you ever have an opposing opinion this individual tends to rain down chapter and verse detailing both why you are wrong and why you are an idiot. And this individual believes there is no problem with Moritaka blades, or no problem that someone of his own skill level can't easily fix. And if you have a differeing opinion...chapter & verse on your head.

So anyway, thats my opinion on the problem with Moritaka blades....they seem to cut well, many owners love them, some have a flaw - maybe - or not. All of that "is what it is". But it's hard to go 90 days without the issue of Moritaka blades popping up, so there obviously is an issue...a contentious one!
 
No, it's a scratch finish applied by sandpaper, belt, etc.

If you use some sort of an object with a give to finish your blade with, like a rubber block, you can hit these low spots with your abrasives, blending them in your finish - satin finish for the most part. However, when you put your knife on a stone, you won't hit the low spots, and you will see them appear as you remove metal around them, as they are below a surface.

Folks frequently see dips when flattening yanagi bevel, and less so on a gyuto, unless a dip extends all the way to the edge.

M
 
I don't think any knife should be sent out having this problem, but comparing Moritaka knivevs to Takeda isn't really fair. Takedas are 2x the price.
 
No, it's a scratch finish applied by sandpaper, belt, etc.

If you use some sort of an object with a give to finish your blade with, like a rubber block, you can hit these low spots with your abrasives, blending them in your finish - satin finish for the most part. However, when you put your knife on a stone, you won't hit the low spots, and you will see them appear as you remove metal around them, as they are below a surface.

Folks frequently see dips when flattening yanagi bevel, and less so on a gyuto, unless a dip extends all the way to the edge.

M

I've never purchased a Moritaka for the specific reasons identified in this thread. For $200, the chance of getting a seriously overground knife is unacceptable, whereas, for around that price range, I can get a knife that has minor, if essentially, no issues.

I absolutely get what you're saying Marko. I finally learned this firsthand, by watching others and personally learning. Some of these low spots can't even be felt by hand.

I thought my 240 Kanehisa Yanagiba was even. Nope. There are two low spots that are now clearly visible since I started sharpening them correctly and using a flat stone. And Marko's explanation makes perfect sense. If you're using something flexible or uneven to sharpen, it will flex or bend around these low spots. If you use something hard and flat, these low spots will not be hit, and then you'll see them.

I think the most worrisome thing is that there may be a lot of Moritaka owners that haven't yet even discovered these low spots because they haven't reached them, don't sharpen often enough or well enough.
 
I don't think Moritaka understood the early complaints. The idea that that there can be a hidden hole on a knife is confusing. When they finally understood the complaint, I believe they acknowledged that it existed, but it was the price to pay in order to keep costs down.

A forum member who was living in Japan made a comment, that people who worked in harsh environments wanted cheap knives and were willing to work with knives that had issues, because they went through them so fast.

Part of the problem is the main seller of Moritaka knives, hasn't done a good job of addressing the issues or what he will do if they crop up. The problem has been compounded by Moritakas un-official spokesperson, who dismisses criticisms as being due to a lack of skill in sharpening or as he likes to put it, a lack of precision.

Jay
 
Part of the problem is the main seller of Moritaka knives, hasn't done a good job of addressing the issues or what he will do if they crop up. The problem has been compounded by Moritakas un-official spokesperson, who dismisses criticisms as being due to a lack of skill in sharpening or as he likes to put it, a lack of precision.

Jay

IMHO, that's not part of the problem, that's probably the main problem. Moritaka is a Japanese manufacturer. For most people who buy them in the US, they should be able to turn to the US retailer(s) that they bought those knives to address the issues. (Generally, under products liability law, the retailer is at least partially responsible for any defects in the goods it sells; in some states, they're equally responsible as the manufacturer. If a retailer says they're not responsible for defective items they sell, they're making excuses and trying to avoid liability.)

With respect to the last comment, if that's true, that's BS. That's like saying a car that's a lemon is a lemon because the owner can't take care of it.
 
I don't think Moritaka understood the early complaints. The idea that that there can be a hidden hole on a knife is confusing. When they finally understood the complaint, I believe they acknowledged that it existed, but it was the price to pay in order to keep costs down.

A forum member who was living in Japan made a comment, that people who worked in harsh environments wanted cheap knives and were willing to work with knives that had issues, because they went through them so fast.

If Moritaka's were <$60, then this might acceptable. But for a $200 knife? That's asking a lot.
 
From my observations, people that work in harsh environments and want cheap knives usually choose a stainless mass produced knife, produced and marketed specifically as, shall I say, 'other than heirloom quality'. Even in Japan.
 
It's a sour grape thread. It's been going on since these forums started.
 
I wouldn't classify this as "sour grapes" at all. A moritaka is generally available to anyone.

I actually sent one back directly to Moritaka. I got a scolding letter and a replacement knife with an even bigger 'hole'. :dontknow:
 
Well my thought is this thread has
A: the Fonz
B: A drunk cat

xiu0F.png
[/IMG]

2C9VL.jpg
[/IMG]


thank you for your time.
 
Did you just 50 Hitler Post us?

I have to say, this was the most productive Moritaka thread yet.
 
Reminds me of the Taurus handgun...guy tells me they send back two Taurus for one of every other gun combined...then goes on to tell me 75% of what they sell is Taurus!!!! Hello?

Grooooan. I've been down that road with Taurus on a Ti CC revolver. It started just skipping clyinders.
One trip down that road was enough.

Dave
 
I don't think this is a sour grapes thread at all. In fact, I refused to buy a Moritaka after reading so many complaints about these knives.

There's always a certain amount of "buyer beware" when purchasing anything. But unlike a, for example, a badly cooked dish that you can return directly to the restaurant, it's not so easy to do so with something that's made in a different country and where you may not be able to get a good domestic response. These are all important factors to consider when buying anything. And, these issues absolutely devalue what you bought if you ever intend to sell it.
 
Back
Top