Costco Damascus steel knives

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jseko

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I was at Costco earlier and saw a set of 3 Damascus steel knives. There was a 8" and 6" chef knife, and a 3" paring knife. The back of the box said VG10 core and SUS410 cladding. I forgot how many layers of each there were. The box said made in China also.

Cost of the set is $69.99.

Has anyone else seen these? I'm wondering if they are a good buy. I think the brand was Fuji...something. Fujimaki, Fujimaru, or soemthing along those lines.
 
These junkers? http://www.ergochef.com/GuyFieriKnives.asp

I talked to the guy selling them in the store at one point. Knew nothing (but I didn't expect anything) on steels, angles, hardness, comparable other knife companies, etc. I wasn't asking stupid tough questions either.

I would steer clear of them.
 
Josh K said:
These junkers? http://www.ergochef.com/GuyFieriKnives.asp

I talked to the guy selling them in the store at one point. Knew nothing (but I didn't expect anything) on steels, angles, hardness, comparable other knife companies, etc. I wasn't asking stupid tough questions either.

I would steer clear of them.
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I don't think that's what the OP's talking about. I don't see any damascus.

My googling only turns up dead links.
 
jseko said:
I was at Costco earlier and saw a set of 3 Damascus steel knives. There was a 8" and 6" chef knife, and a 3" paring knife. The back of the box said VG10 core and SUS410 cladding. I forgot how many layers of each there were. The box said made in China also.

Cost of the set is $69.99.

Has anyone else seen these? I'm wondering if they are a good buy. I think the brand was Fuji...something. Fujimaki, Fujimaru, or soemthing along those lines.
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Haven't seen these at Costco so can't really comment on what I think about them.

It is my understanding that Takefu won't export raw VG10 out of Japan, so the made in China label makes me wonder a bit.

I'm not saying they aren't legit, but it would make me hesitate on purchasing.

At less than $25 per knife I wouldn't be expecting miracles, but on the other hand if you buy a set, and they are junk, Costco is good about returns.

Kevin
 
They were not being demoed by someone and they were not those Ergo Chef knives.

There was a pallet of these knives sitting next to the Henckel's International knives they normally carry. I couldn't find anything on Google about them either. I think they only appeared in stores this week or last week and are a store only item at this point.

I'll have to remember to bring my phone the next time I'm at Costco to take some pictures.

These knives look similar to the Ikea Damascus knife but the handle was black and the tang and wood didn't taper together in the same way. Costco doesn't mark up their items more than 15%, so it won't surprise me if these end up being very similar items...

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90131068
 
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I did not browse around the Kitchen Cutlery section/Isle

I cannot comment on quality, but my gut is telling me that it is probably inferior in craftsmanship due to the fact it is low cost and made in china.

Both of those terms in the same sentence makes it low quality
 
I also saw these and I was intrigued so I did a little more research. The brand was called Fujimaru, I have not heard of them either. Google provided nothing so I had to search deeper. The knives were made by the Meyer corporation, who's brands include Analon, Circulon, KitchenAid and so on. The display mention that Fujumaru was a popular brand in Japan or something to that effect but being that I could find anything about it on the net I didn't believe it. According to trademarkia .com, Fujimaru was registered on Wednesday, June 16, 2010 by you guessed it, Meyer Corp as a Cutlery brand. Prior to that a different company registered the name Fujimaru to sell kitchen electronic such as rice cookers and hot plates. For what ever reason the trademark was canceled on 8/15/2009. My guess is they were bought out or went out of business. Also the logos are in a different font and look slightly different.

Anyway when I saw "Made in China" on the box I put it down and walked away. Not sure if I will regret it later or if it was a good move. Still thinking of getting them for the heck of it. It just so happens that there was a Gunter Wilhelm booth show casing their knives for about $34 a piece so I picked up a couple pieces instead.
 
I work at costco, and when I saw these I was intrigued...unfortunately they are in our seasonal section, and most "special" seasonal stuff is lesser grade name brand (behringer for instruments is the prime example, though behringer isn't know for quality in the first place).

But, we do have the no questions asked, so if you have the money why not check em our? They might be a cheapo set of shuns...
 
Dont be to quick to diss these knives. About 3 years ago I bought a set of 8 steak knives at Costco with rosewood handles and stored inside a wooden box of sorts. We have used these knives every day and even ran them through the dishwasher. They still perform well and all they need is an occassional run over the steel. Best part was the entire set was like $18.

My point is, sometimes inexpensive does not mean junk. Gonna go see if our Costco has them tomorrow.
 
Snowwolfe said:
...My point is, sometimes inexpensive does not mean junk.
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Yep. I've been surprised by 'cheap' Chinese-made 'Chicago Cutlery' and 'Farberware' knives that I've purchased at Walmart or the grocery store. The factory bevels usually aren't anything to get excited about, but if time is taken to put a keener, more acute bevel on 'em, I've found they've turned out surprisingly good for the money.

There are always exceptions, of course. Sometimes you'll see some lemons, but that's bound to happen with high-volume production, no matter where it comes from.
 
jseko said:
I was at Costco earlier and saw a set of 3 Damascus steel knives. There was a 8" and 6" chef knife, and a 3" paring knife. The back of the box said VG10 core and SUS410 cladding. I forgot how many layers of each there were. The box said made in China also.

Cost of the set is $69.99.

Has anyone else seen these? I'm wondering if they are a good buy. I think the brand was Fuji...something. Fujimaki, Fujimaru, or soemthing along those lines.
Click to expand...

Hmm VG 10 and Made in China, that can't right :confused:
 
I took a flier and bought the set. Don't know about the quality of the steel. The blades are nicely constructed, quite attractive, in fact, a decent copy of Shun Damascus knives . The factory edge is quite sharp. The blades are well balanced and have the heft of German forged blades. The instruction that came with the knives recommend honing to a 20 degree angle not the finer edge common on Japanese knives. Will have to see how the edge holds up.
 
Found this thread in looking for Fujimaru knives. Most informative. As a knife-Damascus-cooking fanatic, my sons took a flyer and surprised me with this set for Christmas. I wouldn't have risked it myself--"$70 for a set of damascus knives? Must be made of melted pop cans..." After several weeks of using, I am very impressed. Handle, finish, and balance are super--the large chief's blade is a big solid chunk of knife but it just floats in your hand. Even the little paring knife feels substantial. Once you set a working edge, it's easy to maintain with a short diamond steel, and it's scalpel sharp. I was hoping to find an 8" soduku version of these from Fujimaru--I'd pay $70 for that alone.

Time will tell, but now I don't see how you could go wrong with this set.
 
I own these. Sharp as can be. Easy to keep sharp either on ceramic honer, diamond honer or two-sided Japanese sharpening stone. What can I say? I feel like I've gotten away with murder, getting three great knives for $69.

I have had them for a year. Handles great. Balance great. Sharpness great. Easy to maintain: great. The brand is Fujimaru, which basically is a creation of Meyer, who also controls brands like Circulon and many other cooking pan brands. They're a big company. Why they don't just grab the kitchen knife market and turn it upside down is beyond me.

anyway, I don't have Shuns or other high end Damascus knives, but I do have Globals, Wusthof and many others. These Fujimaru knives blow them all away. Note: I do not work for Meyer, for Fujimaru, or for Costco. I am just a poor, independent schlub, doing my home cooking with the best tools I can find. I say, if you can still find these, and you need some knives (paring, small slicer, chef's knife) they are a steal.
 
swerdsharf said:
I own these. Sharp as can be. Easy to keep sharp either on ceramic honer, diamond honer or two-sided Japanese sharpening stone. What can I say? I feel like I've gotten away with murder, getting three great knives for $69.

I have had them for a year. Handles great. Balance great. Sharpness great. Easy to maintain: great. The brand is Fujimaru, which basically is a creation of Meyer, who also controls brands like Circulon and many other cooking pan brands. They're a big company. Why they don't just grab the kitchen knife market and turn it upside down is beyond me.

anyway, I don't have Shuns or other high end Damascus knives, but I do have Globals, Wusthof and many others. These Fujimaru knives blow them all away. Note: I do not work for Meyer, for Fujimaru, or for Costco. I am just a poor, independent schlub, doing my home cooking with the best tools I can find. I say, if you can still find these, and you need some knives (paring, small slicer, chef's knife) they are a steal.
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Anyone have an update on these? Tuesday Morning has these on their website for under $50 shipped and I have a set on the way.
 
Knives with a core steel and cladding are not Damascus steel.

In fact the knives we refer to as Damascus are really pattern welded steels, and are also not really Damascus steel.




Big Mike
 
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