Which popular knife brand did you absolutely hate?

Japanese Knives - by Tokushu Knife
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KnightKnightForever

KnightKnightForever

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I've definitely tried out my fair share of clunkers... For me though, the knife(/brand) that I tried that simply didn't "cut it" was Shun! In fact, my disappointment over the failure of Shun to meet the hype (in my opinion) is what brought me into the rabbit hole of artisan knives, and ultimately here. So... thanks for making clunkers, Shun?

How about you?
 
Yaxell dragon is really awkward IMO. The profile is super curvy. The grind is super flat. And it is fat behind the edge. Other yaxells are ok.
 
Actually most Shuns I've handled and sharpened are ok (Classic, Premier, Fuji, Kaji, Hiro). Only Shun Edo monosteel vg10 is a bit too difficult to sharpen, not as thin as other Shuns BTE and the bolster is not comfortable.
 
daveb said:
Hate is a strong word. Shun is what it is and satisfies the housewife market - but with exception of 150mm petty and 3.5" Paring they are not for me.

In the "good" knife arena, I've never found any love for a Mazaki.
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This is the choil of my 2 Mazakis. The left one is a 2019 yoshihiro Kurouchi Mazaki. The right one is an early 2020 KnS kasumi. The left one is actually one of my best cutters in its weight class. The right one is a wedge monster on the contrary. Not sure about the recent batches though.

4F00AECD-DBB6-44CD-9F18-C6314A5B52B0.jpeg
 
daveb said:
In the "good" knife arena, I've never found any love for a Mazaki.
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Not really happy with my example 240 gyuto either. I like my 180 petty from him.

Ruso said:
Jose is it you?
Back on topic, from performance stand point Shigs are disappointment.
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Shigs are some of the most reactive I have seen. No love for that. Otherwise meh…


My Kato workhorse is underwhelming.
 
I have a 20 year old Shun premiere in VG10 that’s not bad. I got it out the other day for the first time this year and it cuts fine, like a solid midweight. It’s heavy overall due to the bolster, tang, and handle, and handle-heavy, but fit and finish is excellent. Nothing wrong with it for what it is and the intended market, although the price is on the high side compared to various j-knife offerings <$250 or whatever Shuns go for these days.

I stopped using it due to a tendency to microchip, but honestly looking back now at how I used it the fault could well have been mine and not the steel.
 
Midsummer said:
Not really happy with my example 240 gyuto either. I like my 180 petty from him.



Shigs are some of the most reactive I have seen. No love for that. Otherwise meh…


My Kato workhorse is underwhelming.
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I am sensing 'dissatisfaction,' not HATRED :cool:
Shuns have always annoyed me, but I don't know why, I've never even held one in my hands 🤣
I've been dissatisfied with a number of knives, feel lucky to have sold them all. Of course I've also sold a couple that I regret parting with (bye Yoshikane, I miss you...).
My only Mazaki is a little 90mm petty, it's my garlic peeling buddy!
 
chefwp said:
I am sensing 'dissatisfaction,' not HATRED :cool:
Shuns have always annoyed me, but I don't know why, I've never even held one in my hands 🤣
I've been dissatisfied with a number of knives, feel lucky to have sold them all. Of course I've also sold a couple that I regret parting with (bye Yoshikane, I miss you...).
My only Mazaki is a little 90mm petty, it's my garlic peeling buddy!
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What about the Yoshikane do you miss?
 
Delat said:
I have a 20 year old Shun premiere in VG10 that’s not bad. I got it out the other day for the first time this year and it cuts fine, like a solid midweight. It’s heavy overall due to the bolster, tang, and handle, and handle-heavy, but fit and finish is excellent. Nothing wrong with it for what it is and the intended market, although the price is on the high side compared to various j-knife offerings <$250 or whatever Shuns go for these days.

I stopped using it due to a tendency to microchip, but honestly looking back now at how I used it the fault could well have been mine and not the steel.
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Yeah. Some of my main issues with the 4 or so Shuns I've tried and owned are definitely the weight and balance, but also the brand goes out of its way to preach its exclusivity, but at the end of the day its just another mass produced knife. And I also agree about having some trouble sharpening them.
 
KnightKnightForever said:
What about the Yoshikane do you miss?
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I guess I don't really 'miss' it, it is just unlike all the knives I've ever sold, the Yoshi I really had zero complaints about, it was a truly superb knife. Although I replaced it with something at least equal, I only sold it because it seemed redundant and the funds would help finance my next purchase of something completely different. If I didn't want to fund a different purchase, maybe I would have kept it, sort of like having a backup quarterback... It was a 240mm W2, ironically maybe, I am awaiting shipment of a 210 in SKD.
 
I hate Globals. And in this instance that is not an overly strong word...

I hate their stupid, fat, convex grinds with no discernable bevel.

I hate their weird-ass steel that doesn't deburr properly.

I hate their rubbish, slippery handles with pointless holes in them.

I hate their nonsensical marketing drivel about being filled with sand.

I hate their ill-thought-out finger guards on any knife below 150mm.

I hate the way people buy them, run them through a dishwasher 400 times and then bring to me.

I hate the way they put them back in the dishwasher afterwards, despite being told not to.

And I hate the fact that it's largely members of my family who do it, so I don't charge them for the privilege of taking part in this never-ending Sisyphean farce.
 
cotedupy said:
I hate Globals. And in this instance that is not an overly strong word...

I hate their stupid, fat, convex grinds with no discernable bevel.

I hate their weird-ass steel that doesn't deburr properly.

I hate their rubbish, slippery handles with pointless holes in them.

I hate their nonsensical marketing drivel about being filled with sand.

I hate their ill-thought-out finger guards on any knife below 150mm.

I hate the way people buy them, run them through a dishwasher 400 times and then bring to me.

I hate the way they put them back in the dishwasher afterwards, despite being told not to.

And I hate the fact that it's largely members of my family, so I don't charge them for the privilege of taking part in this never-ending Sisyphean farce.
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Hilarious!!
 
Hate is a funny word, and never entirely rational... The only knife I've ever really hated was a Yoshikane Amekiri, not because it was bad per se, but how frustratingly close to great it could have be if they hadn't made certain design decisions.

Mostly I hate that stupid profile, with the dead flat back half that clunks to a dead stop on the board, and the too-curvy tip that's good for.. accordion cuts? I just don't get why anyone would want that profile. And the kicker is the stingy heel height, probably just to save money, which makes reprofiling almost impossible.

Other knives that are bad usually make some sense, and I can recognize they're for different people with different tastes and budgets. But I hate this Yoshikane. "Hate is not the opposite of love. The opposite of love is indifference."
 
spaceconvoy said:
Hate is a funny word, and never entirely rational... The only knife I've ever really hated was a Yoshikane Amekiri, not because it was bad per se, but how frustratingly close to great it could have be if they hadn't made certain design decisions.

Mostly I hate that stupid profile, with the dead flat back half that clunks to a dead stop on the board, and the too-curvy tip that's good for.. accordion cuts? I just don't get why anyone would want that profile. And the kicker is the stingy heel height, probably just to save money, which makes reprofiling almost impossible.

Other knives that are bad usually make some sense, and I can recognize they're for different people with different tastes and budgets. But I hate this Yoshikane. "Hate is not the opposite of love. The opposite of love is indifference."
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Exactly. I actually removed 0.5-1 mm height near the heel from my Yoshikane SLD to make it less flat. Feel a lot better now! Plan to do it to my SKD as well once it needs sharpening!
 
Agree 100%… Yoshikane are frustrating to use. Been steering away since trying two of them. In absolute among best cutters ever, in reality they kill any regular momentum. Would find myself chopping stuff in the end where strictly speaking I don’t use that motion very often. Anything else felt dead.
 
cotedupy said:
I hate Globals. And in this instance that is not an overly strong word...

I hate their stupid, fat, convex grinds with no discernable bevel.

I hate their weird-ass steel that doesn't deburr properly.

I hate their rubbish, slippery handles with pointless holes in them.

I hate their nonsensical marketing drivel about being filled with sand.

I hate their ill-thought-out finger guards on any knife below 150mm.

I hate the way people buy them, run them through a dishwasher 400 times and then bring to me.

I hate the way they put them back in the dishwasher afterwards, despite being told not to.

And I hate the fact that it's largely members of my family who do it, so I don't charge them for the privilege of taking part in this never-ending Sisyphean farce.
Click to expand...
You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown
 
FishmanDE said:
No hate, but I’ve found any knife over $700 has been underwhelming. The Jiro having the highest price/frustration ratio
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I owned a Jiro for 20 minutes. I bought it, looked at the product page and realized it was way too damn heavy for my liking, and Ai and Om processed the return right away even before they shipped it.
 
Dislike, and sometimes a bit more:
old French stainless, 0.4%C, 52Rc. Feels like butter, and cuts about the same. You understand why introduction of stainless steel went so slowly. 'It shines but doesn't cut', was a common saying in France.
Global, I guess you know why. Nightmares of burrs popping up after half an hour. Spontaneous chipping.
Only worse: Kai Wasabi. Huge agglutinated carbides.
 
Chicago cutlery.
I thought my shun was great compared to Chicago cutlery, then I found this forum and got a Kochi, which I still think is great.
I gave the Shun to a neighbor, because she had Chicago Cutlery.
 
spaceconvoy said:
Hate is a funny word, and never entirely rational... The only knife I've ever really hated was a Yoshikane Amekiri, not because it was bad per se, but how frustratingly close to great it could have be if they hadn't made certain design decisions.

Mostly I hate that stupid profile, with the dead flat back half that clunks to a dead stop on the board, and the too-curvy tip that's good for.. accordion cuts? I just don't get why anyone would want that profile. And the kicker is the stingy heel height, probably just to save money, which makes reprofiling almost impossible.

Other knives that are bad usually make some sense, and I can recognize they're for different people with different tastes and budgets. But I hate this Yoshikane. "Hate is not the opposite of love. The opposite of love is indifference."
Click to expand...

Agree 100%. I love the cut/grind, the weight, the balance, the thickness. But the flat profile and height were things I could not get over, despite my best effort.
 
I put a lot of research into my buys so I've never had a knife I've hated or even really disliked. Probably the most underwhelmed I've been has been a Wat Pro, and that's only relative to sky-high expectations. Not a bad knife in the slightest, I just found myself thinking the grind was pretty unremarkable relative to the hype.

I don't get as worked up by the Amekiri flat spot--its not my favorite but IME your technique adapts to it pretty fast if you give it a chance. I sold mine more because of the heavy handle and resulting balance.

I've said it before... if someone could get Yoshikane to do a run of slightly taller SKD gyutos, e.g. 210x50, 225x52, 240x54, with a Wakui-style profile and chestnut handles, they'd sell out as fast as Fujiyamas.
 
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