been looking for an affordable beginner chef knife with a Japanese profile, this has a tonne of positive reviews. A youtube tube review of what appears to be an identical, but rebranded knife: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVk42APDfV0
*Yes, we know it's made in china.
CamelCamelCamel.
Agreed. Reputable knives aren’t “rebranded”, and as for the reviews… Amazon is polluted with fake and incentivised reviews.
Agree, this is rubbish. The reason the real ones cost so much is that they are difficult and time consuming to make by hand. If you buy a cheap one new it's almost certainly a crap copy.
There are a few places online that sell used chef's knives, try one of them. I can't find the link but there is a place in Japan somewhere that buys up old knives and reconditions them. If I ever find the link I'll put it here.
Appreciated!
Thanks!
This is not a deal.
The positive reviews aren’t necessarily scams, but are going to be from clueless newbies who just bought Babby’s First Knife, and think cutting paper means a knife is good. The linked YouTube video is equally clueless - he literally describes 9Cr18MoV as “a type of steel which is a fairly common type of steel commonly used in a lot of kitchen knives”, possibly the most useless sentence on the entire Internet.
Instead of this mediocre product that was created to scam buyers into thinking it is Japanese, you could get basically the same thing straight from AliExpress for about half the price. You could get a Global G-2 which is made in Japan with similar steel and actually consistent heat treatment for about the same price, or you could get a Tojiro/Fujitora in actual VG10 for only a little more (or less on sale). You could save up for a few extra weeks and get a Takamura R2. You could get a Wusthof. You could get a Victorinox Fibrox. You could just use your free Masterchef knives from Coles a few years ago which are going to perform about the same as this one for an average home cook. Anything but this product.
Good luck getting a Takamura SG2/R2 Gyuto but chef's edge has the Santoku for sale currently. Very tempted to pick it up but I just got the Taka Chromax for myself, really happy with it and came with a phenomenal edge out of the box!
You're much better off getting a real Japanese knife such as the Torjiro DP at a similar price point depending on what size you get of course. It's an excellent performer in the "budget" category and will beat just about anything that most standard kitchens would have in it including the loved global knives.
Cheapest way to get them is from Amazon JP. The 210mm gyuto is $109 currently, 180mm Gyuto is $79, and 170mm Santuko is $81. Plus plenty more options. Phenomenal value for money. If you don't like the style get a Victorinox Modern or Victorinox Fibrox.
You should have your OzBargain license taken off you…
These are sponsored on Amazon because they wouldn't sell otherwise. Tojiro DP which is essentially the same as Fujitora is a better knife at nearly the same price point. How is it a Japanese knife if it is made in China?!!
been looking for a decent yet affordable beginner japanese chef knife
Then this is not what you're looking for, because China is not Japan.
If you know of a better blade with a Japanese profile for under $90, please share.
100% pure chinesium ex soviet tank steel.
The secret ingredient is the tears of the T34 production line proles folded 1000 times into the alloy
Made in Japan has good beginner knife for about the same price, go to the site and have look. You can be sure they are from Japan at least.
That knife is made in China, the 9Cr18MoV steel is also a China-made/formulated rust-resistant steel alloy. It is hard but brittle compared to the rust-resistant steels from Japan like AUS-8 and Ginsan. Don't overpay for a knife where the manufacturer is trying to mislead you with a false country of origin by giving it a Japanese name and claiming that it is made using Japanese knifemaking techniques.
Don't fall for the marketing bs. If you want cheap Chinese knives go on AliExpress to find one. They are actually not bad for what you pay, for 50-60 bucks you can get a decent Chinese knife that will blow this out of the water.
Does it compare to Japanese knives? Not the steel but the geometry is quite good (at least the one I bought).
Japanese made their Knife in Japan which they are very proud of it.
This made in Chain rubbish is a shame
Get a decent Japanese knife from a reputable site/vendor.
I've grabbed 2 from Hocho Knife.
https://www.hocho-knife.com/
Highly recommend. Super quick shipping from Japan and decent prices. Plenty of reviews on the web/Reddit for them too.
As for the "deal" in the OP's post -> Don't bother.
has a tonne of positive reviews
Does anyone actually believe Amazon reviews for Chinese products??
OP did lol
Love this little titbit from their 'bone cutting knife':
'Please try not to use a knife to cut bones, frozen foods or open cans.'
OP’s sneaky edits made me lol/cringe
*Yes, we know it's made in china.
LOL
Please don’t be misled by the branding and fake Japanese claims - this is a cheap AliExpress knife made in China.
No genuine Japanese brand would put this kind of gibberish (machine-translated?) fake Japanese “の製品情報のためにつかうな” on the top of their product information - this literally translates to “ ‘s do not use in order to product information”.