Unpopular opinions
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A honing steel if used properly and gently will in no way damage your Japanese knife.
Totally agree with this one. I sold my yoshikane for it being too flat (I made that clear on the BST thread tho), otherwise it would be a fantastic knife.
Not sure if this is unpopular, but I liked how this forum looked and felt before the revamp. The like system is nice though, if you want the real unpopular opinions you should look at the least liked posts 
We're just here to steal unicorns and flip them, duh
Okay I have another one, the terms "workhorse" and "laser" the community uses are understandable to differentiate between styles generally, but stupid. Let me illustrate:
A knife nerd finally makes their pilgrimage to their favourite maker's workshop in Japan, spending thousands of dollars for the journey. They get there and get a chance to start talking to their personal hero, and start to ask them about the difference in the 2014 vs the 2015 batches, which had a little more of a workhorse feel to them. Here's the punchline: the maker has no ****ing clue what they're talking about.
We're just here to steal unicorns and flip them, duh
Okay I have another one, the terms "workhorse" and "laser" the community uses are understandable to differentiate between styles generally, but stupid. Let me illustrate:
A knife nerd finally makes their pilgrimage to their favourite maker's workshop in Japan, spending thousands of dollars for the journey. They get there and get a chance to start talking to their personal hero, and start to ask them about the difference in the 2014 vs the 2015 batches, which had a little more of a workhorse feel to them. Here's the punchline: the maker has no ****ing clue what they're talking about.
BillHanna
Gotta get ready for ARM
Bet they wish they had a nakiri....
But we all know that nakiris are stupid!
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I own 2 end grain boards (a small one and a larger one). Hasegawa is much better value and much better board overall. I think the Hasegawa and Asahi even look better than end grain boards.
Jville
I used to work in a Mexican restaurant
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If you need help with your burial, let me know.
Plenty of 240 gyutos wish they were 1/2 the beast that my 210 toyama nakiri is.
Kippington
A small green parrot
I hate the feeling of a really sharp knife on a wooden board. It grips like a mofo.
And all toyama Nakiris wish they were 1/2 the beast my Gransfors axe is.
Not sure what’s your point is man. Sorry if my joke offended you, it was not my intention.
Cold man, cold.
Let me pile on with more than a few of mine...
Kato is not so special, or at least is it is not better than knives that are half the price or less. Of course, I only used the passaround Kato standard for a few quick meal preps at home, so what do I know.
Jiro wa gyuto is worth it, or at least it is not that overpriced. Fantastic knife, beautiful craftsmanship. I'd choose it over Kato (see above).
Takeda NAS are great (for some tasks), and the idea that the old grind on the AS was better seems impossible due to basic geometry and physical constraints. Probably too much to get into details for this thread, but suffice to say that the signature grind could not be thinner and less prone to wedging without compromising stiffness or food release (a signature feature). I've never held or used an AS, though!
Sharpeners get far less attention than blacksmiths, but I think that they are probably at least as important to how the knife performs and its essence. Indirectly they are acknowledged with all the talk of grinds, but rarely are they named and linked to the knife the way the blacksmith is. They probably should be.
Custom handles are mostly gaudy, and simple, traditional handles are underrated. The few custom handles I have held are also out of balance with the knife for my preferences, largely because they use denser or stabilized woods.
I am skeptical about people's ability to discern the quality of heat treat in any nuanced way, especially considering all the variables that go into making a knife. Also, isn't heat treat mostly a matter of tradeoffs rather than better or worse?
Often too much focus on subtle inconsistencies in grind or choil shots rather than on the more important metrics of how the knife performs, irrespective of "imperfections". I suspect inconsistencies improve the knife sometimes (e.g., food release).
I really like tamahagane, even if it's lower quality than industrial steels. Talk about tradition!
It is weird that we all obsess over gyutos crafted by "traditional" Japanese methods. If we were really into Japanese knives and tradition, why wouldn't we value traditional Japanese knives more? Yanagiba, deba, etc. Maybe even (gasp) nakiris and santokus! That said, I prefer gyutos
...maybe not all unpopular opinions, but probably a few controversial ones.
Kato is not so special, or at least is it is not better than knives that are half the price or less. Of course, I only used the passaround Kato standard for a few quick meal preps at home, so what do I know.
Jiro wa gyuto is worth it, or at least it is not that overpriced. Fantastic knife, beautiful craftsmanship. I'd choose it over Kato (see above).
Takeda NAS are great (for some tasks), and the idea that the old grind on the AS was better seems impossible due to basic geometry and physical constraints. Probably too much to get into details for this thread, but suffice to say that the signature grind could not be thinner and less prone to wedging without compromising stiffness or food release (a signature feature). I've never held or used an AS, though!
Sharpeners get far less attention than blacksmiths, but I think that they are probably at least as important to how the knife performs and its essence. Indirectly they are acknowledged with all the talk of grinds, but rarely are they named and linked to the knife the way the blacksmith is. They probably should be.
Custom handles are mostly gaudy, and simple, traditional handles are underrated. The few custom handles I have held are also out of balance with the knife for my preferences, largely because they use denser or stabilized woods.
I am skeptical about people's ability to discern the quality of heat treat in any nuanced way, especially considering all the variables that go into making a knife. Also, isn't heat treat mostly a matter of tradeoffs rather than better or worse?
Often too much focus on subtle inconsistencies in grind or choil shots rather than on the more important metrics of how the knife performs, irrespective of "imperfections". I suspect inconsistencies improve the knife sometimes (e.g., food release).
I really like tamahagane, even if it's lower quality than industrial steels. Talk about tradition!
It is weird that we all obsess over gyutos crafted by "traditional" Japanese methods. If we were really into Japanese knives and tradition, why wouldn't we value traditional Japanese knives more? Yanagiba, deba, etc. Maybe even (gasp) nakiris and santokus! That said, I prefer gyutos
...maybe not all unpopular opinions, but probably a few controversial ones.
I 100% agree (err, except for the 'less reactive' part -- but that was usually entertaining)
Hey, how about those Red Pandas! (saw an IG post with that as the new team name/ graphic and thought you would have commentary)
Too $ for the makers to stay on KKF when other forum(s) gave them a free year, then most developed a good presence via IG and regular newsletters. Too many no- or low-cost places to advertise these days.
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I agree a lot of people talk out of their ass. To some degree, the forum encourages this behavior with "50 meaningful posts" or whatever before getting into BST. I didn't know **** when I first started here, barely know much more now. I try to refrain from talking about what I don't know and that keeps me pretty silent.
Some of the older and more knowledgeable members are probably tired of answering the same questions, as well. This opens the doors for "I just got my King 1/6k stone last week" guy to flood the forums with misinformation. I always love when people start talking out their ass and someone like @JBroida comes in and tells them they don't know jack-- usually quite respectfully.
I have to wholeheartedly disagree with this one. 3-4 is a bit low. I'm not on Insta, so I'm sure there are plenty of guys and gals making knives that are absolute crap, but look great. That's Instagram for you.
Off the top of my head here are makers who make great cutters:
@HSC /// Knives, @chefcomesback, Prendergrast, Dalman, Marko, Devin, Mario
There are lots of really great options for J knives in the $200-300 range. No argument here.
Unfortunately, I've got to agree on Ealy. Love his aesthetic but have never appreciated the performance of his knives on anything but raw or cooked protein.
I will also add I was impressed by the CJA I was able to try and I had a Shig gyuto that cut great, but I got rid of it because a sideways glance induced rust on the cladding.
Some of the older and more knowledgeable members are probably tired of answering the same questions, as well. This opens the doors for "I just got my King 1/6k stone last week" guy to flood the forums with misinformation. I always love when people start talking out their ass and someone like @JBroida comes in and tells them they don't know jack-- usually quite respectfully.
I have to wholeheartedly disagree with this one. 3-4 is a bit low. I'm not on Insta, so I'm sure there are plenty of guys and gals making knives that are absolute crap, but look great. That's Instagram for you.
Off the top of my head here are makers who make great cutters:
@HSC /// Knives, @chefcomesback, Prendergrast, Dalman, Marko, Devin, Mario
There are lots of really great options for J knives in the $200-300 range. No argument here.
Unfortunately, I've got to agree on Ealy. Love his aesthetic but have never appreciated the performance of his knives on anything but raw or cooked protein.
I will also add I was impressed by the CJA I was able to try and I had a Shig gyuto that cut great, but I got rid of it because a sideways glance induced rust on the cladding.
Kippington
A small green parrot
VG-10 is a good knife steel, and it's easy to sharpen.
Hitachi White steels are over-hyped
Hitachi White steels are over-hyped
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Hitachi White steels are over-hyped
Here, here. I love how easy they are to sharpen, but there's a reason I don't have more than one shirogami knife in my collection. It's also a deba, so I don't really use it much.
jwpark
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New Takeda grind is crap.
Old grind rocks, but his old knives, F&F and grind (besides bevel) will vary.
oof, I may have a few, some more controversial than others ...
- Burrfection did more for knife community then most people here can even understand. That's why he has 180k+ subs now. People here just hate on what they don't understand. (shocked no one mentioned this yet).
- We buy knives as much on looks as performance .. shuns/miyabis look more beautiful to most people/general public than many "proper" Japanese knives. I trust miyabi market research team knows what they are doing.
- Hammons are only for show.
- It's ok not to know how to sharpen on stones and rely on electronic ones.
- A knife is supposed to cut, if it wedges, it's not cutting and it's a bad general purpose knife.
- Your amazing collection does not automatically give you cred in knife recommendation or even general opinions .. you're so far removed from the general public, that you may not even understand their needs.
- Your extreme knowledge of metallurgy, also, does not give you cred in general opinions. Unless proven otherwise, you're already too far gone to talk to plebs.
- Every fanboy/hater. You're a disease. In any hobby. You pollute the environment with extreme, often objectively wrong, opinions that have to be quelled so the rest of the population doesn't swing that way, wasting our time fighting the same battles.
- Burrfection did more for knife community then most people here can even understand. That's why he has 180k+ subs now. People here just hate on what they don't understand. (shocked no one mentioned this yet).
- We buy knives as much on looks as performance .. shuns/miyabis look more beautiful to most people/general public than many "proper" Japanese knives. I trust miyabi market research team knows what they are doing.
- Hammons are only for show.
- It's ok not to know how to sharpen on stones and rely on electronic ones.
- A knife is supposed to cut, if it wedges, it's not cutting and it's a bad general purpose knife.
- Your amazing collection does not automatically give you cred in knife recommendation or even general opinions .. you're so far removed from the general public, that you may not even understand their needs.
- Your extreme knowledge of metallurgy, also, does not give you cred in general opinions. Unless proven otherwise, you're already too far gone to talk to plebs.
- Every fanboy/hater. You're a disease. In any hobby. You pollute the environment with extreme, often objectively wrong, opinions that have to be quelled so the rest of the population doesn't swing that way, wasting our time fighting the same battles.
Guess I was born 10 years late and am boring
Haha... so is my opinion unpopular or yours?
josemartinlopez
我會買所有的獨角獸
But don't they make OK petty substitutes?
Barclid
Banned
Oh yeah now it's getting spicy.
BillHanna
Gotta get ready for ARM
That was actually why I bought it, but it didn’t feel petty-like at all. But I lurve hurr.
