Warther, should I be disappointed?

[Lennyo3034]

So after a bit of research and asking on the forum, I ordered a set of Warther kitchen knives:

http://www.warthercutlery.com/all-purpose-block-set.html

I got them in today, and I'm a bit underwhelmed. The knives themselves do not have the heft that I'm used to. Perhaps I'm just used to heavier knives and these will work just fine. I've read that high end Japanese knives tend to be light and airy as well. The fit and finish is very good with the exception of where the blades begin to taper. Some of them taper before the handle is finished, leaving a slight gap. Not a huge deal, but not great for this price point. The edges themselves are not very sharp. A few of them will pop hairs, but not consistently, nowhere near as sharp as my EDC knives. I would sharpen them, but they are advertised to have a convex grind and I don't want to ruin that. I may just strop them with green compound.

Do you guys think these are valid concerns? Or am I expecting too much out of kitchen knives?

 

[Morrow]

I wouldn't worry about the heft as it has no bearing on quality. To be honest, I've not gotten many production kitchen knives that were as sharp as I would have liked. Shun has always been very sharp as have most of the Henckel Miyabi line knives I have. I would try stropping as you mentioned and see how you make out.
It looks like you got 6 S35V kitchen knives and handmade block for a little over $400. I think that's very attractive price considering you could spend a lot more and get a lot less from a steel snob perspective (which I'm not).

 

[BluntCut MetalWorks]

.. Some of them taper before the handle is finished, leaving a slight gap.

option 1 - fill with exposy/resin then sand it flush.
option 2 - give the neck another 1/4", i.e. cutoff the handle-blade-gap, then put back a round taper on handle. Since the current neck could use some extra length.

The edges themselves are not very sharp. A few of them will pop hairs, but not consistently, nowhere near as sharp as my EDC knives. I would sharpen them, but they are advertised to have a convex grind and I don't want to ruin that. I may just strop them with green compound.

Yes, good idea to strop. However S35VN has 3%V & 0.4%W therefore diamond/cbn/bn compound would be more effective.

am I expecting too much out of kitchen knives?

Your concerns are fair for knives at this price point.

These knives have pretty good geometry & a respectable 58-60rc high wear resistant s35vn, they should serve you well. S35vn sharpens up more easily then s30v.

btw - good that you went with Kalaeb's recommendation, yeah I would choose s35vn+usa over vg10+china too.

 

[kalaeb]

No, you are not expecting too much. The knives are what I consider to be a "laser", less than 1.9 mm one the spine above the heel, so they are very light weight. Sharpen them up to see the real potential. I dont recall what the ootb edge was on mine, but it put "my" edge on every knife before I use it.

I have never noticed where they claim convexed grind, if they do claim it, its not, hit the stones, but make sure you want to keep them first. They offer a pretty solid guarantee, but you never know what they will say if sharpened.

This is the second time I have heard of the gap on the handle. The Warther I have does not have it, or rather it is very minimal, if it is too big, I would request a new set.

 

[Lennyo3034]

So I think I'm going to sharpen them before I give them to my wife. What angle should I sharpen them at? I usually do a 30 degree angle on my EDCs, but not sure whats normal for kitchen knives. I'd imagine it would be different depending on the knife as well.

 

[kalaeb]

I free hand sharpen, so its hard to say exactly what I am hitting. I would venture between 12 and 14 degrees/side.

 

[kalaeb]

I am not going to lie, I was a little miffed when I first saw this post. I was ticked because a product I recommended did not meet the expectations of the person who purchased it most of all due to the fit and finish issues. But...I know this company has a great history and I hope to see them continue their business for the next 100 years. The great thing about Warther is, they want to get it right, they want to be successful and they want you to be happy. My email was in direct reference to the tang gap and here is their direct reply:

"Matt,
Thanks for contacting us, as well as your support. In regards to the taper and handle issue, we have been working on resolving that error in our manufacturing with our new grinding machine, as well as the handles. If yourself or someone you know has a knife with a gap in the handle, you can return the knife for an exchange for a knife with no gap. Thanks

Warther Cutlery"

Lenny, If you are not happy with the knives, send them back. I know they can make it right.

 

[franzb69]

yay, i hope when i finally make my purchase for the 7 and the 9 inch chef knife the problems with the knife handles would be solved.

 

[Lennyo3034]

I am not going to lie, I was a little miffed when I first saw this post. I was ticked because a product I recommended did not meet the expectations of the person who purchased it most of all due to the fit and finish issues. But...I know this company has a great history and I hope to see them continue their business for the next 100 years. The great thing about Warther is, they want to get it right, they want to be successful and they want you to be happy. My email was in direct reference to the tang gap and here is their direct reply:

"Matt,
Thanks for contacting us, as well as your support. In regards to the taper and handle issue, we have been working on resolving that error in our manufacturing with our new grinding machine, as well as the handles. If yourself or someone you know has a knife with a gap in the handle, you can return the knife for an exchange for a knife with no gap. Thanks

Warther Cutlery"

Lenny, If you are not happy with the knives, send them back. I know they can make it right.

I appreciate it, I actually called them as well and got a similar response. I'm not sure if it's worth the hassle. I'm betting once I sharpen these knives up they'll be real nice.

To be honest, I was specifically looking for the gap after seeing the issue in another review of the knife. I saw a picture of a similar issue, and mine is not nearly as bad as that one. I'm not sure if I would have noticed had I not been specifically looking for it.

You definitely shouldn't be miffed, I do not regret my decision on purchasing these. After messing around with them a bit, I definitely prefer their thin blades to the big heavy german companies. My wife's birthday is this weekend and I'll give these to her. I will then explain the gap, and ask her if she wants me to exchange them. She will most likely tell me I'm being to critical and nit picky (I am an aircraft inspector after all...) and call me a geek as she enjoys them.