Wow. Thank you for saving me. I was about to purchase this based off an add I saw. On Amazon there was a curious number of 1-star reviews considering the price. You're the man!
After hearing about Established Titles scam, talking with an actual art expert about Masterworks and now this, my rule of thumb is to stay away from anything and everything heavily promoted on YT. The risk of being scammed is just to high.
@@Keiranful Exactly. What the hell would a You Tuber who talks about politics or Hollywood know about a good knife? Better off finding a chef who has a big name to make recommendations on knives. They have their reputation at stake and will give honest feedback.
@@PhantomFilmAustralia in my case, I know enough about knives to buy my own in the price range I have. Once that range extends and I want to buy a new set, I'll research myself.
@@Keiranful Sounds like a plan. I have eight which I use every day. Mine are from Japan and Germany. High quality, exactly what I require, and will last more than a lifetime. Wusthof and Boker are excellent.
Is there anyone foolish enough to believe they can actually sell off chunks of Scotland, lol! That is so obviously a scam! It's like someone offering to sell the tower of London!
I blame TH-cam as well for their ad policies forcing pretty much every creator to start using personalised ads in their videos. It’s evident over the last few years creators are getting less and less from ad revenues forcing creators to use these companies. I myself had premium thinking it was going to skip ads but also providing creators a small cut but it turns out even that was pitiful.
Hmm, I don't know about that since it takes some kind of moral compass to know that many ads to deceptive marketing. Some influencers and podcasters I follow do not use this kind of sponsorship and relies on the viewers to help them out because they believe the viewers are the ones who should judge the quality of their work and if the latter are satisfied, then they would donate or sponsor them monthly. Examples are Anomaly, Styx, David Knight (no longer on youtube, though).
The info on Kamikoto is indeed out there. Shadiversity also did a deep dive on how bad they really are a year ago. Not trying to throw shade at you, you actually found some details even he wasn't aware of and put everything in a succinct package, which Shad definitely didn't do in his hour long ramble. Every time I see a channel promoting one of these scam brands, I comment, asking them to cut ties with the scammers. Yes they do need to do more due diligence when it comes to sponsorships.
I think what the TH-camrs should do, instead of cutting ties with a company giving them money like a mook, is that they should inform their viewers that the knives are actually crap.
@@speeddemon5339 doesn't work. They have a contract in place that requires the promotion to be signed of by the company beforehand. If they then change something, they're in breach of contract and will get sued into oblivion. These guys are scammers, not idiots.
Yes, Shad's video is awesome, but I could see some people shying away from the run time. 10 mins is better to get the quick low down, and then you can watch Shad actually put them through the ringer. I do find it hilarious how the video where Shad demolished Kamikoto was sponsored by Hello Fresh, and actually featured their food in the cutting tests 😄
couldn't agree more with the "demanding that they do better" part. One can do as much mental gymnastics as one would like in this case and it still wouldn't change the fact that GV and its "companies" are shady and make money based off predatory marketing. Great video man, subbed and hope you make more in the future.
Thanks for the kind words. And even more thanks for subscribing. There are more scams and grifters that needs to be exposed so I'll definitely be making more videos.
As a knife guy I knew right away the knives were a scam from the first add I saw a year or two ago, and I always comment to point this out. It really sucks that so many of my favorite TH-cam channels just don't know that the things they are promoting are a scam. There have been channels I don't watch who I know have gone on the defensive to justify the scams they promoted, but the channels I watch simply don't know and It's a shame. To inform themselves and just stop promoting the scams would be good enough for me, but I'm not going to lie and say I wouldn't prefer they openly adress it apologizing for not vetting their sponsors and ignorantly promoting a scam. It's funny that controversy over social media related to comments / post or anything that gets a lot of press is always going to be addressed, but it rarely is addressed when one has ignorantly been promoting scams.
The biggest disappointment for me was Mat Carriker because he owned a knife company for a while and he still promoted this crap. He's still promoting DealDash.
@@Its_CharmCity kitchen knives ? The Victorinox knives are a great affordable option, they're not going to stay sharp forever but come razor sharp and are easy to keep that way.
Would be very wary as parent co. also runs 'Established Titles'. Watched a video by Scott Schafer who showed a list of all the company's that are owned under the same umbrella. Looks like they've tried loads of different company's, they just need a couple to go viral like Kamikoto and Established Titles.
I remember a TV episode of the show “Frasier” where he refused to endorse a product on his radio show, unless he actually tried the product. I am always reluctant to try any product being promoted on a talk radio show, regardless who is promoting it.
That super expensive sharpening Stone looks literally the same to a typical Chinese quality stone for around 25 dollars that i saw being sold, the only difference is just the brand name 😂
Also, I think TH-cam is largely to blame for it's part in creating the new scam breeding ground by not paying creators fairly from advertising. I doubt any creator is just chomping at the bit to do a sponsorship in the middle of a vid!
Great expose video. Besides the actual episode material I'd like to commend you, (a new TH-camr) for your phenomenal job on this. I thought for sure this was by a 'more established producer'; so, I think you're going to do very well here! Hey - Algorithm - - hit this!! This creator has got something - and we're going to be seeing more from him!! Well done. Great that you tied the ownership to the 'Established Titles' scam - it's better known!
Shadiversity has covered this months ago and made it very clear in his video that these Kamikoto knives aren't what they claim to be. In short: they're made of the most basic steel and, though indeed very sharp when you first use them, blunt very quickly; should cost much less, certainly aren't anything special and probably not even made in Japan. Apparently, Shad's channel is a bit too specialist however, and so the issue gets traction only now after the Established Titles row...
I think the runtime might also put some people off. An hour long video is a lot for casuals who have maybe heard of the knives, but have no idea who Shad is. That video is epic and hilarious though.
I don't think these creators are lazy about vetting sponsors. I honestly think with the Kamito and ET sponsorships specifically they went out of their way to have a surface level of legitimacy and they targeted some of the larger, "of a certain audience" type TH-camrs to give them a legitimacy and it was an unfortunate ripple effect for the creators. If they see a well respected, successful channel promoting it, that alone is the check and balance needed especially when many of these creators are friends and colleagues with each other. It's like when a new pharmaceutical gets approved to the market by the FDA based solely off it being similar to an already approved medication (which got it's approval in the same way and so on and none of these potentially harmful meds ever get properly tested). Popular TH-camrs also have the lucrative side effect for their viewers of that false sense of authority as do other main stream celebrities down to a literal dude in a white doctor coat. Your subconscious sees the coat or a creator you love on screen with millions of views and tricks you into trusting that coat or the millions of views.
Yup. As soon as they pulled this crap on Shadiversity, a guy who's whole schtick is in-depth knowledge of swords, he put out one of the most comprehensive, epic dismemberments I have seen of a product.
$235.00 for a sharpening stone? I have a set of Naniwa, the best japanese wet stones for knife sharpening and I paid $80.00 to $130.00 depending on the grit of the stone. These stones I have are used by the top knife companies to sharpen their knives. The stone kamikoto shows is called a dual grit stone and these stones are almost never used by professional knife sharpeners. Naniwa makes a dual grit stone like the one shown, the same grit as sown in kamikotos advert and Naniwa sells their 1000 / 3000 Grit for $30.00.
@@KnuckleheadStuey Actually, no it doesn't. I owned a knife sharpening business and those stones are garbage. Thats why I invested in quality stones from Naniwa. The $235.00 stone mentioned is complete rubbish. Its a total scam.
I’ve lost a lot of respect for the TH-camrs who push products from companies they have not researched themselves. And I think it funny that both left and right wing political commentators are shilling for these companies.
Its a promotion bro, nothing more. Unless the creator says something about using or liking the product themselves I don't expect them to vet advertisers. No one else does.
Great video man! Well done. I sacked my sponsor once I thoroughly checked them out. Iv also deleted the videos. I actually went further and deleted all my videos. TH-cam is not for me anymore.. Thank you!
I wonder if the samples they give youtubers are special knives made of much higher quality steel so they don't know themselves the company is scamming customers. Around the same time as shad's video, Let's Ask Shogo made a video walking around an actual japanese shop that sells traditionally made knives and they're substantially cheaper than buying kamikoto knives so they could be selling proper traditional japanese knives around the same price and make a good amount of money, but choose not to in order to scam customers out of even more money apparently.
There are tons of knives channels to get some recommendations from. I am surprised that they even list the steel on their website. Technically it doesnt matter where the knife is made but Japanese blacksmiths are the best with HT their domestic steels. Also kinda sad that this scam is going to be given to someone as the gift instead of like Victorinox Fibrox or something forged from Wüsthof on their price points. For Japanese knives I wouldnt look at anything below Tojiro.
It's sad that some content creator don't look at what they're promoting. They're literally selling their credibility. Also ironic that some of those people report on news and politics
According to a Scott Shafer video, the one knife that they say is made in Japan has always been listed as sold out ever since it was advertised on their website and I am not sure it has ever actually been sold. Scott's video says you can use the wayback machine on the internet to see the older version of the website. Another youtuber went to the address they have listed for their office in Japan and there is no office there. I would be very interested to get a detailed explanation of what 19 steps are used to construct the knifes and then having someone go to the factory in china and verify that.
I was going to buy a set of these for mom as a birthday present but when I noticed the price, it immediately made me think twice. I know of VERY high quality and well made kitchen knives that cost three to four times of the non-discounted price. So i have stayed FAR from them since. Instead I sharpened her knives to razor-blade sharp.....fingers may have been covered in bandages but its thought that counts
The people in Japan must be laughing their asses off and face palming when they see this. And what's with these guys showing themselves cutting bell peppers or lemons? Shit man, any knife will do that with the same effort. People are extremely easy to part with their money, especially in the US. The new era of "As Seen on TV" is here, except it's "As seen on TH-cam".
I compared the Shadiversity review to TH-camrs that have never touched a blade on screen. 😆 Established titles was dumb and here's why: If anyone can have the title for a few bucks, why would I want it! Titles should be earned, not bought!
Broke my conservative heart (yes we have one) when Paul Watson started hawking these regular knives as something special. Nice wood presentation box though. 😂
Only looks good in the videos. It's cheap plywood with shitty hinges. I know someone who got suckered in to buying these bullshit knives, and when he opened the box, the lid fell off. 😂
Did you make a video on the precious metals scam promoted by these same TH-camrs or was that someone else? Was trying to find it but I don’t know if it was deleted or if anyone has seen what I’m talking about
They don’t say what steel they use anymore that you mentioned at 4:00 on their website, nor can I find the 2 series you said, I sent them an email for a full refund, I just ordered a set but it hasn’t shipped yet so hopefully I won’t have to go to my bank for a chargeback!
The dead give away they are NOT Japanese knives is that they are made of SS, Japanese knife makers avoid SS since the knife making process has very little authenticity to its creator, most if not all Japanese knives are Carbon base knives, that said a SS knife is not bad knife, what you want to find out about the manufacture is if the blade is stamped steel or forged steel, I own several brands of Japan influence style knives that are SS and forged in China and one of them is a Kamikoto, not a bad knife I bought it used, is their adverting a little shady, YES. at best this is a 50 dollar knife set. If you don't mind giving your blade a small scrape you test the hardness, mine was dull as heck and its NO Japanese knife, LOL, its Japanese style but thats it, this is a household knife and not restaurant NO WAY, they sharpen very easy and meet the minimum thickness according to hardness level, I think for this knife set its 0.032″, the other plus is the sushi/fish slicer is single bevel (its not the one I have) if you want a really good knife set skip the Kamikoto, and get Mercer Culinary Renaissance Knife Set, better bang for the buck
@@kniferewiewscool2646 VG Series steel is very specific to its content properties, only a handful of manufactures in Japan can guarantee you have a true VG10 steel knife, actually its one company and its the company that came out with it back in 1960s, there are other who make it, but if Im buying an authentic VG10steel Knife it will be from Takefu, But your looking at 500 big ones for one knife, and thats for a nine in. gyuto, Uhh no thanks LOL, If I'm not mistaken the latest version of VG steel (i think its SV or SG not to sure) is patent for Japanese manufactures only, I like sharp decent knives but I am not paying 10xs more per knife for it, Japanese blade smiths also know this so thus you see more carbon base knives with less chromium in the market than V series SS
Traditional methods are very time consuming, error-prone, and expensive. Each one has the blacksmith's personal touch. Kamikoto's knives do not look personal. They look mass produced. Yes, mass produced knives are held to minimum industry standards and put together using very similar methods. Better quality steel will certainly lead to better knives but a cost of hundreds of dollars is very difficult to justify for most people who want knives for everyday use.
Good to expose scammers, but when you think about it, most advertising these days is somewhat economical with the truth, promoting an image rather than an actual product. Some car adverts by well known car brands have small print at the bottom of the advert saying this car doesn't actually exist, and if it did it would be illegal to drive it! So they are selling an image, not a product!
Anyone with a little knowledge of kitchen knives could see that this was a scam. What particularly bothers me is both the misleading and/or false claims of the company about the knives AND the virtually non-existent vetting done by those content creators who did plugs for them. The same thing can be said about Huusk knives
Thats why I don't buy products endorsed by youtubers that are outside of said youtuber's expertise. Ben Shapiro for example has nothing to do with knifes. He just got sponsored to endorse the knifes and knifes are not his speciality. I also saw a chef endorsing VPN providers, which as a network engineer I know is a scam. If you want good recommendation for a product by youtubers then choose a youtuber who and product combination that a said youtuber is proficient in. (Example "Cedric and Ada" for knifes or "Maxlvl edc" on multitools.
I don't think every content creator can investigate every advertiser that comes along on TH-cam. It is not realistic. "Venerable" could one day be sponsored by a product , which later turns out to underperform.
But is it not also our own responsibillity to do our research on things before we spend money on it. sure the channels should choose better, but at the end of it all. people buy stuff without having looked into it.
Fair point. Let me ask you this. What if, say, TH-cam had in its terms of agreement they get to throw a bucket of ice cold water on you once a week. You see a TH-cam representative show up at your door ready with the bucket, saying you signed the terms of agreement, you should have read it before signing. Would you let them throw water or think that's ridiculous? What are your thoughts? What I'm trying to say is both parties have a responsibility. Kamikoto has a responsibility to not be deceptive in their marketing and the consumer should do research as well. And when I say consumer I also mean the TH-camrs. If they didn't promote it, people wouldn't know they existed.
Wohoo, that sharpening stone is really overpriced! This type of stones are the cheapest (and the worst when it comes to performance) stones out there, you can buy them for like 10 USD or so.
OK people. Buyer beware. The products that are being sold in podcast on TH-cam videos. Those companies are paying lots of money to sell their products. If you trust your Podcaster anymore than the person on your local news, what’s the difference? They are both doing what they can to survive. Media is advertising not entertainment. These companies don’t survive making you laugh. They just want your money.💕
Isacc Butterfield recently revealed that his relatively small channel (1.8 million subs) was paid 100,000 dollars for an 8 week sponsorship deal with Established Titles(which he has cancelled BTW) so imagine what channels with 10 million or more subs were being paid to flog this stuff! I'm assuming the amounts for Kamikoto were much the same.
Actually I don't think they ever claimed that they were made in Japan despite all the hints that suggested that it was. What the claim was that it was made using Japanese style techniques which is probably the Forging process and Japanese steel. I mean you can find it if you look so technically not a scam. Not upfront about things and probably not even good knives which is probably the only scam part as they claimed to be high quality but aren't. So misleading in a lot of ways but one thing I do hate is a lot of people who say that these TH-cam influencer should vet their sponsors. Why they receive money to place a sponsors ad that is it. Most of them remove it after told of the Scamming
the knife is a scam but i dont see how advertiser platforms (channels) are responsible for it, they got the money the provide the ads, that's it, this is how it has been working for every single product since the dawn of time
the heavy marketing by YT creators whose topics have nothing to do with knives or cooking should be your first clue of this scam. have you ever seen Wusthof advertise like this? have you ever seen a Wusthof product promoted with "was $1295, now only $341!"? that's because the Kamikoto set is not likely to be a good deal for even $100. why would you have a crappy knife in your kitchen even if it was free? here's another observation I'll make. the Kamikotos are ground only on one side (single bevel). I understand there are some quality single bevel knives. I believe Kamikotos are this way only so they don't have to grind both sides. if they weren't trying to just be cheap they would have both right and left handed sets and make a point of telling you. this should be a big deal because single bevel knives take somewhat more expertise to use and sharpen. then, you'll be sharpening a lot because of the cheap steel. you see, the cutting experience is different with a single bevel knife depending which hand you use. talk about a big f-u to the lefties! Want some great performance on the cheap? Ikea is your friend. I've been on a 6" Ikea chef's ($25) along with an 8" ($170) Wusthof chef's interchangeably for many years. I'll say both were the best deals ever. I'm not embarrassed that for certain tasks I'll reach for the "As Seen on TV" Miracle Blade III ($10), even that one is double-bevel 🤣 what makes me like these? yes, all perform their specific tasks great with easy maintenance. the MBIII is disposable and ok to abuse. the Wusthof can last a lifetime (don't *ever* let someone else "sharpen" a prized knife). ok, look out for "fit" too. I still have some perfectly fine Henckels but I don't reach for those because both the Wusthof and Ikea fit my preferred grip and cutting style better. so that's my take on Kamikoto and cooking knives in general. I hope this helps with your next, and most important, kitchen investment. hopefully YT creators get the message to vet products before pushing scammy ones because it undermines their main message. I'm just not going to believe your science show as much when you're pushing a crappy tool for something very important 😎
Tons of boating sites promoting them also - Delos included. I did a quick google search since that just hit me as sus and yep, they only claim one is made in Japan - and that one is not available lol. The rest made in China, by a company that’s been around for
honestly, it's rather good product targeting: an overpriced product leaning heavily on easily debunked misconceptions with a vague "japanese" aesthetic; it's basically perfect for weebs with extra spending money, and i'll be damned if that doesn't describe a vast portion of little ben's audience.
I can see why people were fooled. Most people don't know anything about what makes a type of steel "quality". Most of these products that every youtuber sponsors, im skeptical of. The only one i can confirm isn't a scam is Raycon. Their earbuds were actually solid for being $80. The beats i have now are better but they're double the price so they should be.
Kamikoto does NOT claim their products are made in Japan. They state their products are made with Japanese steel and using methods developed by the Japanese over hundreds of years. The knives are manufactured, with Japanese steel, in China. I own a number of Kamikoto knives, I’ve spent a great deal of time in Japan so I’m familiar with Japanese knives and their quality, the Kamikoto knives are of outstanding quality. These are lifetime products, there is NOTHING cheap about them. I find this video to be offensive because what it’s claiming about Kamikoto is incorrect.
Sounds just like the Huusk knife pitch. Switch the brand names and it's the same comercial. And their both made from the samw 420J2 junk steel that's about as strong as warm butter
There is a reason why chefs like Wolfgang Puck, Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsay, or Seiji Yamamoto have never recommended Kamikoto knives. There is a reason why Kamikoto Knives rely on ignorant You Tubers by throwing them some money a script and a free set of knives. The knives are trash. Don't let an exotic name and a fancy box fool you. You want a good knife? Ask a great chef or knifemaker or find a reputable chef online who can recommend a great knife for you for your budget and your means. I have eight knives, either from Japan or Germany. Total worth of around $3,800. It may seem like a lot of money, but these are the only knives I will ever need and own, and will last over an entire lifetime.
A lot of reliable high-quality knives are made in China by Chinese craftsmen. It really doesn't matter at where the knives are made as long as the material and the finished product confers to ISO specifications and standards. Assuming or stating that a specific knife is either low or high-quality just because it was made in a specific place is totally misleading as the place of origin where the knife is made have nothing to do at all with the quality of it.
Shadiversity did a whole episode showing how these were about the equivalent of Target budget bin poopies. Knife people knew these were bogus from the get go. Huusk is no better. Snake oil knives with crap steel.
With a few exceptions (such as Shapiro's Helix sponsorship for example) these aren't endorsements by the creators and shouldn't be treated as such. I think it is unfair to hold the creators to a higher vetting standard for advertisers than mega media corps adhere to. Like the Quartering says, "If a sponsor offers me money to sponsor their product I'm probably going to take it". And he isn't wrong to do that as his business is making TH-cam content not vetting advertisers.
Goodness people, research what you buy. Any quality Japanese cutlery is going to clearly state Made in Japan. The steel type will be stated and usually the HRC as well. Handle materials as well. All this info will be very upfront, you won't need to look very hard for it.
Wow. Thank you for saving me. I was about to purchase this based off an add I saw. On Amazon there was a curious number of 1-star reviews considering the price. You're the man!
Appreciate the kind words. Glad I was able to help you avoid getting scammed.
After hearing about Established Titles scam, talking with an actual art expert about Masterworks and now this, my rule of thumb is to stay away from anything and everything heavily promoted on YT. The risk of being scammed is just to high.
@@Keiranful Exactly. What the hell would a You Tuber who talks about politics or Hollywood know about a good knife? Better off finding a chef who has a big name to make recommendations on knives. They have their reputation at stake and will give honest feedback.
@@PhantomFilmAustralia in my case, I know enough about knives to buy my own in the price range I have. Once that range extends and I want to buy a new set, I'll research myself.
@@Keiranful Sounds like a plan. I have eight which I use every day. Mine are from Japan and Germany. High quality, exactly what I require, and will last more than a lifetime. Wusthof and Boker are excellent.
So TH-cam has become late night TV ads. Junk products at a huge markup "AS SEEN ON TV" type stuff.
I say kind of but yeah recently I've been when it comes to sponsorships
Everything else is usually maixed or fine
@supersonicdiesel4836 are you serious we need to get paid somehow but yeah
@@moredistractions not really I mean then again it's kind of a serious topic these days with sick children these days
@@moredistractions oh ok
Even worse. I can't believe people fall for any of it.
Shadiversity outed them as cheap shit 6 months ago
And these creators still kept promoting them. There are videos, articles and reviews out there on kamikoto, they were lazy. No research whatsoever.
“AUthEnTik jApAnEse StEEL!”
@@LordVenerable You're 100% right, they're put their own reputation on a fire sale when they do this.
Turns out Shadiversity is cheap shit himself as well. I guess it takes one to recognise one.
I'm starting to think scam is the chosen business model of the company, they are after all made by the same parent company behind Established Titles.
Some companies are just addicted to deception.
Yes, exactly. It also seems another part of their business model is to make money by using other cultures' traditions and making a mockery of them
@@LordVenerable this is just chinese tradition.
Is there anyone foolish enough to believe they can actually sell off chunks of Scotland, lol! That is so obviously a scam! It's like someone offering to sell the tower of London!
@@nuancematters that's what china does best.
I'm less offended by the overpriced cheap knives than I am by the grossly overpriced wetstone.
I blame TH-cam as well for their ad policies forcing pretty much every creator to start using personalised ads in their videos. It’s evident over the last few years creators are getting less and less from ad revenues forcing creators to use these companies. I myself had premium thinking it was going to skip ads but also providing creators a small cut but it turns out even that was pitiful.
Hmm, I don't know about that since it takes some kind of moral compass to know that many ads to deceptive marketing. Some influencers and podcasters I follow do not use this kind of sponsorship and relies on the viewers to help them out because they believe the viewers are the ones who should judge the quality of their work and if the latter are satisfied, then they would donate or sponsor them monthly. Examples are Anomaly, Styx, David Knight (no longer on youtube, though).
Shadiversity exposed this Kamikoto scam 6 months ago.
The info on Kamikoto is indeed out there. Shadiversity also did a deep dive on how bad they really are a year ago. Not trying to throw shade at you, you actually found some details even he wasn't aware of and put everything in a succinct package, which Shad definitely didn't do in his hour long ramble.
Every time I see a channel promoting one of these scam brands, I comment, asking them to cut ties with the scammers. Yes they do need to do more due diligence when it comes to sponsorships.
I think what the TH-camrs should do, instead of cutting ties with a company giving them money like a mook, is that they should inform their viewers that the knives are actually crap.
@@speeddemon5339 doesn't work. They have a contract in place that requires the promotion to be signed of by the company beforehand. If they then change something, they're in breach of contract and will get sued into oblivion. These guys are scammers, not idiots.
Yes, Shad's video is awesome, but I could see some people shying away from the run time. 10 mins is better to get the quick low down, and then you can watch Shad actually put them through the ringer.
I do find it hilarious how the video where Shad demolished Kamikoto was sponsored by Hello Fresh, and actually featured their food in the cutting tests 😄
couldn't agree more with the "demanding that they do better" part. One can do as much mental gymnastics as one would like in this case and it still wouldn't change the fact that GV and its "companies" are shady and make money based off predatory marketing. Great video man, subbed and hope you make more in the future.
Thanks for the kind words. And even more thanks for subscribing. There are more scams and grifters that needs to be exposed so I'll definitely be making more videos.
One number rule never buy products that TH-camrs promote
Or more like never buy anything promoted by celebrities or social media influencers which also includes TH-camrs.
Burrfection exposed this 5 years ago
I miss the good ol' days when everything was sponsored by Raid Shadow Legends, Audible, NordVPN, Dashlane etc. 😢
"Each knife goes through a rigorous 19 step process that takes several years." Its hilarious that anyone would repeat that BS on their channel.
Shadiversity did a review of the knives and they are worse than some fairly cheap knives you can get at target
As a knife guy I knew right away the knives were a scam from the first add I saw a year or two ago, and I always comment to point this out.
It really sucks that so many of my favorite TH-cam channels just don't know that the things they are promoting are a scam.
There have been channels I don't watch who I know have gone on the defensive to justify the scams they promoted, but the channels I watch simply don't know and It's a shame.
To inform themselves and just stop promoting the scams would be good enough for me, but I'm not going to lie and say I wouldn't prefer they openly adress it apologizing for not vetting their sponsors and ignorantly promoting a scam.
It's funny that controversy over social media related to comments / post or anything that gets a lot of press is always going to be addressed, but it rarely is addressed when one has ignorantly been promoting scams.
The biggest disappointment for me was Mat Carriker because he owned a knife company for a while and he still promoted this crap. He's still promoting DealDash.
What's a good knife?
@@Its_CharmCity kitchen knives ?
The Victorinox knives are a great affordable option, they're not going to stay sharp forever but come razor sharp and are easy to keep that way.
Would be very wary as parent co. also runs 'Established Titles'. Watched a video by Scott Schafer who showed a list of all the company's that are owned under the same umbrella. Looks like they've tried loads of different company's, they just need a couple to go viral like Kamikoto and Established Titles.
As an adult I see every thing being peddled by youtubers as infomercial product's....
I remember a TV episode of the show “Frasier” where he refused to endorse a product on his radio show, unless he actually tried the product. I am always reluctant to try any product being promoted on a talk radio show, regardless who is promoting it.
That super expensive sharpening Stone looks literally the same to a typical Chinese quality stone for around 25 dollars that i saw being sold, the only difference is just the brand name 😂
Also, I think TH-cam is largely to blame for it's part in creating the new scam breeding ground by not paying creators fairly from advertising. I doubt any creator is just chomping at the bit to do a sponsorship in the middle of a vid!
The only person to blame is idiot consumers who don't do their own research.
Yup.
The best knife I ever had was one my dad made out of a piece of leaf spring from an old truck.
Great expose video. Besides the actual episode material I'd like to commend you, (a new TH-camr) for your phenomenal job on this. I thought for sure this was by a 'more established producer'; so, I think you're going to do very well here!
Hey - Algorithm - - hit this!! This creator has got something - and we're going to be seeing more from him!!
Well done. Great that you tied the ownership to the 'Established Titles' scam - it's better known!
Thank you for the kind words.
Shadiversity has covered this months ago and made it very clear in his video that these Kamikoto knives aren't what they claim to be. In short: they're made of the most basic steel and, though indeed very sharp when you first use them, blunt very quickly; should cost much less, certainly aren't anything special and probably not even made in Japan. Apparently, Shad's channel is a bit too specialist however, and so the issue gets traction only now after the Established Titles row...
I think the runtime might also put some people off. An hour long video is a lot for casuals who have maybe heard of the knives, but have no idea who Shad is. That video is epic and hilarious though.
I don't think these creators are lazy about vetting sponsors. I honestly think with the Kamito and ET sponsorships specifically they went out of their way to have a surface level of legitimacy and they targeted some of the larger, "of a certain audience" type TH-camrs to give them a legitimacy and it was an unfortunate ripple effect for the creators. If they see a well respected, successful channel promoting it, that alone is the check and balance needed especially when many of these creators are friends and colleagues with each other. It's like when a new pharmaceutical gets approved to the market by the FDA based solely off it being similar to an already approved medication (which got it's approval in the same way and so on and none of these potentially harmful meds ever get properly tested). Popular TH-camrs also have the lucrative side effect for their viewers of that false sense of authority as do other main stream celebrities down to a literal dude in a white doctor coat. Your subconscious sees the coat or a creator you love on screen with millions of views and tricks you into trusting that coat or the millions of views.
Yup. As soon as they pulled this crap on Shadiversity, a guy who's whole schtick is in-depth knowledge of swords, he put out one of the most comprehensive, epic dismemberments I have seen of a product.
Interesting how Scott used some of the same words as you
He's spreading the word. I'm glad he made the video. More people need to be aware.
This guy copied Scott Shafer's Established Titles video
$235.00 for a sharpening stone? I have a set of Naniwa, the best japanese wet stones for knife sharpening and I paid $80.00 to $130.00 depending on the grit of the stone. These stones I have are used by the top knife companies to sharpen their knives. The stone kamikoto shows is called a dual grit stone and these stones are almost never used by professional knife sharpeners. Naniwa makes a dual grit stone like the one shown, the same grit as sown in kamikotos advert and Naniwa sells their 1000 / 3000 Grit for $30.00.
I got a double stone off of Amazon for $10. Sharpens just fine.
@@KnuckleheadStuey Actually, no it doesn't. I owned a knife sharpening business and those stones are garbage. Thats why I invested in quality stones from Naniwa. The $235.00 stone mentioned is complete rubbish. Its a total scam.
I’ve lost a lot of respect for the TH-camrs who push products from companies they have not researched themselves. And I think it funny that both left and right wing political commentators are shilling for these companies.
Its a promotion bro, nothing more. Unless the creator says something about using or liking the product themselves I don't expect them to vet advertisers. No one else does.
@@JD_79 But they should. These TH-camrs know people trust them and not checking sponsors is irresponsible and shows they do not care at all
Wave enough money in front of these 'creators' and they'll shill anything.
How could the scammers think Americans are gullible? 😂 where would they get that idea?
China's contempt for America.
Well, susceptibility to shady marketing is hardly unique to Americans. Careful in those glass houses.
It's not just them, it's everywhere on youtube from history channrls to fashion.
Great video man! Well done. I sacked my sponsor once I thoroughly checked them out. Iv also deleted the videos. I actually went further and deleted all my videos. TH-cam is not for me anymore.. Thank you!
I wonder if the samples they give youtubers are special knives made of much higher quality steel so they don't know themselves the company is scamming customers. Around the same time as shad's video, Let's Ask Shogo made a video walking around an actual japanese shop that sells traditionally made knives and they're substantially cheaper than buying kamikoto knives so they could be selling proper traditional japanese knives around the same price and make a good amount of money, but choose not to in order to scam customers out of even more money apparently.
Almost every knife is super sharp when it's new.
Traditional techniques? Oh so it’s shit lol 😂
The bigger the PITCH, the crappier the product.
Quality sells itself.
Well, if they willingly continue to promote scams, then they're violating TH-cam's terms of service. The report button is surprisingly easy to use.
Sadly, it's only when someone investigates do companies like TH-cam actually take action.
There are tons of knives channels to get some recommendations from. I am surprised that they even list the steel on their website. Technically it doesnt matter where the knife is made but Japanese blacksmiths are the best with HT their domestic steels. Also kinda sad that this scam is going to be given to someone as the gift instead of like Victorinox Fibrox or something forged from Wüsthof on their price points. For Japanese knives I wouldnt look at anything below Tojiro.
It's sad that some content creator don't look at what they're promoting. They're literally selling their credibility.
Also ironic that some of those people report on news and politics
According to a Scott Shafer video, the one knife that they say is made in Japan has always been listed as sold out ever since it was advertised on their website and I am not sure it has ever actually been sold. Scott's video says you can use the wayback machine on the internet to see the older version of the website. Another youtuber went to the address they have listed for their office in Japan and there is no office there. I would be very interested to get a detailed explanation of what 19 steps are used to construct the knifes and then having someone go to the factory in china and verify that.
I was going to buy a set of these for mom as a birthday present but when I noticed the price, it immediately made me think twice.
I know of VERY high quality and well made kitchen knives that cost three to four times of the non-discounted price. So i have stayed FAR from them since.
Instead I sharpened her knives to razor-blade sharp.....fingers may have been covered in bandages but its thought that counts
wow i just watched scott shafer's vid on this and now this was recommended, lol
I love that it’s all these conservatives that got duped lol
The people in Japan must be laughing their asses off and face palming when they see this. And what's with these guys showing themselves cutting bell peppers or lemons? Shit man, any knife will do that with the same effort. People are extremely easy to part with their money, especially in the US. The new era of "As Seen on TV" is here, except it's "As seen on TH-cam".
I compared the Shadiversity review to TH-camrs that have never touched a blade on screen. 😆
Established titles was dumb and here's why:
If anyone can have the title for a few bucks, why would I want it!
Titles should be earned, not bought!
Broke my conservative heart (yes we have one) when Paul Watson started hawking these regular knives as something special. Nice wood presentation box though. 😂
Only looks good in the videos. It's cheap plywood with shitty hinges. I know someone who got suckered in to buying these bullshit knives, and when he opened the box, the lid fell off. 😂
Love the screen name Rollo definitely needs a lawyer.
Did you make a video on the precious metals scam promoted by these same TH-camrs or was that someone else? Was trying to find it but I don’t know if it was deleted or if anyone has seen what I’m talking about
They don’t say what steel they use anymore that you mentioned at 4:00 on their website, nor can I find the 2 series you said, I sent them an email for a full refund, I just ordered a set but it hasn’t shipped yet so hopefully I won’t have to go to my bank for a chargeback!
The dead give away they are NOT Japanese knives is that they are made of SS, Japanese knife makers avoid SS since the knife making process has very little authenticity to its creator, most if not all Japanese knives are Carbon base knives, that said a SS knife is not bad knife, what you want to find out about the manufacture is if the blade is stamped steel or forged steel, I own several brands of Japan influence style knives that are SS and forged in China and one of them is a Kamikoto, not a bad knife I bought it used, is their adverting a little shady, YES. at best this is a 50 dollar knife set. If you don't mind giving your blade a small scrape you test the hardness, mine was dull as heck and its NO Japanese knife, LOL, its Japanese style but thats it, this is a household knife and not restaurant NO WAY, they sharpen very easy and meet the minimum thickness according to hardness level, I think for this knife set its 0.032″, the other plus is the sushi/fish slicer is single bevel (its not the one I have) if you want a really good knife set skip the Kamikoto, and get Mercer Culinary Renaissance Knife Set, better bang for the buck
Well no. one of the most common steels types is the vg series (you know vg2 vg10 vg max) wich is a stainles steel.
@@kniferewiewscool2646 VG Series steel is very specific to its content properties, only a handful of manufactures in Japan can guarantee you have a true VG10 steel knife, actually its one company and its the company that came out with it back in 1960s, there are other who make it, but if Im buying an authentic VG10steel Knife it will be from Takefu, But your looking at 500 big ones for one knife, and thats for a nine in. gyuto, Uhh no thanks LOL, If I'm not mistaken the latest version of VG steel (i think its SV or SG not to sure) is patent for Japanese manufactures only, I like sharp decent knives but I am not paying 10xs more per knife for it, Japanese blade smiths also know this so thus you see more carbon base knives with less chromium in the market than V series SS
Traditional methods are very time consuming, error-prone, and expensive. Each one has the blacksmith's personal touch. Kamikoto's knives do not look personal. They look mass produced. Yes, mass produced knives are held to minimum industry standards and put together using very similar methods. Better quality steel will certainly lead to better knives but a cost of hundreds of dollars is very difficult to justify for most people who want knives for everyday use.
Good to expose scammers, but when you think about it, most advertising these days is somewhat economical with the truth, promoting an image rather than an actual product. Some car adverts by well known car brands have small print at the bottom of the advert saying this car doesn't actually exist, and if it did it would be illegal to drive it! So they are selling an image, not a product!
To a knife nerd like me, I can smell the bs from mars
I just watched that english guy with the beard tell me to buy these..last video I watched lol
All these TH-camrs should apologize immediately. If they don't, people should stop watching their channels. Boycott.
Their address in Japan is a Hotel/Concert hall 😂
Hi mate I’m loving these videos! Very well researched, with good critical thinking. You should be proud of your work
Even the Japanese never heard of this Kamikoto in their country
I thought about KTEL Records and the Ginsu Knives campaign. 😂
Established Titles and Kamikoto remind me of the Super Stretchy Spiderman from SML.
I can't wait for the American Greed episode. 😂
Are you feeding information to Scott Schafer ? His video was uploaded after yours and says essentially the same thing. Is he plagiarizing you ?
As long as the message is spread that Kamikoto is a scam, then so be it.
This guy just copied Scott's Established Titles video, plus this guys used a bunch of info from Shadiversity's Kamikoto video. They all do this.
Anyone with a little knowledge of kitchen knives could see that this was a scam. What particularly bothers me is both the misleading and/or false claims of the company about the knives AND the virtually non-existent vetting done by those content creators who did plugs for them. The same thing can be said about Huusk knives
I’ve been commenting this for a while on multiple TH-camr videos but my comment just get buried
this deserves more views, and you deserve more subs. great video!
Thank you, I appreciate that.
Thats why I don't buy products endorsed by youtubers that are outside of said youtuber's expertise. Ben Shapiro for example has nothing to do with knifes. He just got sponsored to endorse the knifes and knifes are not his speciality. I also saw a chef endorsing VPN providers, which as a network engineer I know is a scam.
If you want good recommendation for a product by youtubers then choose a youtuber who and product combination that a said youtuber is proficient in. (Example "Cedric and Ada" for knifes or "Maxlvl edc" on multitools.
I think it's very naive to imagine that these guys don't know what they are promoting.
Is this parent company directly related to the creators? Do they own stock?? I mean none of them did no research? Hard to believe that.
TheQuartering has already dropped them. Paul Joseph Watson is still using them.
Yo great video I hope it gets the attention it deserves
I don't think every content creator can investigate every advertiser that comes along on TH-cam. It is not realistic. "Venerable" could one day be sponsored by a product , which later turns out to underperform.
If TH-cam premium wasn't outrageously priced I'd nuke all these ads
Matt Walsh and Ben Shapiro are grifters?? No. I'm shocked. /s
What? Matt Walsh seems pretty based to me.
@@videotape2959 If by based you mean a lying and manipulative dirt bag who hates everyone who isn't a cis hetero white male than sure
Another reason why I largely don't respect youtubers because of their blind greed
I ended up getting a sponsor block plug in since so many videos have sponsors, it is ruining the watching experience
But is it not also our own responsibillity to do our research on things before we spend money on it.
sure the channels should choose better, but at the end of it all. people buy stuff without having looked into it.
Fair point. Let me ask you this. What if, say, TH-cam had in its terms of agreement they get to throw a bucket of ice cold water on you once a week. You see a TH-cam representative show up at your door ready with the bucket, saying you signed the terms of agreement, you should have read it before signing. Would you let them throw water or think that's ridiculous? What are your thoughts? What I'm trying to say is both parties have a responsibility. Kamikoto has a responsibility to not be deceptive in their marketing and the consumer should do research as well. And when I say consumer I also mean the TH-camrs. If they didn't promote it, people wouldn't know they existed.
great video subbed
Wohoo, that sharpening stone is really overpriced! This type of stones are the cheapest (and the worst when it comes to performance) stones out there, you can buy them for like 10 USD or so.
Great analysis! These are so bad. The saddest thing is that for that kind of money, you can get excellent Japanese knives.
OK people. Buyer beware. The products that are being sold in podcast on TH-cam videos. Those companies are paying lots of money to sell their products. If you trust your Podcaster anymore than the person on your local news, what’s the difference? They are both doing what they can to survive. Media is advertising not entertainment. These companies don’t survive making you laugh. They just want your money.💕
Great vid!
J2 is the steel Buck uses in the liner of knives that cost less than $20.00.
The grind looks god awful, no bladesmith in Japan would sabre grind like that.
Isacc Butterfield recently revealed that his relatively small channel (1.8 million subs) was paid 100,000 dollars for an 8 week sponsorship deal with Established Titles(which he has cancelled BTW) so imagine what channels with 10 million or more subs were being paid to flog this stuff! I'm assuming the amounts for Kamikoto were much the same.
Actually I don't think they ever claimed that they were made in Japan despite all the hints that suggested that it was. What the claim was that it was made using Japanese style techniques which is probably the Forging process and Japanese steel. I mean you can find it if you look so technically not a scam. Not upfront about things and probably not even good knives which is probably the only scam part as they claimed to be high quality but aren't. So misleading in a lot of ways but one thing I do hate is a lot of people who say that these TH-cam influencer should vet their sponsors. Why they receive money to place a sponsors ad that is it. Most of them remove it after told of the Scamming
the knife is a scam but i dont see how advertiser platforms (channels) are responsible for it, they got the money the provide the ads, that's it, this is how it has been working for every single product since the dawn of time
There's not a problem with Chinese knives? There's a problem with Chinese made anything! Literally anything!
Thank God, my favorite podcaster DAvid Knight and another one, Anomaly have not commercialized their podcasts/videos.
the heavy marketing by YT creators whose topics have nothing to do with knives or cooking should be your first clue of this scam. have you ever seen Wusthof advertise like this? have you ever seen a Wusthof product promoted with "was $1295, now only $341!"? that's because the Kamikoto set is not likely to be a good deal for even $100. why would you have a crappy knife in your kitchen even if it was free?
here's another observation I'll make. the Kamikotos are ground only on one side (single bevel). I understand there are some quality single bevel knives. I believe Kamikotos are this way only so they don't have to grind both sides. if they weren't trying to just be cheap they would have both right and left handed sets and make a point of telling you. this should be a big deal because single bevel knives take somewhat more expertise to use and sharpen. then, you'll be sharpening a lot because of the cheap steel. you see, the cutting experience is different with a single bevel knife depending which hand you use. talk about a big f-u to the lefties!
Want some great performance on the cheap? Ikea is your friend. I've been on a 6" Ikea chef's ($25) along with an 8" ($170) Wusthof chef's interchangeably for many years. I'll say both were the best deals ever. I'm not embarrassed that for certain tasks I'll reach for the "As Seen on TV" Miracle Blade III ($10), even that one is double-bevel 🤣 what makes me like these? yes, all perform their specific tasks great with easy maintenance. the MBIII is disposable and ok to abuse. the Wusthof can last a lifetime (don't *ever* let someone else "sharpen" a prized knife). ok, look out for "fit" too. I still have some perfectly fine Henckels but I don't reach for those because both the Wusthof and Ikea fit my preferred grip and cutting style better.
so that's my take on Kamikoto and cooking knives in general. I hope this helps with your next, and most important, kitchen investment. hopefully YT creators get the message to vet products before pushing scammy ones because it undermines their main message. I'm just not going to believe your science show as much when you're pushing a crappy tool for something very important 😎
Tons of boating sites promoting them also - Delos included. I did a quick google search since that just hit me as sus and yep, they only claim one is made in Japan - and that one is not available lol. The rest made in China, by a company that’s been around for
I like Ben but you can tell 90% of his ads are shit and if he used everything he advertises, his house would look like a Nascar car.
honestly, it's rather good product targeting: an overpriced product leaning heavily on easily debunked misconceptions with a vague "japanese" aesthetic; it's basically perfect for weebs with extra spending money, and i'll be damned if that doesn't describe a vast portion of little ben's audience.
I can see why people were fooled. Most people don't know anything about what makes a type of steel "quality". Most of these products that every youtuber sponsors, im skeptical of. The only one i can confirm isn't a scam is Raycon. Their earbuds were actually solid for being $80. The beats i have now are better but they're double the price so they should be.
Kamikoto does NOT claim their products are made in Japan. They state their products are made with Japanese steel and using methods developed by the Japanese over hundreds of years. The knives are manufactured, with Japanese steel, in China. I own a number of Kamikoto knives, I’ve spent a great deal of time in Japan so I’m familiar with Japanese knives and their quality, the Kamikoto knives are of outstanding quality. These are lifetime products, there is NOTHING cheap about them. I find this video to be offensive because what it’s claiming about Kamikoto is incorrect.
Must be pretty convincing fake product to get them in hand and still gush about it…
It’s a 15 💵 knife from shit 420 Steel
any company with money to splurge on podcasts is usually a VC chopshop type company, they are designed to fail
Sounds just like the Huusk knife pitch. Switch the brand names and it's the same comercial. And their both made from the samw 420J2 junk steel that's about as strong as warm butter
There is a reason why chefs like Wolfgang Puck, Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsay, or Seiji Yamamoto have never recommended Kamikoto knives. There is a reason why Kamikoto Knives rely on ignorant You Tubers by throwing them some money a script and a free set of knives. The knives are trash. Don't let an exotic name and a fancy box fool you. You want a good knife? Ask a great chef or knifemaker or find a reputable chef online who can recommend a great knife for you for your budget and your means. I have eight knives, either from Japan or Germany. Total worth of around $3,800. It may seem like a lot of money, but these are the only knives I will ever need and own, and will last over an entire lifetime.
A lot of reliable high-quality knives are made in China by Chinese craftsmen. It really doesn't matter at where the knives are made as long as the material and the finished product confers to ISO specifications and standards. Assuming or stating that a specific knife is either low or high-quality just because it was made in a specific place is totally misleading as the place of origin where the knife is made have nothing to do at all with the quality of it.
THOSE KNIFES ARE RUBBISH!!JUST LIKE HUUSK!!!
Shadiversity did a whole episode showing how these were about the equivalent of Target budget bin poopies. Knife people knew these were bogus from the get go. Huusk is no better. Snake oil knives with crap steel.
With a few exceptions (such as Shapiro's Helix sponsorship for example) these aren't endorsements by the creators and shouldn't be treated as such. I think it is unfair to hold the creators to a higher vetting standard for advertisers than mega media corps adhere to. Like the Quartering says, "If a sponsor offers me money to sponsor their product I'm probably going to take it". And he isn't wrong to do that as his business is making TH-cam content not vetting advertisers.
Goodness people, research what you buy. Any quality Japanese cutlery is going to clearly state Made in Japan. The steel type will be stated and usually the HRC as well. Handle materials as well. All this info will be very upfront, you won't need to look very hard for it.
See also HUUSK KNIVES. Who also flog those fake foot detox pads