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Post: My Aritsugu A-type yanagi (Topic#864144)

rockbox
Journeyman KnifeNut!
rockbox

Reg: 02-20-06

11-07-09 01:10.54 - Post#1975726

So I just arrived in Japan and my yanagi that I ordered was waiting for me. I was surprised that it came sharpened but was not surprised that it was sharpened very well. I did not ask or pay for this service so I assumed that the knife would come as sharp as a butter knife. The only thing I am sort of unhappy with is that the shinogi is not straight. Is this common with yanagis or is just a case of bad fit and finish with Aritsugus. Here is a picture. It was taken with my blackberry so its not very good.

Attachment: IMG00043-20091107-0250.jpg (44.72 KB) 15 View(s)

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Tom

JBroida
Master Member KnifeNut!
JBroida

Loc: LA
Reg: 11-12-08

11-07-09 01:37.12 - Post#1975734
In response to rockbox

nope... thats just a really crappy job. Aritsugu tends to mess up orders for foreigners and people they dont know, but i have yet to hear of them messing up an order for a well known or semi-well know japanese chef. Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience. I had to specifically request that they not sharpen my knife at all... that was the only way i could make sure it arrived in good condition. When you get this back into working order, i'd be interested to hear how it preforms... a-type yanagi could be interesting

-Jon

My Knives

Edited by JBroida on 11-07-09 01:38.25. Reason for edit: No reason given.

kostantinos
Master Member KnifeNut!

Loc: va beach
Reg: 11-21-07

11-07-09 09:10.00 - Post#1975911
In response to JBroida

It looks messed up.... As long as the back is straight , the road can be "fixed", Shinogi too with care....And you can always send it to Dave ....

Do not feel stupid if you do not like what everyone else pretends to love....

rockbox
Journeyman KnifeNut!
rockbox

Reg: 02-20-06

11-07-09 16:04.45 - Post#1976147
In response to kostantinos

I'm disappointed in the f&f for sure. My CCK cleavers have better finish than this. I sent them an email about my disappointment. Hopefully they do something about it. If they don't, I'll probably send it to Dave to see if he can fix it.

I don't understand how respected knife maker like this can get away with this type of quality. Fortunately I didn't pay a lot for it, and the issues shouldn't effect the performance of the knife.

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Tom

Loup Garou
Master Member KnifeNut!

Reg: 01-30-09

11-07-09 16:40.43 - Post#1976159
In response to rockbox

It is respected, but by a value system based on complicity and acceptance. Hands over eyes, ears and mouth. It's up to you what you're willing to accept and how much value you want to place on it, instead of following the standards. The shinogi is always going to have holes chewed in the top of it, and on a tall profile like a deba you can take that out. However, on a yanagi you'll sometimes have to reshape the machi area or sharpen into the kanji. There are quite a few knives (not necessarily Aritsugus, just in general) in circulation sharpened into the kanji or with reshaped necks, but it isn't good to point them out since that singles out the owners.

Something you can do is specifically request to position the shinogi lower, instead of sharpening it to the full height. Then you can adjust it yourself through hand sharpening. If the shinogi is initially sharpened to the machi level it can't be recovered without altering other parts of the knife.

Edited by Loup Garou on 11-07-09 16:43.42. Reason for edit: No reason given.

rockbox
Journeyman KnifeNut!
rockbox

Reg: 02-20-06

11-07-09 17:03.05 - Post#1976181
In response to Loup Garou

I think its just sad that you can get a 10 dollar knife from walmart that has better fit and finish than a knife that sells for almost 200 bucks. The might as well have used a belt grinder to sharpen it. Whats the point of hand sharpening it if that is the quality of the result.

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Tom

thicarrion
Member

Reg: 09-16-09

11-09-09 16:40.03 - Post#1977370
In response to rockbox

I'm kinda astonished. I thought that Aritsugu's work was near perfect. Could it happen that I order a Yanagi or Kiritsuke from Korin, Aframeoftokyo.com or Seito Trading and the blade shinogi comes not straight? I ask because I can't affort to spend my money in a another knife. So is it better to buy a Masamoto or Suisin? Or they can have the same problems?

sushicide
Journeyman KnifeNut!

Loc: NYC
Reg: 12-28-08

11-09-09 17:08.26 - Post#1977403
In response to thicarrion

I think the crappy sharpening job only applies to the A-style knives since the steel is pretty abrasive resistant so they slap them on a grinding wheel instead(but honestly I sharpened mine just fine no worse than other steel)

The traditional white & blue blades on aframes' gallery look fine, don't think you'd have anything to worry about.

People ask "why?", I say "why not?"

rockbox
Journeyman KnifeNut!
rockbox

Reg: 02-20-06

11-10-09 02:14.10 - Post#1977619
In response to rockbox

The problem is that Aritsugu is notorious about bad sharpening jobs. I assumed that they would not sharpen the knife before they sent it to me since they don't normally do unless you asked them. That is why I was surprised when I got it and it was sharpened.

The good news is that I sent them a polite email expressing my displeasure about the quality of the knife and sharpening job. They admitted they messed up and agreed to send me a new unsharpened knife to my house in the USA. They asked me to return the knife in my possession the next time I'm in Japan which should be in the spring. I'm glad they owned up to their error and fixing the problem for me.

The moral of this story is you need to explicitly tell them not to sharpen any knife you buy from them. Also, if you have problems, be polite and the problem is more likely to be resolved.

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Tom

thicarrion
Member

Reg: 09-16-09

11-10-09 06:36.06 - Post#1977687
In response to rockbox

rockbox Said:

The problem is that Aritsugu is notorious about bad sharpening jobs. I assumed that they would not sharpen the knife before they sent it to me since they don't normally do unless you asked them. That is why I was surprised when I got it and it was sharpened.

The good news is that I sent them a polite email expressing my displeasure about the quality of the knife and sharpening job. They admitted they messed up and agreed to send me a new unsharpened knife to my house in the USA. They asked me to return the knife in my possession the next time I'm in Japan which should be in the spring. I'm glad they owned up to their error and fixing the problem for me.

The moral of this story is you need to explicitly tell them not to sharpen any knife you buy from them. Also, if you have problems, be polite and the problem is more likely to be resolved.

Great news! And thanks for the advice, when I buy it I will be very clear about the not-sharpening issue!

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Location: Main Index » Forum Index » Knives, Cooking, and Life in the Restaurant/Home Kitchen » In the Kitchen » My Aritsugu A-type yanagi