Which popular knife brand did you absolutely hate?

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I love the Yoshi flat spot. Whacka, whacka, no accordian. And while others chase the fad de jour on height, Yoshi cranks out the 48 x 240 all day long. And the grind doesn't suck.

For those that would like them a little taller, the Masashi would be a good one to try. I owned one that I liked a lot, very Yoshi like,, just a bit too tall.
 
Regarding the original question... my collection is humble, but what stood out to me as my most dissapointing purchase that I didn't expect was actually my WĂĽsthof Classic Ikon. I deliberately bought it as my 'heavy abuse'-knife, at a massive discount, so I wasn't exactly expecting miracles in the first place. But after at least already having and using a few half-decent J-knives for a few years I guess my bar was higher than I realized. The profile is just god-awful, the balance is completely out of whack - even on the 23 cm model it's so butt heavy you want to put it in a mobility scooter - and the downward angled handle is actually quite uncomfortable. I'll stick with it because I have it, but I wished I had just bought a Fujiwara FKM instead.

Regarding the Yoshis. Try loosening up the rear fingers on the grip; it helps. It started working noticably better for me if I guided it more gently instead of holding it too forcefully. Or just give it some more time; personally I've needed some adjustment time on almost every new knife - regardless of what the profile is like - simply because your muscle memory is used to the old one.
I actually don't mind the lower blade height at all. Might even prefer it like that.... but I can understand if that's very much a personal preference thing.
 
Fujin, one of the most beautiful knives I've owned, but didn't like cutting with it through anything but soft stuff. Felt great for a little then changed friction / resistance drastically half way through an apple.
Something about the aggressive concave grind ..

Mild dislike of my small cck when cleaning it .. just so much to whipe down, cutting is dope though.

Had a Shun kanso for a day .. just something didn't fit right with profile.

Turns out I really don't like stone wash .. due to friction.

As much as I love my Kramer Meiji, I wish it was a little thinner .. granted, my wife can say that about me.
 
Masamoto KS, I bought a bunch of clones when the KS was out of stock and getting hyped. Then I got a real one and it was the first of the bunch I let go. Supposedly the previous batches were markedly different though and the one I got was not really the same knife that everyone loved.
 
Maybe just a matter of having different preferences? Most of the knives discussed on this website are good knives, but all very different in their own way.
Mine is actually still my favorite knife in my collection. Maybe I just got luckier or maybe it just... happened to hit my own personal sweetspot.
 
I HATE ebony handle!
Yes, it is cool and smooth. But it is toooo heavy and move the balance point to handle.
I brought 2 knives from KnS with ebony handle and sold them all.
It depends on the knife. Really light blades it will move the balance back, perhaps, too far, but other heavier blades it balances them way better than the light more common handles. Something like Mazaki give me K&S Ebony handles all day over the majority of what I see out there.
 
It depends on the knife. Really light blades it will move the balance back, perhaps, too far, but other heavier blades it balances them way better than the light more common handles. Something like Mazaki give me K&S Ebony handles all day over the majority of what I see out there.

Indeed...

Ho/Walnut : 🤮
 
I used to have some Masakage knives (Takefu) which I thoroughly enjoyed before moving into my Sakai phase. I've noticed that Takefu knives may fit into this category of "popular but hated," at least on KKF, and I was wondering if y'all could provide some insight as to why?
 
I used to have some Masakage knives (Takefu) which I thoroughly enjoyed before moving into my Sakai phase. I've noticed that Takefu knives may fit into this category of "popular but hated," at least on KKF, and I was wondering if y'all could provide some insight as to why?
I still have a Masakage in the Shimo line (Yu Kurosaki), it is not my most frequently used knife and I could probably sell it, but I kinda dig it. So no hate from this KKF guy... Here is it after I singed the handle.
afterburn.jpg
 
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.

The Shun premiere 240 or 10" is one of the better shun gyuto. It doesn't match up to most of knives discussed on this forum, but it's a decent knife. Many shuns are pretty bad esp. in geometry.
 
I used to have some Masakage knives (Takefu) which I thoroughly enjoyed before moving into my Sakai phase. I've noticed that Takefu knives may fit into this category of "popular but hated," at least on KKF, and I was wondering if y'all could provide some insight as to why?

I also have some Masakage/Takefu Knife Village knives... They look beautiful, and the fit/finish (Including grinds.) out of the box has been superb on them all.

However, the nature of those grinds in relation to the thickness of the blade stock (Especially as they tend to lack much of any distal taper.) hasn't always been great for cutting performance... They used to be short and relatively concave wide bevels, on fairly thick blade stock. Then, some started becoming taller concaves on fairly thick blade stock... Now, some of the better lines are a - somewhat - more appropriate tall concave on thinner blade stock, making those few almost laser-y (I'm thinking of the Kurosaki Raijin's.).

Concave grinds are not great for long-term ownership, as thinning them will always require significantly raising the Shinogi to either create a flat, or (Sometimes it isn't possible on very high concave grinds.) a subtle convex. Just sharpening the edge on concave grinds doesn't thicken the BTE dimension as quickly as flat or convex grinds, but you still notably worsen the geometry of the knife each time you touch the edge by reducing the height from the top to the bottom of the concave. Basically, concave primaries will only be at their peak in their OOTB, factory state of sharpening. Kind of like hollow-ground straight razors...

Also, the thickness of the stock means they don't always have the most nimble blades. Some of the new ones like the Raijin's I mentioned look like they have much better dimensions, but some - like the old Anryu's, Yuki's, etc - are sort of clunkers.

One thing they do have in their favor (Aside from great Fit/Finish, and really lovely OOTB edges/handles... These are the knives you buy to impress 'non knife people'.), are surprisingly good profiles. Not much flat spot, but surprisingly little accordion cuts.

Steel HT from Takefu seems to be totally middle-of-the-road. Nothing ever bad to say, nothing that blows the mind.

I still sometimes recommend Takefu knives to people who's situation means that they're unlikely to ever feel their flaws, and will totally love the OOTB experience.
 
I still have a Masakage in the Shimo line (Yu Kurosaki), it is not my most frequently used knife and I could probably sell it, but I kinda dig it. So no hate from this KKF guy... Here is it after I singed the handle.View attachment 142185
Those look like Sor or Carcassi studies... You should look in to some Julio Sagreras etudes! They're around that level but much prettier IMO.
 
I still have a Masakage in the Shimo line (Yu Kurosaki), it is not my most frequently used knife and I could probably sell it, but I kinda dig it. So no hate from this KKF guy... Here is it after I singed the handle.View attachment 142185
What's the score in the background? Training regimen for praticing semi-irregular intervals tap-chopping with crescendos and diminuendos?
 
On a more serieous note, pun happy coincident, one maker I've never really clicked with is S.Tanaka. Far from hate though.
I own one and have held and tried several others from the same line, the blue #2 damascus. It's not the difference in execution that bugs me, because this can happen within any brand, but the difference in grind design/style. I have tried them from the same two vendors with full symmetric convex, symmetric half convexed, half height straight, asymmetric.. you get the idea. All hidden behind that rough surfaced clad damascus finish. I also asked one of the vendors why virtually all the blades had wavy edges OOTB. He just said he is surprised as well, but that few, if any, customers seem to notice or care.
I really like his profiles though, especially in the longer models, and would love someday to try a blue damascus that performa like I know from posts here they can,
 
Those look like Sor or Carcassi studies... You should look in to some Julio Sagreras etudes! They're around that level but much prettier IMO.
What's the score in the background? Training regimen for praticing semi-irregular intervals tap-chopping with crescendos and diminuendos?
Yes, it is either that or a couple pages out of my daughter's Suzuki method classical guitar book-1 etudes... I was desperate for a white background and this is the best low-effort one I could come up with. 🎸 🤓
 
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Curious howso?

I’ll be posting about the situation once it’s finally resolved in a week or two. But long story short, I had an issue with pitting on a new knife. Which for me, is unacceptable for a $1k+ knife
 
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.

View attachment 141598
Seems like the one on the left is a bit concave versus the one on the right that seems convex. Funny.
 
I used to have some Masakage knives (Takefu) which I thoroughly enjoyed before moving into my Sakai phase. I've noticed that Takefu knives may fit into this category of "popular but hated," at least on KKF, and I was wondering if y'all could provide some insight as to why?

I like my Masakage knives a lot. I'm just an avid home cook, so I don't put same pressure on my knives (re: sharpening, thinning, etc.) as they would get in a pro kitchen.

The 240 Shimo gyuto was my first J-knife, so it has a special place in my heart. It's also very light and holds a great edge.

My 170 Kumo santoku has been a real surprise. Originally attracted by it's striking damascus pattern, I was underwhelmed by it's performance; it would really drag through food and wasn't very impressive. With use, though, that has changed, and it is now a joy to use. It doesn't drag, and I've been impressed with how well the VG10 holds an edge.

I also have a Yuki 240 gyuto and a Yuki 150 petty. I honestly haven't used the 240 Yuki much (it needs sharpening and my Shimo fills my 240mm need). I love the petty, though. It takes a great edge and for White #2 it holds up pretty well.

I do like that my Takefu knives tend to be a bit longer than advertised (as opposed to Sakai knives), but as good as their F&F is, it's not quite up to Konosuke standards, for example. No hatred of Takefu knives here, though.
 
I mean I reserve my hatred for MLM knives.

if a knife is bad, it's bad. oh well. some popular knives are not to my taste, sometimes I even think they miss the point of what a knife is supposed to do.

but still, whatever. MLM stuff ruins people's lives though.
 
I got a Global from BST out of curiosity and put an edge on it. I think it's not that bad. It's closer to the softer x50 steel for deburring, but it's still ok I think. Given the size of the edge bevel I created, the amount of time spent is actually acceptable. I got it to 6/10 sharp in less than 5 minutes off chosera 800 and a few strop on loaded leather. Those Zwilling's chef's knives are my biggest enemies given how thick they are behind the edge. I usually spend quite some time to create a relief bevel first to make them useable for my family and friends.



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A language question by a foreigner, if you don't mind: to my feeling, the term hate is being used very easily, and even more by American than British users. Am I right? That being said, if any knife deserves it, it certainly is a Global or a Kai Wasabi due to the difficult sharpening it causes with its huge and even agglutinating carbides.
 
Global or a Kai Wasabi due to the difficult sharpening it causes with its huge and even agglutinating carbides.
They are not hard to sharpen at all... It is just AUS 8 Steel. Have you ever tryed to sharpen SB1/Elmax Steel this is weird to deburr but also managable. Globals are easy to sharpen. Maybe you got a fake ?

SirCutAlot
 
Hate is a strong word but I picked up a 2020 kns mazaki that really didn’t impress me. I’ve never had a knife that was chippy (including knives MUCH thinner bte) but my example had issues with chipping and the grind really wasn’t what I was expecting (I was hoping it would be similar to the 2019 ckc ones)

One other knife I tried that really didn’t jive with me personally was an issasmedjan apex ultra. It felt like the knife needed to be heavier for the grind it had. On paper it should have been an instant winner with me. Loved the profile, steel, wrought iron cladding… but it just felt like it didn’t want to cut like I felt it should have. Gave me a lot of resistance when going through product.
 
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