Some of my most quality based items were crafted in Japan

[BoomerD]

Um, I think my best receiver was an STR-V55. Fancy breakthrough technology, (although just 55watts/channel). But it did die. The cheap one I got was, I think, the STR-V15? 15watts/channel? Doesn't seem possible but in the 1970s they didn't make cheap 100w/channel receivers like you came to see later AFAIK, much less 150w/channel.

Edit: I think I should get some Japanese kitchen knife/knives. Suggestions?

TBH, maybe I missed an era or something but my experience suggests that China has never come close to the abysmal quality that Japan was once known for in its post war exports.

I think it depended on the company. SOME manufacturers spent the money...took the time to train their workers and invested in good equipment...others, not so much. When cheap Chinese stuff first the the market, it was poorly made, parts often didn't fit right, assemblies fell apart, materials were crappy quality...then it got better.
The differences in culture is also big factor. Japanese care about what they produce, Chinese people...not so much. (Yes, I know...this is a horrible generalization)

 

[BoomerD]

Check out Shun and Global. Don't get a set, get 3 knives: an 8" Santoku, an 8" or 10" chef's knife, and a paring knife. (Optional: a 10"-12" serrated knife comes in handy for slicing bread if you do that a lot).

As for China/Japan: it has to do with ethics, government, and oppression. China regulates and oppresses its people, so as a result workers there tend to get abused and companies do shady things to get around regulations (if there even are any). This "always trying to scam the system" mindset leads to poor production quality. Now- manufacturing quality HAS improved there, but it still has a long way to go. Workers aren't paid well, they fight for low wage jobs due to population...it's not a nice place to live if you're in the manufacturing trade.

Japan was like this at one time, but the Japanese have an honor system they abide by, and that reflects on their work ethic. People are paid well there, education is stressed so engineering skills are always advancing, and the manufacturing quality reflects that. Korea is following this same path.

Global makes good knives...but I don't care for their style.
The best kitchen knife we have is Japanese...Shun nakiri, the worst kitchen knife we have is also Japanese, left-over from a set of "Kitchen Delight" knives we got in...1976.

 

[Captante]

Global makes good knives...but I don't care for their style.
The best kitchen knife we have is Japanese...Shun nakiri, the worst kitchen knife we have is also Japanese, left-over from a set of "Kitchen Delight" knives we got in...1976.

I have 3 or 4 "Ginsu" knives leftover from a huge set purchased as a gift for my ex & I for some event/holiday I can't recall. (AS SEEN on TV!!!)

The handles are the cheapest crap possible or close to it and most of them have snapped in half, but the serrated blades are as sharp as the freaking day they were made in Japan. (I keep one in my toolbox to cut metal!)

 

[Torn Mind]

I think it depended on the company. SOME manufacturers spent the money...took the time to train their workers and invested in good equipment...others, not so much. When cheap Chinese stuff first the the market, it was poorly made, parts often didn't fit right, assemblies fell apart, materials were crappy quality...then it got better.
The differences in culture is also big factor. Japanese care about what they produce, Chinese people...not so much. (Yes, I know...this is a horrible generalization)

Actually, not horrible and on point more often than not. Chinese will save a buck and underbuild if given the chance. The only thing Chinese hyper-emphasize and are willing to spend money is their children's education.
When it comes to fiscal austerity, the Chinese has the "dominant" Americans beat.
There is also a macroscopic economic influence in the lack of QC in Chinese products. That's to pump up the "stat" called GDP. It's also the same reason they build high end ghost towns. All because increasing government spending is a way to increase GDP. If shit breaks and you have to buy again, it's more money in the government's products. Most evident products include can openers.

(I come from a Chinese family)

 

[SKORPI0]

My father made a business trip to Japan early '70s and bought 3 Seiko watches for himself, my older bother and I.
Not sure how much he paid for it then. Very nice quality for that time. Can't believe how much vintage Seikos cost now.

Model I owned in the 70s.



Watch my older bother wore. I'd borrow it once in a while.

SEIKO SPEEDTIMER 6139-6002 Pepsi Bezel Chronograph Automatic Gold Dial Watch | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for SEIKO SPEEDTIMER 6139-6002 Pepsi Bezel Chronograph Automatic Gold Dial Watch at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

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Model of watch my father wore, it was big and bulky. I'd borrow it once in a while too.

https://vintagewatchinc.com/seiko/6138-chronograph/ufo/

 

[Fritzo]

Are those dimensions the blade length or tip to tip including the handle? I do slice bread frequently. I have a German knife for that, 13" tip to tip, the blade is 8" long. I keep it super sharp, it's unserrated. I have serrated knives but when this thing is really sharp it does a great job, as long as the loaf is nice and firm. I let my loaves cool 3+ hours before slicing, a cool loaf slices better than warm. My loaf slicer:

ZWILLING J.A. HENCKELS
SOLINGEN GERMANY

NO STAIN FRIODUR
31070-200mm (8")

My favorite day in day out blade is one I found in the bushes next to our town's swap meet!!! It's a handsome thing, 11.25 inches tip to tip. On the blade it says: Molybdenum Japan

View attachment 49402
I sharpen it nearly daily. I wash and dry it after each usage. I figure that the edge will hold better when so treated.

I'll pursue your suggestions, thanks!

Your favorite knife is a shank....

 

[Torn Mind]

I wonder if anyone actually bought that Coolermaster MasterWatt MIJ. Johnnyguru.com might be a dead site but OklahomaWolf's review showed just what high end build quality really meant.

 

[BoomerD]

Actually, not horrible and on point more often than not. Chinese will save a buck and underbuild if given the chance. The only thing Chinese hyper-emphasize and are willing to spend money is their children's education.
When it comes to fiscal austerity, the Chinese has the "dominant" Americans beat.
There is also a macroscopic economic influence in the lack of QC in Chinese products. That's to pump up the "stat" called GDP. It's also the same reason they build high end ghost towns. All because increasing government spending is a way to increase GDP. If shit breaks and you have to buy again, it's more money in the government's products. Most evident products include can openers.

(I come from a Chinese family)

I remember in the 90's, one of the steel contractors on the bridge job where I was working tried to save some $$$ by buying Chinese made bolts...they came with letters of certification and test results...but every lot failed the test we were required to put them through by Cal-Trans...
We notified Cal-Trans, they came in and did theie own testing...rejected an entire 40' container full.
Certs and test results were counterfeit.

 

[Muse]

Your favorite knife is a shank....

Meaning? Are you suggesting it was homemade? It certainly does not appear to be homemade. A forgery???

 

[Torn Mind]

I remember in the 90's, one of the steel contractors on the bridge job where I was working tried to save some $$$ by buying Chinese made bolts...they came with letters of certification and test results...but every lot failed the test we were required to put them through by Cal-Trans...
We notified Cal-Trans, they came in and did theie own testing...rejected an entire 40' container full.
Certs and test results were counterfeit.

And the supplier still laughed all the way to the bank....as that money would be one of many transactions to turn China into a political superpower. And the planet cried too as that stuff was likely manufactured with coal power.

 

[MrSquished]

Edit: I think I should get some Japanese kitchen knife/knives. Suggestions?

Japanese kitchen knives are a deep rabbit hole. They are far superior to their German counterparts. A big reason why is simply using harder and better steel. Familiarize yourself with the Rockwell scale. German steel tends to be softer which means it loses an edge quicker than harder steel, but is less prone to chips. While you might be able to take a Wusthof chef knives to a full chicken and risk it cutting hard through bones, you will not do that with a harder steel Japanese knife. But how often are you actually hacking through bone?

You can go nuts researching this shit, as I did. What works for me at least is ultimately when it comes to a main knife, and while I have multiple, you can often just rely on your one go to knife. That will most likely be an 8" Chef's Knife (gyuto) or a 7" Santoku. I find one of those will pretty much do 90% of what you do in a kitchen on any given day. If you are breaking down lots of boney meat carcasses, then you may want to look into a butcher style knife, in Japanese terms that is a Yo Deba, but for most of us that are just chopping lots of veggies and breaking down meat with little bone, one of those two knives will do pretty much everything. I will break down a whole chicken with my Japanese harder steel knife, I'll just be careful when cutting the joints to not try to smash through bone.

Then there are all different kinds of actual steel. VG10, SG2, carbon steel like blue #1 or white #2. Knives that are stainless and knives that you must dry very soon after usage so they don't rust. A lot of research to do there. A lot of people like the carbon heavy steels because while they rust easier, they tend to sharpen easily too. If you are willing to get a good whetstone and sharpen your own knives, that's a whole other world.

Ultimately for me, an 8" Chef's Knife (gyuto) is my sweet spot. I find it comfortable to wield for pretty much any kitchen task, small or large, whether dicing onions, mincing garlic, breaking down bell peppers, slicing meats. Usually a 7" Santoku or 8" Gyuto will do it for most people, though some might prefer a slightly smaller knife, and some guys online prefer a 10"/240mm gyuto. I think it's best to get one really really good one of those vs getting one of each though, whatever size is to your liking. It will do pretty much everything for you.

A well made Japanese knife will make almost anything feel like you are slicing through butter. Yu Kurosaki is a very well regarded knifesmith. Nigara is my end game SG2 knife. Honestly I could sell my other few good Japanese knives if I just kept my Nigara SG2 Kirtsuke 210mm (about 8"). That's all I would need for life if one took care of it.

I have ended up preferring like a 62-63 on the Rockwell scale. With a steel that can take to sharpening relatively easy for that hardness, doesn't need a polished finish, and just gets shit done.

 

[Muse]

Japanese kitchen knives are a deep rabbit hole. They are far superior to their German counterparts. A big reason why is simply using harder and better steel. Familiarize yourself with the Rockwell scale. German steel tends to be softer which means it loses an edge quicker than harder steel, but is less prone to chips. While you might be able to take a Wusthof chef knives to a full chicken and risk it cutting hard through bones, you will not do that with a harder steel Japanese knife. But how often are you actually hacking through bone?

You can go nuts researching this shit, as I did. What works for me at least is ultimately when it comes to a main knife, and while I have multiple, you can often just rely on your one go to knife. That will most likely be an 8" Chef's Knife (gyuto) or a 7" Santoku. I find one of those will pretty much do 90% of what you do in a kitchen on any given day. If you are breaking down lots of boney meat carcasses, then you may want to look into a butcher style knife, in Japanese terms that is a Yo Deba, but for most of us that are just chopping lots of veggies and breaking down meat with little bone, one of those two knives will do pretty much everything. I will break down a whole chicken with my Japanese harder steel knife, I'll just be careful when cutting the joints to not try to smash through bone.

Then there are all different kinds of actual steel. VG10, SG2, carbon steel like blue #1 or white #2. Knives that are stainless and knives that you must dry very soon after usage so they don't rust. A lot of research to do there. A lot of people like the carbon heavy steels because while they rust easier, they tend to sharpen easily too. If you are willing to get a good whetstone and sharpen your own knives, that's a whole other world.

Ultimately for me, an 8" Chef's Knife (gyuto) is my sweet spot. I find it comfortable to wield for pretty much any kitchen task, small or large, whether dicing onions, mincing garlic, breaking down bell peppers, slicing meats. Usually a 7" Santoku or 8" Gyuto will do it for most people, though some might prefer a slightly smaller knife, and some guys online prefer a 10"/240mm gyuto. I think it's best to get one really really good one of those vs getting one of each though, whatever size is to your liking. It will do pretty much everything for you.

A well made Japanese knife will make almost anything feel like you are slicing through butter. Yu Kurosaki is a very well regarded knifesmith. Nigara is my end game SG2 knife. Honestly I could sell my other few good Japanese knives if I just kept my Nigara SG2 Kirtsuke 210mm (about 8"). That's all I would need for life if one took care of it.

I have ended up preferring like a 62-63 on the Rockwell scale. With a steel that can take to sharpening relatively easy for that hardness, doesn't need a polished finish, and just gets shit done.

I think the Japanese fascination with this is partly due to the samurai tradition. They still have master craftsmen producing superior samurai swords in traditional fashion. I saw a story on it recently. Thanks for that post, I'll likely take your advice and get a weapon knife that will serve for 90% of the work in my kitchen. I have a cleaver made of soft steel I ascertained in the 1970s I can use for breaking bones, chopping up frozen whatnot. Just today I chopped up some frozen lemon juice cubes made in ice tray. I did use my every day presumably molybdenum Japan blade. I hammer it when I do that. Perhaps that steel isn't particularly hard, I've never seen it chip. I do sharpen it almost daily. I find if I don't sharpen it every day or two it's not going to do the work I like in slicing a tomato, for instance. Slicing vine ripened tomatoes requires a pretty sharp knife to avoid frustration and a mess.

I have all that sharpening stuff in my kitchen, including a 4 sided diamond particle encrusted sharpening block I picked up at Harbor Freight some years ago. The sides are 2, 3, 4 and 6, progressively finer. Then I strop it with leather glued to a piece of wood and clean it before use. I also have a steel there I also got at Harbor Freight IIRC. I'll use that sometimes. Even stropping a blade across almost any surface will sharpen it some... steel, wood, even the palm of your hand. Of course, leather is the traditional strop.

Steel is a fascinating subject. I checked out a book from the library during the 1970s and studied it with great interest. The focus was sharpening but they went into the history of steel, among other things. It inspired me to try case hardening ordinary non-carbon steel. I took a nail and made a small screwdriver out of it (with homemade handle) and case hardened it using techniques explained in the book, techniques that people used hundreds if not thousands of years ago. I still have that homemade screwdriver and the tip looks exactly like the day I made it... perfect! The technique I used was heating the steel red hot and wiping it across a hunk of leather, causing the leather to burn, smoke and blacken. You do that again and again and the steel progressively picks up carbon, gets impregnated and essentially develops a carbon steel coating or "case." I suppose I finished it off by tempering it. Properly tempering carbon steel was one of the subjects well treated in that book. Annealing as well, of course.

 

[SaltyNuts]

Japan: Good

China: Shit

Any questions?

 

[SaltyNuts]

Japanese kitchen knives are a deep rabbit hole. They are far superior to their German counterparts. A big reason why is simply using harder and better steel. Familiarize yourself with the Rockwell scale. German steel tends to be softer which means it loses an edge quicker than harder steel, but is less prone to chips. While you might be able to take a Wusthof chef knives to a full chicken and risk it cutting hard through bones, you will not do that with a harder steel Japanese knife. But how often are you actually hacking through bone?

You can go nuts researching this shit, as I did. What works for me at least is ultimately when it comes to a main knife, and while I have multiple, you can often just rely on your one go to knife. That will most likely be an 8" Chef's Knife (gyuto) or a 7" Santoku. I find one of those will pretty much do 90% of what you do in a kitchen on any given day. If you are breaking down lots of boney meat carcasses, then you may want to look into a butcher style knife, in Japanese terms that is a Yo Deba, but for most of us that are just chopping lots of veggies and breaking down meat with little bone, one of those two knives will do pretty much everything. I will break down a whole chicken with my Japanese harder steel knife, I'll just be careful when cutting the joints to not try to smash through bone.

Then there are all different kinds of actual steel. VG10, SG2, carbon steel like blue #1 or white #2. Knives that are stainless and knives that you must dry very soon after usage so they don't rust. A lot of research to do there. A lot of people like the carbon heavy steels because while they rust easier, they tend to sharpen easily too. If you are willing to get a good whetstone and sharpen your own knives, that's a whole other world.

Ultimately for me, an 8" Chef's Knife (gyuto) is my sweet spot. I find it comfortable to wield for pretty much any kitchen task, small or large, whether dicing onions, mincing garlic, breaking down bell peppers, slicing meats. Usually a 7" Santoku or 8" Gyuto will do it for most people, though some might prefer a slightly smaller knife, and some guys online prefer a 10"/240mm gyuto. I think it's best to get one really really good one of those vs getting one of each though, whatever size is to your liking. It will do pretty much everything for you.

A well made Japanese knife will make almost anything feel like you are slicing through butter. Yu Kurosaki is a very well regarded knifesmith. Nigara is my end game SG2 knife. Honestly I could sell my other few good Japanese knives if I just kept my Nigara SG2 Kirtsuke 210mm (about 8"). That's all I would need for life if one took care of it.

I have ended up preferring like a 62-63 on the Rockwell scale. With a steel that can take to sharpening relatively easy for that hardness, doesn't need a polished finish, and just gets shit done.

Wow, a very good and interesting post squished dude. I've heard and read before that its kind of funny that, for the most part, the highest quality stuff today is from the countries that lost WW2!

 

[SaltyNuts]

I hears Japanese hair cutting scissors and equipment is the best, hand's down. German is not far behind, however...

 

[virtuamike]

Mac pro knives. Zojirushi rice cooker and water boiler. Nikon stuff. And whiskey.

 

[Muse]

Mac pro knives. Zojirushi rice cooker and water boiler. Nikon stuff. And whiskey.

Zojirushi makes a high end bread making machine.

When it comes to a DSLR, AFAIK, Japan IS the market.

I think part of the reason that Japan is technically advanced is the seismicity of the island group. They get shaken up so often that complacency isn't part of the equation there (I'm reading a book on earth's seismicity). Japan gets a 7.9 or above EQ (tsunami accompanying, quite frequently) on average about every 8 years.

 

[repoman0]

Fujifilm mirrorless + lenses, couple of Mazdas. Can’t think of anything else off the top of my head. I love MIJ stuff though and typically hold it in higher regard than made in the USA.

 

[Muse]

Fujifilm mirrorless + lenses, couple of Mazdas. Can’t think of anything else off the top of my head. I love MIJ stuff though and typically hold it in higher regard than made in the USA.

I like my Mazda 626LX 2.0L 1997 coupe quite a lot. MPG isn't terrific (18-22) but it's a pleasure to drive. They did a fantastic job on the paint! I never wax it anymore, but it washes up beautiful with minimal work, I don't use soap either.

 

[Torn Mind]

Fujifilm mirrorless + lenses, couple of Mazdas. Can’t think of anything else off the top of my head. I love MIJ stuff though and typically hold it in higher regard than made in the USA.

Recent Mazdas, right? They were closet Fords for the longest time.

 

[Muse]

Recent Mazdas, right? They were closet Fords for the longest time.

It's the knock on my 1997 Mazda 626LX 2.0L. They actually came with a Ford transmission that's way too weak for the vehicle:

Transmission: Ford 4-Speed Automatic Transaxle CD4E

Many an owner has had to replace the transmission after, say, 60K. I'm under 34K right now! The tranny had acted crazy weird a few times, I'm knocking on wood. It's been behaving lately. Strangely, the owner's manual does not specify when to change the tranny fluid. I had that done maybe 8000 miles ago, in 2012. Shortly after this I personally installed a Hayden 403 transmission fluid external cooler in the engine compartment, a recommended knock-on-wood workaround for the car's under engineered tranny issue.

Damn Mazda dealership didn't change the transmission fluid filter when they did the service. They claimed it didn't have one! A damned lie.

 

[DigDog]

Muse .. what the fuck is even that shank.

 

[Muse]

Muse .. what the fuck is even that shank.

Come again? I didn't comprehend @Fritzo remark about my favorite kitchen knife... he called it a "shank." I mean, it looks OK to me. I think maybe he was saying it was some kind of fake. Says Molybdenum Japan on the steel. The handle is wood. The knife's photo is in this post:

Some of my most quality based items were crafted in Japan

My casio digital piano my seiko solar watch And my foil shaver Always admire fine Japanese engineering and craftsmanship Do you own"made in Japan" items?

forums.anandtech.com

 

[lxskllr]

You probably know, but a shank is a prison knife made from the steel shank in a boot. They were probably banned decades ago, so now they're made from whatever scrap metal can be found. That knife looks like a homemade prison knife.

 

[Muse]

You probably know, but a shank is a prison knife made from the steel shank in a boot. They were probably banned decades ago, so now they're made from whatever scrap metal can be found. That knife looks like a homemade prison knife.

Oh, OK. I did look up "shank" yesterday and a lot of different stuff came up. No, it doesn't look like something that would be worked up in a prison. I suppose it was a flippant remark, but I don't have a fix on what he meant. Maybe he's suggesting it was not made in Japan.

That knife looks like a homemade prison knife.

No, I don't think so.