Ryuu Knife Set

L

Lookoutapiano

Joined
Aug 18, 2013
Messages
12
Goodmorning,

A few months ago I found this site while trying to research a damascus knife set that I saw at Costco. Three Hundred bucks seemed like a good deal & I understood (with help from posts from this forum) that these were Japanese blanks that were being shipped to China for assembly & sharpening. Ordered the set from Costco and they arrived mid May. Looked great, I liked the balance, very sharp and seemed to hold an edge very well. Roll forward three months & while cleaning one I noticed a tiny discolored line near the blade. A crack which seemed to disappear under the Damascus overlay. Looking closer I found three on one knife & after inspecting all of them, there are a total of three with cracks. Poor quality core I guess.

Anyone who had or might buy his set should check the blades carefully. I've had cheap knives break on me & it's not an experience you want to have.

So I'll be returning the set to Costco & start over searching for some decent kitchen knives.
 
And the lesson learned... It does not pay to buy imitation Japanese knives.
 
Don't buy knives from a company without a history of making knives maybe.

I understood the story they told & the potential cost savings that could be realized and passed on by utilizing less expensive labor in China to finish the production of the knives. What I didn't expect was the base to crack like that. I've had cheap knives break on me a couple of times but I've not seen cracks like this before. I would expect the knives to break in half but I'm guessing the damascus overlay has stopping that from happening for the time being.

I decided to take a chance on them because they were being sold by Costco who has an excellent return policy. I figured if I ever had a problem I could always take them back. If they were being sold by someone else I would have passed.
 
Thanks for the pics. Look as if there was a flaw in the damascus stock on the part of the mill, not anything the knife maker did.

Have you considered getting two good knives - a chef's/gyuto and a parer/petty - instead of a set? Given your location, you may want to take a trip and check out Japanese Knife Imports in Venice. http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com
 
This time around I'll not be buying a set. I like the look of the damascus overlay. While trying to not break the bank, I found a couple knives at chefknivestogo that I liked but I'm still searching reviews on them. A couple of the Sakai Takayuki hammered knives.

Thanks for the link, I'll take a look.


Edit: Their Gonbei knives are in my price range. I think I'll stop by their shop this week.
 
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Good eye. Those blades are toast and shouldn't have left the manufacturer or assembly/final grinding stage. Anyway, lots of brands have damascus clad VG-10 blades, just stick with a brand who knows what they're doing.
 
You get what you pay for. If they're sending things to China, they're cutting costs. You really don't want that mentality when expecting a quality product. The exceptions are things like computers and lasers, which can't seem to be found outside of China. Most likely the heat treatment was part of the cost cutting measures.
 
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