To be honest, Kato knife's Kanji is like wrriten by a 5 year old kid.

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It is not simply about penmanship, but I do agree that the chisel work is rudimentary. It is not worthy of ridicule, nor of impassioned debate. This style of engraving is not at all uncommon, but I'd prefer it on a tang rather than on a blade face, especially if the knife is intended to be artistic.

Please go talk with Mr. Kato about his inscriptions and ask him why he does not see fit to spend more time on it, and perhaps avoid trying to crudely demean him on a forum he does not read (while accusing others of being rude to you). Perhaps you'll get a satisfactory explanation from him, and perhaps you won't. If you care enough to post about it on a forum that seems to be in a language that is not your first, certainly you can find the energy to ask him or an associate directly. If you wish to conduct yourself petulantly and truculently as it appears, perhaps you are not qualified to comment on others' politeness, or their upbringing.
 

You are the one making sweeping statements about a engraving thats almost as standard or clerical of a font as you can get. Again there is nothing five year old or whatever bs you are claiming no matter how many other Japanese or Chinese people are around you.

If you show this to 100 chinese people none of them will say it looks "bad" because it's like saying times new Roman is bad. It's not fancy that's for sure, but all the strokes are perfectly in place it's almost like it's written with a type writer. That's the impressive part because he can consistently produce it with hand chisels.

And quit ur crying, are you 7
 
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panda said:
Sounds to me like OP got made fun of a lot as a kid and still does.
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Well I think that the OP made a reasoned argument to support his opinion and that he deserves more respect than is being shown by a number of posters.

"Opinion" is a key word here.
 
Devon_Steven said:
Well I think that the OP made a reasoned argument to support his opinion and that he deserves more respect than is being shown by a number of posters.

"Opinion" is a key word here.
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What was the argument to support his claim. He just kept repeating 5 year kids can write better and it's a joke.
 
There is no need to be upset.

[video=youtube;ygr5AHufBN4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygr5AHufBN4[/video]
 
AllanP said:
What was the argument to support his claim. He just kept repeating 5 year kids can write better and it's a joke.
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In support of his *opinion*, he contrasted Kato's engraving style with three other makers'.
 
I've been of this community for a lot longer than many here, and am known to be pretty blunt, but there is some bad form in this thread. And i'm not referring to the OP.

Not sure why ad hominem is being used, simply intelligently prove him wrong with citations or a respectful counter reply. There's only so many threads you can discuss which knife you want, Shigefusa's, and Kramers.

Good grief.
 
JBroida said:
better?

article-2114836-12297987000005DC-173_306x260.jpg


:razz:
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:rofl2:
 
Regardless of whether Kato-san's engraving is poor, excellent or just decent - this thread is the trolliest of troll traps I have seen since I joined this forum...
 
The guy said he doesn't like the way Kato knives are signed. His opinion.
Is it bad or not, I have no clue, but interesting point to non the less.

Ask a five year old to write ''made by Carter'' on a piece of paper. Print that on a picture of a Murray Carter knife and ask around what
people think about that 600$ knife? That's how he sees it. And again... His opinion!

...And regardless I hope to get one some day (the standard though, not the workhorse).
...And btw the Kato Kanji looks amazing to me.
 
JaVa said:
The guy said he doesn't like the way Kato knives are signed. His opinion.
Is it bad or not, I have no clue, but interesting point to non the less.

Ask a five year old to write ''made by Carter'' on a piece of paper. Print that on a picture of a Murray Carter knife and ask around what
people think about that 600$ knife? That's how he sees it. And again... His opinion!



...And regardless I hope to get one some day (the standard though, not the workhorse).
...And btw the Kato Kanji looks amazing to me.
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I think you're a very objective person, the purpose of this thread is to give members here a notice that most people in East Asia area will think this Kanji is really bad, that's it,
I always believe more information will help people make right choice.
 
AFKitchenknivesguy said:
I've been of this community for a lot longer than many here, and am known to be pretty blunt, but there is some bad form in this thread. And i'm not referring to the OP.

Not sure why ad hominem is being used, simply intelligently prove him wrong with citations or a respectful counter reply. There's only so many threads you can discuss which knife you want, Shigefusa's, and Kramers.

Good grief.
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Jason,
I can tell you're an intelligent and well educated people, and I came to US couple years ago, I got a mechanical engineering B.S. degree here in Utah,and I'm doing my master's degree in computer science.
Most people around me in real life are like you, logical and decent people,that's the reason I came here for study.
All I was saying is just a view of most Chinese and Japanese will think of the Kanji kato's knife. Is more information a bad thing?
Honestly if you can understand the screen print I just posted from the Chinese kitchen knife chatting group, the opinion is more harsh and accurate than my description.
 
Don't know if I should be respondingl, but I will.

Kato's kanji form a stylized signature. It is art, and good art at that. The main characteristic of a 5-year-old's signature is that it shows a lack of motor control. Kato's kanji show exquisite motor control. His signature is distinctive, repeatable, and fun. A 5-year-old's signature is messy, different every time, and a real chore.

No serious knifemaker will put a maker's mark on his knives that gets ridicule from his friends. Many Asians have seen Kato's kanji, and I'll bet a nickel no one laughed and asked him if his kid drew it.

Remember that "simple" does not equate to "crude." Here's a proposal for a Hewlett-Packard logo that they did not adopt. It's dead simple, and high art. If you think a 5-year-old could have created this, think again.

hp_logo.jpg
 
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I think I will get ridiculed by a lot of the other posters here but I agree with OP. Kato's kanji while not ugly does look very inelegant. While I agree with the saying "beauty in simplicity", there's no such beauty here. In Asian culture, we look at the whole piece of work when it comes to art, the knife might cut great, might even be a perfect cutting knife, but the kanji doesn't complement the knife. The kanji gives me the feel of being stamped on rather than engraved. Hence I never entertain with the thought of getting one. Just my $0.02
 
To be honest, Kato's kanji is really bad, and I was once scorned for bringing my 240mm workhorse to a knife collectors meeting. Some guy even said it wasn't worth anything while dangling some bowie knife around for all to see.

I only cut with my Kato knives in private now, cooking alone in my kitchen, carefully packing the knife away before dinner is served. I shouldn't force people to cringe by having the knife within eyesight.
 
DamageInc said:
To be honest, Kato's kanji is really bad, and I was once scorned for bringing my 240mm workhorse to a knife collectors meeting. Some guy even said it wasn't worth anything while dangling some bowie knife around for all to see.

I only cut with my Kato knives in private now, cooking alone in my kitchen, carefully packing the knife away before dinner is served. I shouldn't force people to cringe by having the knife within eyesight.
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LMAO! Well done, sir! :rofl2:
 
As comical/risible as this thread is, if you are troubled by the writing on a kitchen tool a rethink of your priorities may be in order.
 
Timthebeaver said:
As comical/risible as this thread is, if you are upset by the writing/branding on a kitchen tool a rethink of your priorities may be in order.
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Not upset about anything, just objective information from people who use the characters or Kanjis.
 
Kristoff said:
I think I will get ridiculed by a lot of the other posters here but I agree with OP. Kato's kanji while not ugly does look very inelegant. While I agree with the saying "beauty in simplicity", there's no such beauty here. In Asian culture, we look at the whole piece of work when it comes to art, the knife might cut great, might even be a perfect cutting knife, but the kanji doesn't complement the knife. The kanji gives me the feel of being stamped on rather than engraved. Hence I never entertain with the thought of getting one. Just my $0.02
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Another testimony from an Asian!
 
Soccerman said:
Another testimony from an Asian!
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What do you think of the kanji from gesshin kagekiyo and ittetsu series? I am liking them a lot and have been talking about them a fair bit recently with Jon. Too bad can't afford to get both lol
 
Kristoff said:
What do you think of the kanji from gesshin kagekiyo and ittetsu series? I am liking them a lot and have been talking about them a fair bit recently with Jon. Too bad can't afford to get both lol
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I think, Jon has a very high standard of his knives, take a look of his brand "月心“ the meaning is beautiful and the engraving is also excellent! The handwriting style is very nice, the way they engraves 一鉄 and 景清, it looks powerful to me.
 
Soccerman said:
I think, Jon has a very high standard of his knives, take a look of his brand "月心“ the meaning is beautiful and the engraving is also excellent! The handwriting style is very nice, the way they engraves 一鉄 and 景清, it looks powerful to me.
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月心 is gorgeous. The technique in engraving is top notch. It feels so smooth and like done in a single motion. 像流水一樣。not sure if you get what I mean
 
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