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Comment by pukexxr | Hacker News Reader

This is a semantic argument. This product smacks of being a garbage kitchen gadget. Whether or not it's a QVC product, it certainly looks like cheap white-label alibaba junk. Just look at that handle. Did they just slap a knifeblade into an electric nosehair trimmer?

I'd try one out of professional/academic curiosity (I'm a chef), but am highly skeptical of this product. It looks like absolute trash.

All the people saying this knife does anything remarkable clearly have no experience in maintaining a decent knife blade. I've got knives that I've had for over 20 years that perform as well as this thing appears to (in the slick prepared advertisement).

Having said all that, you won't find an accurate takedown of a product that isn't on the market yet. Still, I can't help but wonder if the person behind this had dedicated that effort towards helping mitigate the water crisis, deforestation, or any number of other inarguably nobler pursuits.

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They actually had an industrial design studio come up with the design. It isn’t white labeled “Alibaba junk” and to my eyes, it doesn’t resemble that either.

> I've got knives that I've had for over 20 years that perform as well as this thing appears to (in the slick prepared advertisement).

You have knives that can not have potatoes stick without scallops in the blade? Or that can atomize lemon drops? Or that can cut through bread easily without a serrated edge? What I’m seeing in the video is a lot more versatile. But I can see needing a smaller utility knife still.

Why on earth would I care if a potato sticks to my blade, and why would I need to atomize lemon juice with my knife?

I worked in some of the best kitchens on the planet and for every hipster with a blue paper #2 carbon steel hand made japanese chefs knife there was an old gray beard with a row of old busted victorinoxes hanging on the wall. Both of these cooks would filet a halibut beautifully.

It isn't the knife.

Because it's annoying af when you're slicing potatoes.

> Or that can cut through bread easily without a serrated edge?

Yes. Absolutely. IME a quality sharpened chefs' knife is far better at cutting bread cleanly than a serrated knife, which by contrast will leave a rough edge and loads of crumbs.

That is not my experience.

If you try to cut through a croissant, the amount of pressure needed will often crush the croissant before slicing through (though it depends on the type of croissant).

Meanwhile, while you can use a chef's knife to cut through a crusty baguette, as it's strong enough not to collapse, you need to apply so much pressure that it's not as safe -- the blade can slip to either side over the hard irregular surface. A serrated knife requires vastly less pressure and is therefore much safer.

Yes a serrated knife can leave a rough edge and crumbs, but that's better than smooshing something entirely or cutting your hand because the knife slipped.

It depends on the bread. Many breads are basically impossible to cut properly with a straight edge knife. They end up disfigured worse than what you’re describing with serrated knives.

Have you ever tried a bread knife with so-called "micro-serrations" (really something like ~0.5mm tooth depth / pitch)?

The one I have seems to cut just as cleanly as a chef's knife once within a material, but has better ability to bite into material at the start of a cut, when a chef's knife would be slipping off. (Think: a freshly-baked loaf of high-sugar bread, where the outside is relatively stiff, but the inside is so soft that the outside tries to "squish away" from a non-serrated slice.)

I would never use it for dicing, but it's oddly goot at e.g. slicing watermelon.

Have you seen this knife do any of these things in action? Will it continue to do so? Nobody has, or will, until this gadget hits the market.

I remain skeptical in spite of your weird defensive reaction. I'm speaking about how a product appears to me as a professional. Not attcking you personally (unless it's your product... then I think you should do something good for society with your time)

> All the people saying this knife does anything remarkable clearly have no experience in maintaining a decent knife blade.

Yes? I mean, that's one of the main points of the gadget, as said in the advertisement.

The blade must be sharpen regardless, the apex won't stay sharp on its right own. The vibration does help but it doesn't do any actual cutting if you dull the blade.

does nobody keep their knives in a pyramid anymore?

Is that what they meant to say? "This looks like a gadget"? Then why did they say "coming from someone living nearby the home of QVC"?

I think basically the whole thread is acknowledging that this looks like a gadget!

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