German knives from Europe are now very popular in China, especially Zwilling, Sancha, and WMF. After shopping in several stores in Beijing (Lufthansa, Dorset, Parkson, SOGO, and Blue Island), I found that both Sancha and WMF are relatively expensive, generally costing more than 1,000. Sancha is easy to use with a 15CM knife. Thousands, nothing less than 1,000. When I asked MM, they said it was forged, one-piece, and purely imported. Look carefully at the inscription on the knife. It has the word Solingen, so it must be a German product. WMF's Damascus is even more expensive, more than 6,000, and it is still 21CM, halo! There are very few styles, so there is no choice.
Turning around and looking at the Zwilling counter, I saw that it was quite complete, with cheap ones ranging from two to three hundred. However, after careful observation and shamelessly asking MM, I realized that Zwilling now also has three-hundred-dollar counters. Types of goods: One type is completely imported from Zwilling factory in Germany, the price is also very expensive, an 18CM knife is more than a thousand (it doesn’t look special, just an ordinary steel knife); the second type is The products produced by the Sino-German joint venture Zwilling (Shanghai) Company are said to be made of German steel and German craftsmanship, and are finally assembled in Shanghai at a later stage. The general price is 400-600 yuan; the third type is Zwilling's Chinese younger brother "Shanli". "person" (the trademark pattern is a person, one less person than Zwilling, many consumers do not pay attention to this difference), this kind is completely made in China, the Chinese company has independent intellectual property rights, the price is very cheap, usually 300 Less than 100 yuan, some even more than 100 yuan. After repeated questioning, a girl indirectly admitted that the latter "independent person" is completely a domestic product from start to finish. No wonder!
In addition to these three brands, there are also the American "Mother Goose", the Italian "Sister Fei", and a very thick OQCOC (not very accurate), and then there are As for home appliances in Hong Kong, these brands also sell kitchen knives, but the craftsmanship is really not flattering. Some of the "Mother Goose" knives even have cracks in the bakelite of the handle (found at SOGO and Chongwen New World) , MM explained that Beijing is too dry. ridiculous! Bakelite is resistant to dryness and wetness. It will crack only if there is a problem with the riveting or the tension is too high. Let’s look at the place of production - Xiamen.
After hesitating for a long time, I didn’t buy one in the end (I really regret not buying a few in Germany). Why? Expensive is the second most important thing. The key is that the sales promotion of MMs really makes me uneasy. For example, it is from "Zwilling". MMs introduce it like this:
1. The best Germany in the world. Forged from steel;
2. The "ice forging" process of Zwilling's exclusive patented technology;
3. The blade never needs to be sharpened (permanently sharp).
Everyone, fortunately, I still have some knowledge of metal processing. I asked several questions back and left them speechless: What is forging? What is Damascus? What is ice forging? Is there really a knife that never needs sharpening? Haha, fortunately I am not competing with them for jobs, I can just get them.
I really don’t understand, a girl who doesn’t know anything about it actually still swears by her various advantages and sells products that easily cost several thousand yuan. Is the boss being too embarrassed? Is the shopping mall too confusing? Or is it a deliberate gimmick to fool consumers? I don’t understand, would anyone buy it at this level? Asking MM for confirmation (actually it is useless), the answer is that they are very popular, with dozens of them sold a day. real? I can only say that Chinese consumers are “cow”!
In fact, among these brands, the only ones that are truly professional in making knives are "Zwilling" and "Sancha". The others either specialize in the production of pots (WMF, the number one pot maker in Germany, and Some are Fischler, which also specializes in making pots), or they are second- or third-rate international brands, and some are even basically local products that have become a monk halfway, but they have names with pinyin letters, which makes us Chinese think they are What international brand (just like the famous "Oudian" flooring). It's a pity that for some unknown reason, the "Zwillings" who were making knives honestly in Germany came to China, but started making pots with all their strength (I have never seen any Zwilling pots in Germany), and became What kind of all-around expert is this? (Maybe this is localization), and those Chinese kitchen knives, at first glance, are steel knives made of a single steel material (the blade core, the blade side, and the back of the blade are all made of one piece of steel). No wonder MM said, If the blade of the knife is bent, it can be re-edged. Only Zwilling can do this. The knives of other brands will be useless when encountering this situation.
Oh my god, she actually explained this as an advantage of "Zwilling"! So, according to this logic, knives produced by all domestic manufacturers can do this, because they are all single steel blades. Note that this is only true forged sandwich steel. If the blade is severely bent, it may not be re-edged. Do you think it's ridiculous? At such a level, so-called international brands are sold in so-called famous stores in Beijing! No wonder, such sellers want to train Chinese consumers to become the most professional consumers in the world!
In fact, our eastern neighbor, Japan, is a country rich in knives. Compared with Germany, its history, culture and craftsmanship level even exceed that of Germany. However, it may be because of national sentiment. , many people are unwilling to understand and admit this (but, if this is the case, why do we buy and use Dongzi, Panasonic, Hitachi, Sony, Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi, and Sharp with great fanfare? Many people even use this To show off? ). The author believes that, speaking of facts, the level of Japanese cutting tools is second to that of Germany. There are several points on which to base this:
1. Japan is one of the countries with the most developed metallurgical industry today. Among the more than 20 kinds of cutting tool steels, Japan has developed as many as eleven types. Among them, the AST series, AUS series, and VG series of high-end cutting tool steels are all developed in Japan. With such a developed basic industry, there is no reason not to believe that good knives cannot be produced.
2. Japan has a long history of knife making. Although Japan was once a student of China in knife making technology (during the Tang Dynasty), due to its good learning and innovation, by the Song Dynasty, Japan's knife level far surpassed China's, so much so that by the Ming Dynasty's Anti-Japanese War, Since Ming swords could not resist Japanese swords, Qi Jiguang had to import a batch of samurai swords from Japan for research and imitation.
3. The unique samurai culture gives the country a broad foundation of sword culture. In today's Japan, hand-made knife making techniques and methods are deliberately preserved as traditions. Craftsman making competitions are held across the country every year to select outstanding knife works, and knife makers are also widely respected.
4. Advanced metal processing technology and quality management system make the quality of Japanese knives very excellent, and there will never be the phenomenon of cracked handles. Because of this, Japan is now the number one exporter of knives (rather than Germany, although German exports are also large), mainly to Europe and North America.
As far as I know, there are far more famous knife brands in Japan than in Germany, no less than a dozen. In this case, why can't we compare the advantages, disadvantages or characteristics of German knives and Japanese knives? I hope friends with such interests and hobbies can discuss this issue together. Below are some beautiful pictures found for everyone to enjoy.