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(In the Knives 101 section, first place I went for and first place I expect other folks may go to:) Wow, this is really offputting: They feed you bullshit in c

(In the Knives 101 section, first place I went for and first place I expect other folks may go to:) Wow, this is really offputting: They feed you bullshit in culinary school, bullshit on tv. Here are some knives to not buy: ...<snip>... There are many reasons to avoid these knives. I will not go into all of them here as I believe it would only be fair to address them individually, which seems really boring. At least some portion of this advice is misguided--I have a Global bread knife that has done me no wrong, is comfortable and has stayed sharp a long time, and I've bought plenty of good knives at "not a knife store" (ironically, a few in Japan including a nice Misono de-boning knife). But the bigger issue I have with it is that it is dismissive and reads like a hipster sneering at us common folks..."Oh, you have a Shun...? Well, I use a Japanese Gyuto...you probably haven't heard of it." At least show me the respect of not insulting my intelligence and justify why you think we should avoid the things you list. Otherwise you should just omit this section. Because I can tell you, as someone who likes to cook as an amateur and would like to learn more about Japanese knives, I am exactly in your target market (assuming you aren't actually a douchebag hipster who doesn't want to sell to anyone who has transgressed by violating your verboten list before in their lives), and I can tell you that you would do a lot better to change your tone here and simply start with the positives, explaining why I should care about Japanese knives at all and why I should buy them from you. Frankly, no one likes to be insulted implicitly or otherwise as their first exposure to a subject, and it is especially damaging if you are trying to sell something. (More specifically, I would start with the "Styles and Shapes" section, as that has the most actionable advice--tells me right away what a suggested "starter set" would be, and then goes into the functions of the different types in perfect detail--not too much, not too little. I care less about the details of the materials used, although I still think that is useful information. And if you are insistent on keeping a "what not to buy section," you'd do far better by leading with themes and then giving examples, something like "Mass-produced, stamped knives are bad for reason X...some examples of these are A, B and C, although the D line from B is not too bad..." Another tip--I clicked on the "learn more" link on the top page hero expecting to get information about knives, not to be dropped into the page of knives with no information--I would suggest linking that to the "Knives 101," and further more I think you would do well to link to some good product examples directly from your "Knives 101" page, so I can immediately read through your suggestions and pick some good knives to go with. You may even want to offer some "starter sets," like a Gyuto with a Funayuki as a package together...but I know you think sets are bullshit, so... ;-) EDIT: And in general I would say to highlight the "Knives 101" page--it strikes me from reading some of the other responses in this thread that dropping people into the knife selection with little guidance to go on is causing confusion. You could probably kill it if you help guide us ignorant foreigners through buying a Japanese knife--seriously, I really think this could really take off with the right approach.

prawn 11y ago
I agree with your post. I find the attitude on that explanatory page very off-putting and would never buy from someone writing like that. It's really negative. OP should think of those using the listed knives (Global, etc) as people who might consider an upgrade. But if they've already bought those knives thinking they've bought the premium option, I'm not sure they'll react well to being embarrassed so bluntly straight up.
buttermilk 11y ago
Hi! I really appreciate your response! I feel bad about the leading section of that article. A few others commented on this as well, and I quickly realized it was misguided. I am re-working that section, and page as a whole. I want to clarify that I in no way meant offense or shame or to express elitism (or hipster bullshit). The Global bread knife is totally worthwhile and an exception to my feeling on the rest of their line. Globals are, if they work for the user, acceptable knives but twice the price of their value. Thank you for the feedback. My apologies. Building a better landing page for the video button is high on my to-do list. You're totally right about that. When you clicked that button, what information would you have liked to see? Information on our selection of makers and knives? Knives separated by maker? I'm not opposed to sets as a whole, I'm opposed to pre-determined manufacturer sets. I guess I should say box sets? Would you theoretically be more interested in two knives that I've paired as a set than you would be in selecting those two knives individually? Thanks for the kind words. I've had a hard time determining appropriate places to insert broadly educational info like Knives 101. I don't want people to get stuck on text walls and give up, but I certainly see how it would be helpful to have pieces be a part of your path through the shop. Any suggestions as to placement?
- ddellacosta 11y ago
  Hey, you don't have to apologize to me, I was just transmitting my feeling as a potential customer reading the page...I actually assumed that the feeling I got from that page was not what you intended to express--so no worries! On the contrary, sorry if my criticism was too strongly worded, and kudos to you for taking it so graciously. Building a better landing page for the video button is high on my to-do list. You're totally right about that. When you clicked that button, what information would you have liked to see? Good question. Generally speaking I was interested in learning more about the knives. Seeing the animated blacksmith I wasn't sure if I would get a video or not...not sure if others had that impression as well. Specifically though, I was expecting either a video about knives (not saying this is good, would prefer not to have a video actually) or a page like the "Knives 101" page--something to guide me a bit as to 1) why I want Japanese knives vs. (or in addition) to anything else, and 2) which ones in particular I may be interested in. Would you theoretically be more interested in two knives that I've paired as a set than you would be in selecting those two knives individually? Well, my main point in suggesting the knives as a set is that overall, I don't have a great sense of what to look for in Japanese knives--do I want a Gyuto only? Gyuto + Santoku? Etc. And your suggestions in the "Styles..." section in the "Knives 101" page were really awesome--I would love to immediately be able to say, "okay, they are suggesting a A and a B knife, and these two are in the low/mid/high-range and that's what I'm willing to pay, so let me directly click on this and they are both added to my shopping cart and here's my credit card thank you very much." That is, I think you could potentially sell the shit out of these simply by making it easy for people to understand what a good single choice and a good pair and a good threesome is and to add to their cart directly from the "Knives 101" page (or a page like it...maybe a better/alternate way is to have some kind of guidance directly on the knives product listing itself? "Looking for a general use knife? Try this Santoku for a mid-range option, or this higher-end version, and pair it with..." etc.) I don't want people to get stuck on text walls and give up, but I certainly see how it would be helpful to have pieces be a part of your path through the shop. Any suggestions as to placement? Yeah, that's a fair point...I don't have a great sense of that. My instinct here is to do some testing/experimenting--see how some kind of guidance on the knife listing itself works, see what kind of results you get when you let people directly add knives to the shopping cart from the "Knives 101" page, etc. Maybe you have a separate "Start Here" page that simply gives people some examples of good options in various ranges and a way to add them directly to their cart. It's worth assuming that there are people like me who go right to the "Knives 101" page to learn more, and there are people who want to browse right away but would respond to guidance on the product listings themselves...and probably stuff I'm not thinking of as well. In any case, good luck with this and I hope my responses were helpful. I'll be keeping my eye out for your site and I look forward to seeing it grow and succeed further!

prawn 11y ago

I agree with your post. I find the attitude on that explanatory page very off-putting and would never buy from someone writing like that. It's really negative. OP should think of those using the listed knives (Global, etc) as people who might consider an upgrade. But if they've already bought those knives thinking they've bought the premium option, I'm not sure they'll react well to being embarrassed so bluntly straight up.

buttermilk 11y ago

Hi! I really appreciate your response! I feel bad about the leading section of that article. A few others commented on this as well, and I quickly realized it was misguided. I am re-working that section, and page as a whole. I want to clarify that I in no way meant offense or shame or to express elitism (or hipster bullshit). The Global bread knife is totally worthwhile and an exception to my feeling on the rest of their line. Globals are, if they work for the user, acceptable knives but twice the price of their value. Thank you for the feedback. My apologies. Building a better landing page for the video button is high on my to-do list. You're totally right about that. When you clicked that button, what information would you have liked to see? Information on our selection of makers and knives? Knives separated by maker? I'm not opposed to sets as a whole, I'm opposed to pre-determined manufacturer sets. I guess I should say box sets? Would you theoretically be more interested in two knives that I've paired as a set than you would be in selecting those two knives individually? Thanks for the kind words. I've had a hard time determining appropriate places to insert broadly educational info like Knives 101. I don't want people to get stuck on text walls and give up, but I certainly see how it would be helpful to have pieces be a part of your path through the shop. Any suggestions as to placement?

ddellacosta 11y ago
Hey, you don't have to apologize to me, I was just transmitting my feeling as a potential customer reading the page...I actually assumed that the feeling I got from that page was not what you intended to express--so no worries! On the contrary, sorry if my criticism was too strongly worded, and kudos to you for taking it so graciously. Building a better landing page for the video button is high on my to-do list. You're totally right about that. When you clicked that button, what information would you have liked to see? Good question. Generally speaking I was interested in learning more about the knives. Seeing the animated blacksmith I wasn't sure if I would get a video or not...not sure if others had that impression as well. Specifically though, I was expecting either a video about knives (not saying this is good, would prefer not to have a video actually) or a page like the "Knives 101" page--something to guide me a bit as to 1) why I want Japanese knives vs. (or in addition) to anything else, and 2) which ones in particular I may be interested in. Would you theoretically be more interested in two knives that I've paired as a set than you would be in selecting those two knives individually? Well, my main point in suggesting the knives as a set is that overall, I don't have a great sense of what to look for in Japanese knives--do I want a Gyuto only? Gyuto + Santoku? Etc. And your suggestions in the "Styles..." section in the "Knives 101" page were really awesome--I would love to immediately be able to say, "okay, they are suggesting a A and a B knife, and these two are in the low/mid/high-range and that's what I'm willing to pay, so let me directly click on this and they are both added to my shopping cart and here's my credit card thank you very much." That is, I think you could potentially sell the shit out of these simply by making it easy for people to understand what a good single choice and a good pair and a good threesome is and to add to their cart directly from the "Knives 101" page (or a page like it...maybe a better/alternate way is to have some kind of guidance directly on the knives product listing itself? "Looking for a general use knife? Try this Santoku for a mid-range option, or this higher-end version, and pair it with..." etc.) I don't want people to get stuck on text walls and give up, but I certainly see how it would be helpful to have pieces be a part of your path through the shop. Any suggestions as to placement? Yeah, that's a fair point...I don't have a great sense of that. My instinct here is to do some testing/experimenting--see how some kind of guidance on the knife listing itself works, see what kind of results you get when you let people directly add knives to the shopping cart from the "Knives 101" page, etc. Maybe you have a separate "Start Here" page that simply gives people some examples of good options in various ranges and a way to add them directly to their cart. It's worth assuming that there are people like me who go right to the "Knives 101" page to learn more, and there are people who want to browse right away but would respond to guidance on the product listings themselves...and probably stuff I'm not thinking of as well. In any case, good luck with this and I hope my responses were helpful. I'll be keeping my eye out for your site and I look forward to seeing it grow and succeed further!