On Wed, 18 Oct 2017 11:50:06 -0700 (PDT), Its Me wrote:

On Wednesday, October 18, 2017 at 2:11:08 PM UTC-4, John H wrote:
On Wed, 18 Oct 2017 09:20:30 -0700 (PDT), Its Me wrote:

I agree. Magazines like Car and Driver or Road and Track make for interesting reading at times, but you have to take their reviews with a grain of salt. Between them getting ringers from car companies to test, and the "not wanting to bite the hand that feeds you" syndrome, many of their test articles are just fluff pieces. If they have something bad to say about a car, it's usually very carefully worded so it almost doesn't sound negative.

That they don't take ads is one thing I really like about CR. You should read a 'Trailer Life' (RV
Magazine) once. They 'review' RVs, and in a two or three page spread there may be one 'unpositive'
comment. Total bull**** reviews.

While true, the thing I don't like about CR is that they are workman-like, mechanical reviews, at least with cars. R&T and C&D have "car guys" who can drive and report on handling nuances, road feel, etc. more reliably than CR, at least IMO. They just sugarcoat the problems.

I used to get a kick out of Audiophile magazine. They were audio snobs who would trash anything they didn't like, and I think sometimes that included decent gear that didn't cost enough to earn their respect.

We used to have a high-end audiophile shop in Springfield Mall, just down the road. One day I took
the Telarc 1812 overture album in and asked them to play it on their several-thousand dollar
turntable and cartridge combination. Don't remember which turntable, but very, very expensive.

The salesman said he couldn't do it. Said the record was improperly made and couldn't be played
without the tone arm sliding across the album.

When I told him my Dual 1019 with a Shure V-15 cartridge would play it just fine, he said I had to
have the stylus pressure way too high. This was bull****, but it helped me realize that lots of
money doesn't necessarily buy good sound.

Of course, my ears wouldn't appreciate that sound now anyway, except for the cannons maybe!

On Wednesday, October 18, 2017 at 3:11:20 PM UTC-4, John H wrote:
On Wed, 18 Oct 2017 11:50:06 -0700 (PDT), Its Me wrote:

On Wednesday, October 18, 2017 at 2:11:08 PM UTC-4, John H wrote:
On Wed, 18 Oct 2017 09:20:30 -0700 (PDT), Its Me wrote:

I agree. Magazines like Car and Driver or Road and Track make for interesting reading at times, but you have to take their reviews with a grain of salt. Between them getting ringers from car companies to test, and the "not wanting to bite the hand that feeds you" syndrome, many of their test articles are just fluff pieces. If they have something bad to say about a car, it's usually very carefully worded so it almost doesn't sound negative.

That they don't take ads is one thing I really like about CR. You should read a 'Trailer Life' (RV
Magazine) once. They 'review' RVs, and in a two or three page spread there may be one 'unpositive'
comment. Total bull**** reviews.

While true, the thing I don't like about CR is that they are workman-like, mechanical reviews, at least with cars. R&T and C&D have "car guys" who can drive and report on handling nuances, road feel, etc. more reliably than CR, at least IMO. They just sugarcoat the problems.

I used to get a kick out of Audiophile magazine. They were audio snobs who would trash anything they didn't like, and I think sometimes that included decent gear that didn't cost enough to earn their respect.

We used to have a high-end audiophile shop in Springfield Mall, just down the road. One day I took
the Telarc 1812 overture album in and asked them to play it on their several-thousand dollar
turntable and cartridge combination. Don't remember which turntable, but very, very expensive.

The salesman said he couldn't do it. Said the record was improperly made and couldn't be played
without the tone arm sliding across the album.

When I told him my Dual 1019 with a Shure V-15 cartridge would play it just fine, he said I had to
have the stylus pressure way too high. This was bull****, but it helped me realize that lots of
money doesn't necessarily buy good sound.

Of course, my ears wouldn't appreciate that sound now anyway, except for the cannons maybe!

Yeah, that was BS. He probably just didn't want to play your album because he didn't know what shape it was in. But, money *does* buy good sound.

A friend and I were in a high-end store listening to that very selection years ago. When the cannon fire got close a salesman grabbed the volume and turned it down. Didn't want to damage those high-end speakers!

On Wed, 18 Oct 2017 12:28:28 -0700 (PDT), Its Me wrote:

On Wednesday, October 18, 2017 at 3:11:20 PM UTC-4, John H wrote:
On Wed, 18 Oct 2017 11:50:06 -0700 (PDT), Its Me wrote:

On Wednesday, October 18, 2017 at 2:11:08 PM UTC-4, John H wrote:
On Wed, 18 Oct 2017 09:20:30 -0700 (PDT), Its Me wrote:

I agree. Magazines like Car and Driver or Road and Track make for interesting reading at times, but you have to take their reviews with a grain of salt. Between them getting ringers from car companies to test, and the "not wanting to bite the hand that feeds you" syndrome, many of their test articles are just fluff pieces. If they have something bad to say about a car, it's usually very carefully worded so it almost doesn't sound negative.

That they don't take ads is one thing I really like about CR. You should read a 'Trailer Life' (RV
Magazine) once. They 'review' RVs, and in a two or three page spread there may be one 'unpositive'
comment. Total bull**** reviews.

While true, the thing I don't like about CR is that they are workman-like, mechanical reviews, at least with cars. R&T and C&D have "car guys" who can drive and report on handling nuances, road feel, etc. more reliably than CR, at least IMO. They just sugarcoat the problems.

I used to get a kick out of Audiophile magazine. They were audio snobs who would trash anything they didn't like, and I think sometimes that included decent gear that didn't cost enough to earn their respect.

We used to have a high-end audiophile shop in Springfield Mall, just down the road. One day I took
the Telarc 1812 overture album in and asked them to play it on their several-thousand dollar
turntable and cartridge combination. Don't remember which turntable, but very, very expensive.

The salesman said he couldn't do it. Said the record was improperly made and couldn't be played
without the tone arm sliding across the album.

When I told him my Dual 1019 with a Shure V-15 cartridge would play it just fine, he said I had to
have the stylus pressure way too high. This was bull****, but it helped me realize that lots of
money doesn't necessarily buy good sound.

Of course, my ears wouldn't appreciate that sound now anyway, except for the cannons maybe!

Yeah, that was BS. He probably just didn't want to play your album because he didn't know what shape it was in. But, money *does* buy good sound.

A friend and I were in a high-end store listening to that very selection years ago. When the cannon fire got close a salesman grabbed the volume and turned it down. Didn't want to damage those high-end speakers!

LOL!

On Wed, 18 Oct 2017 14:11:09 -0400, John H
wrote:

I think finding truthful reviews, especially for vehicles, is scarce.

Human nature is such that good reviews are more the norm by people who
recently purchased the vehicle and are subconsciously justifying their
purchase. The bad reviews come later after many miles on the odometer.

I agree. Magazines like Car and Driver or Road and Track make for interesting reading at times, but you have to take their reviews with a grain of salt. Between them getting ringers from car companies to test, and the "not wanting to bite the hand that feeds you" syndrome, many of their test articles are just fluff pieces. If they have something bad to say about a car, it's usually very carefully worded so it almost doesn't sound negative.

That they don't take ads is one thing I really like about CR. You should read a 'Trailer Life' (RV
Magazine) once. They 'review' RVs, and in a two or three page spread there may be one 'unpositive'
comment. Total bull**** reviews.

===

I think the Consumer Reports reviews are a good starting point,
paticularly their reliability evaluations which are important to me. I
like to keep my vehicles until they are ready to drop because I've
always believed that transaction costs are too high when buying and
selling, same with boats. While the CR reviews may not be perfect, at
least you know that they are not being influenced by advertising
revenue. It's my understanding that they actually buy their test
vehicles anonymously. The car mags of course are dependent on
manufacturers and dealers for test vehicles and they have to tread
very carefully to avoid being cut off.

---
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
http://www.avg.com

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 10/18/2017 12:18 PM, John H wrote:
On Wed, 18 Oct 2017 11:59:24 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 10/18/2017 11:42 AM, Its Me wrote:
On Wednesday, October 18, 2017 at 8:00:36 AM UTC-4, John H wrote:
On Wed, 18 Oct 2017 06:58:38 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 10/18/2017 6:41 AM, John H wrote:
On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 18:23:21 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 10/17/2017 4:16 PM, Bill wrote:
wrote:
On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 08:24:20 -0400, John H
wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 22:51:59 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 12:39:18 -0400, John H
wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 12:20:13 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 07:50:29 -0400, John H
wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 01:19:11 -0400, wrote:


There are a few of those TV cooking guys who do pretty knife work.
Jeff Smith (Frugal Gourmet) was a great knife guy. I learned lots of
things from watching that show. Too bad he was a pervert ;-)
I have some Zwillings that even Harry would be proud to have.

My cheap Zwilling Five Stars have served well for many years. But,
I'm sure Harry would look down
his nose at anything less than a set of Michel Bras knives to go in
that fantastically perfect
kitchen of his.


This is my go to knife for general chopping and slicing.
I think Judy paid a buck and a quarter for it.

https://pim-cdn.zwilling.com/data/cdn/workarea/suppliers/zw_lieferant/documents/hotfolder/394/38408180_white.jpg

I've tried the Santoku style, but it just never felt right. Been using
this one too long:

https://s7d1.scene7.com/is/image/BedBathandBeyond/94648246769206p?$478$

Judy got a good buy!

I also have a traditional 10" Chicago Cutlery chef knife and their
12" ham slicer (that I have had for decades) but I am getting pretty
used to the Zwilling. The sharp edge is a little straighter and it is
great for chopping.

I'm in the market for a small knife set for a grandson getting into an
apartment while going to
Virginia Tech. CC has a nice looking set with Japanese steel, but then I
saw it's made in China.
I've had a couple CC knives, but could never get them to hold a decent
edge. Am looking at these
three sets now. This would be a Christmas present, so I've
plenty of time to decide which.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0016J42...=EEOGPHJ KYUD

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0000DBI...=EEOGPHJ KYUD

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00CK8UG...=EEOGPHJ KYUD

Suggestions anyone?

When I hear Ginsu I think of those cheap stamped steel things with the
rough serrated edge.


Ginsu knives were made my a vacuum cleaner company. Name slips me the
moment. Was a canister vac. Mom had one. Was an Asian demo guy, so they
named it Ginsu.


Douglas Redivac owns Ginsu now.

The original name for the knives was "Quiccut" but it was determined
that the name had no marketing appeal so it was changed to "Ginsu",
alluding to Japanese samurai swords.

Ginsu knives are most famous for the marketing campaign used to sell them.

From Wiki:

"The resulting Ginsu ads copied the hard sell direct marketing
techniques of carnival hawkers pioneering TV pitchman Ron Popeil had
adapted to the medium in the 1960s. In the process, they helped solidify
the formula for the modern infomercial. The energetic and verbose ads
were ubiquitous in the late 1970s on U.S. television. Advertisements for
the "amazing" Ginsu knife asked, "How much would you pay? Don't
answer!", urged viewers to "Call now! Operators are standing by!" and
included the signature "But wait! There's more!", which became a popular
infomercial catch phrase ever since."




Funny. Here's CRs take:

"For some, the name Ginsu is synonymous with hammy 1970s-era
infomercials, but this a serious
cutlery company. Its 8-piece set offers incredible value, providing
the cutting performance and
handle comfort of knives costing three and four times as much. The
set includes a chef’s and santoku
knife, but not a slicer."

And:

"There are two basic types of steel knives on the market—stamped
and forged. Ultra cheap knives,
like the $40 Ronco Showtime Six Star+, with its 26 pieces, are
usually made out of stamped steel.
Even at the Ronco's bargain price, cutting performance isn't enough
to make it a smart purchase.
You're better off spending more on knives forged from a single
piece of steel, as they typically
result in a sturdier blade that's less likely to bend.

Of the eight steel-knife sets we recommend, all are forged. Five of
them cost at least $300, and the
priciest of the bunch, the Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Profection
#33049, sells for $600. Along with
fellow German manufacturer Wusthof, Zwilling is a regular leader in
our Ratings (the two brands
currently claim the top four spots).

There is one CR Best Buy in our winner's circle, and it's the
exception to the rule about spending
top dollar for quality knives. If you grew up in the late 1970s,
you might remember the Ginsu
as-seen-on-TV ads featuring a blade sawing through a soda can and
then delicately carving a ripe
tomato. But Ginsu is a serious cutlery company, as evidenced by the
Ginsu Chikara, an eight-piece
set that sells for $75 and delivers excellent cutting performance."

The original Ginsu knives sold on television were all made in
Fremont Ohio by Quikut. They're now
made in China using Japanese 420J stainless steel.

They ought to be good enough for a college kid!

You're showing our age!



Maybe they are being made better than back in the 70's. Searching for a
Christmas present for Mrs.E., I fell for the TV ads and bought a set of
Ginsu knives. As I recall, at first they seemed fine and were sharp but
they didn't last long in that condition. It wasn't long before they
were replaced.

You seem to put a lot of faith in Consumer Reports. I don't, although
I admit I don't read many of their reviews and those I do are usually on
cars or trucks. They've given high scores and recommended a few that
later turned out to be pure junk over the years.


I'll readily admit that CR has made a few boo-boos. But that would
happen to any organization. They
provide a lot of concise information, decent comparisons, and make a
starting point. On the internet
they also provide reviews, which I've found to be worthwhile. Then
I'll go to Amazon, for example,
and look at reviews. If over 80% of many hundred reviews are 4-5
stars, I'm thinking the product may
be worthwhile.

Be aware that Amazon reviews are "seeded" in many cases by suppliers
giving away free product in exchange for reviews, and in some cases
just fake reviews to boost the product's ratings.

One of the most useful CR reports is the vehicle reliability ratings
gathered from the questionnaire they sent their readers. These were
compiled from real people and their experience with vehicles they
bought. Even those may be skewed a bit by the type of people that
read CR, and by people who naturally complain about bad experiences
but may not be as vocal about the good. I guess they still do those surveys.



I think finding truthful reviews, especially for vehicles, is scarce.

Human nature is such that good reviews are more the norm by people who
recently purchased the vehicle and are subconsciously justifying their
purchase. The bad reviews come later after many miles on the odometer.

I like my truck, but I've not found it hard to be honest about the
problems I've had while doing the
CR survey. But, there may be a bit of truth to what you say.



Off subject a bit but I like the GMC I bought however the climate
control system drives me nuts sometimes. It's too "smart" for it's own
good. If the relative humidity is above about 60 percent, the AC
compressor runs, even though the display says it's off and I've manually
made sure it is turned off. Then, when heating the truck, when the temp
approaches the desired setpoint, the damn thing starts blowing ice cold
air to prevent an overshoot.

If the humidity is below 60 percent, it seems to work just fine.



Never see that on my GM products, but we did not see much more than 35%
humidity. Wife’s Venza automatic mode never gets close to a steady
temperature.

On 10/18/2017 2:50 PM, Its Me wrote:
On Wednesday, October 18, 2017 at 2:11:08 PM UTC-4, John H wrote:
On Wed, 18 Oct 2017 09:20:30 -0700 (PDT), Its Me wrote:

I agree. Magazines like Car and Driver or Road and Track make for interesting reading at times, but you have to take their reviews with a grain of salt. Between them getting ringers from car companies to test, and the "not wanting to bite the hand that feeds you" syndrome, many of their test articles are just fluff pieces. If they have something bad to say about a car, it's usually very carefully worded so it almost doesn't sound negative.

That they don't take ads is one thing I really like about CR. You should read a 'Trailer Life' (RV
Magazine) once. They 'review' RVs, and in a two or three page spread there may be one 'unpositive'
comment. Total bull**** reviews.

While true, the thing I don't like about CR is that they are workman-like, mechanical reviews, at least with cars. R&T and C&D have "car guys" who can drive and report on handling nuances, road feel, etc. more reliably than CR, at least IMO. They just sugarcoat the problems.

I used to get a kick out of Audiophile magazine. They were audio snobs who would trash anything they didn't like, and I think sometimes that included decent gear that didn't cost enough to earn their respect.



The ones that make me laugh are the ones trying to prove that
"directional" interconnecting cables actually have a positive effect on
sound quality.

John H wrote:
On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 20:16:34 -0400, Alex wrote:

John H wrote:
On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 10:36:34 -0400, wrote:

On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 08:24:20 -0400, John H
wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 22:51:59 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 12:39:18 -0400, John H
wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 12:20:13 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 07:50:29 -0400, John H
wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 01:19:11 -0400, wrote:

There are a few of those TV cooking guys who do pretty knife work.
Jeff Smith (Frugal Gourmet) was a great knife guy. I learned lots of
things from watching that show. Too bad he was a pervert ;-)
I have some Zwillings that even Harry would be proud to have.
My cheap Zwilling Five Stars have served well for many years. But, I'm sure Harry would look down
his nose at anything less than a set of Michel Bras knives to go in that fantastically perfect
kitchen of his.

This is my go to knife for general chopping and slicing.
I think Judy paid a buck and a quarter for it.
https://pim-cdn.zwilling.com/data/cdn/workarea/suppliers/zw_lieferant/documents/hotfolder/394/38408180_white.jpg
I've tried the Santoku style, but it just never felt right. Been using this one too long:

https://s7d1.scene7.com/is/image/BedBathandBeyond/94648246769206p?$478$

Judy got a good buy!
I also have a traditional 10" Chicago Cutlery chef knife and their
12" ham slicer (that I have had for decades) but I am getting pretty
used to the Zwilling. The sharp edge is a little straighter and it is
great for chopping.
I'm in the market for a small knife set for a grandson getting into an apartment while going to
Virginia Tech. CC has a nice looking set with Japanese steel, but then I saw it's made in China.
I've had a couple CC knives, but could never get them to hold a decent edge. Am looking at these
three sets now. This would be a Christmas present, so I've plenty of time to decide which.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0016J42...=EEOGPHJ KYUD

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0000DBI...=EEOGPHJ KYUD

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00CK8UG...=EEOGPHJ KYUD

Suggestions anyone?

===

Has Consumer Reports ever rated kitchen knives?

---
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
http://www.avg.com
Yup, in order:

Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Professional "S"
Wusthof Classic Ikon #8347
Wusthof Classic #8418 kitchen
Ginsu Chikara
Zwilling J.A. Henckels Four Star
Kershaw Shun Classic DMS300

I'd about settled on this set:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0016J4230...PHJ KYUD&th=1

But then saw that this set was actually cheaper even though it had more knives:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0011TRO80...PHJ KYUD&th=1

So, the Ginsu 12 piece is now on order!
Unfortunately, they are made in China with Japanese steel.
That's OK. The Zwilling Internationals are also made in China. But, I did cancel the order. After
reading, I decided the 12-piece set was cheaper just so they could get rid of the steak knives which
were not Ginsu but very cheap stuff.

Went back to the eight-piece set. College kids don't be needin' no steak knives anyway.

True. Romaine noodles are fork-tender!

On 10/18/2017 5:47 PM, Bill wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 10/18/2017 12:18 PM, John H wrote:
On Wed, 18 Oct 2017 11:59:24 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 10/18/2017 11:42 AM, Its Me wrote:
On Wednesday, October 18, 2017 at 8:00:36 AM UTC-4, John H wrote:
On Wed, 18 Oct 2017 06:58:38 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 10/18/2017 6:41 AM, John H wrote:
On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 18:23:21 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 10/17/2017 4:16 PM, Bill wrote:
wrote:
On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 08:24:20 -0400, John H
wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 22:51:59 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 12:39:18 -0400, John H
wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 12:20:13 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 07:50:29 -0400, John H
wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 01:19:11 -0400, wrote:


There are a few of those TV cooking guys who do pretty knife work.
Jeff Smith (Frugal Gourmet) was a great knife guy. I learned lots of
things from watching that show. Too bad he was a pervert ;-)
I have some Zwillings that even Harry would be proud to have.

My cheap Zwilling Five Stars have served well for many years. But,
I'm sure Harry would look down
his nose at anything less than a set of Michel Bras knives to go in
that fantastically perfect
kitchen of his.


This is my go to knife for general chopping and slicing.
I think Judy paid a buck and a quarter for it.

https://pim-cdn.zwilling.com/data/cdn/workarea/suppliers/zw_lieferant/documents/hotfolder/394/38408180_white.jpg

I've tried the Santoku style, but it just never felt right. Been using
this one too long:

https://s7d1.scene7.com/is/image/BedBathandBeyond/94648246769206p?$478$

Judy got a good buy!

I also have a traditional 10" Chicago Cutlery chef knife and their
12" ham slicer (that I have had for decades) but I am getting pretty
used to the Zwilling. The sharp edge is a little straighter and it is
great for chopping.

I'm in the market for a small knife set for a grandson getting into an
apartment while going to
Virginia Tech. CC has a nice looking set with Japanese steel, but then I
saw it's made in China.
I've had a couple CC knives, but could never get them to hold a decent
edge. Am looking at these
three sets now. This would be a Christmas present, so I've
plenty of time to decide which.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0016J42...=EEOGPHJ KYUD

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0000DBI...=EEOGPHJ KYUD

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00CK8UG...=EEOGPHJ KYUD

Suggestions anyone?

When I hear Ginsu I think of those cheap stamped steel things with the
rough serrated edge.


Ginsu knives were made my a vacuum cleaner company. Name slips me the
moment. Was a canister vac. Mom had one. Was an Asian demo guy, so they
named it Ginsu.


Douglas Redivac owns Ginsu now.

The original name for the knives was "Quiccut" but it was determined
that the name had no marketing appeal so it was changed to "Ginsu",
alluding to Japanese samurai swords.

Ginsu knives are most famous for the marketing campaign used to sell them.

From Wiki:

"The resulting Ginsu ads copied the hard sell direct marketing
techniques of carnival hawkers pioneering TV pitchman Ron Popeil had
adapted to the medium in the 1960s. In the process, they helped solidify
the formula for the modern infomercial. The energetic and verbose ads
were ubiquitous in the late 1970s on U.S. television. Advertisements for
the "amazing" Ginsu knife asked, "How much would you pay? Don't
answer!", urged viewers to "Call now! Operators are standing by!" and
included the signature "But wait! There's more!", which became a popular
infomercial catch phrase ever since."




Funny. Here's CRs take:

"For some, the name Ginsu is synonymous with hammy 1970s-era
infomercials, but this a serious
cutlery company. Its 8-piece set offers incredible value, providing
the cutting performance and
handle comfort of knives costing three and four times as much. The
set includes a chef’s and santoku
knife, but not a slicer."

And:

"There are two basic types of steel knives on the market—stamped
and forged. Ultra cheap knives,
like the $40 Ronco Showtime Six Star+, with its 26 pieces, are
usually made out of stamped steel.
Even at the Ronco's bargain price, cutting performance isn't enough
to make it a smart purchase.
You're better off spending more on knives forged from a single
piece of steel, as they typically
result in a sturdier blade that's less likely to bend.

Of the eight steel-knife sets we recommend, all are forged. Five of
them cost at least $300, and the
priciest of the bunch, the Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Profection
#33049, sells for $600. Along with
fellow German manufacturer Wusthof, Zwilling is a regular leader in
our Ratings (the two brands
currently claim the top four spots).

There is one CR Best Buy in our winner's circle, and it's the
exception to the rule about spending
top dollar for quality knives. If you grew up in the late 1970s,
you might remember the Ginsu
as-seen-on-TV ads featuring a blade sawing through a soda can and
then delicately carving a ripe
tomato. But Ginsu is a serious cutlery company, as evidenced by the
Ginsu Chikara, an eight-piece
set that sells for $75 and delivers excellent cutting performance."

The original Ginsu knives sold on television were all made in
Fremont Ohio by Quikut. They're now
made in China using Japanese 420J stainless steel.

They ought to be good enough for a college kid!

You're showing our age!



Maybe they are being made better than back in the 70's. Searching for a
Christmas present for Mrs.E., I fell for the TV ads and bought a set of
Ginsu knives. As I recall, at first they seemed fine and were sharp but
they didn't last long in that condition. It wasn't long before they
were replaced.

You seem to put a lot of faith in Consumer Reports. I don't, although
I admit I don't read many of their reviews and those I do are usually on
cars or trucks. They've given high scores and recommended a few that
later turned out to be pure junk over the years.


I'll readily admit that CR has made a few boo-boos. But that would
happen to any organization. They
provide a lot of concise information, decent comparisons, and make a
starting point. On the internet
they also provide reviews, which I've found to be worthwhile. Then
I'll go to Amazon, for example,
and look at reviews. If over 80% of many hundred reviews are 4-5
stars, I'm thinking the product may
be worthwhile.

Be aware that Amazon reviews are "seeded" in many cases by suppliers
giving away free product in exchange for reviews, and in some cases
just fake reviews to boost the product's ratings.

One of the most useful CR reports is the vehicle reliability ratings
gathered from the questionnaire they sent their readers. These were
compiled from real people and their experience with vehicles they
bought. Even those may be skewed a bit by the type of people that
read CR, and by people who naturally complain about bad experiences
but may not be as vocal about the good. I guess they still do those surveys.



I think finding truthful reviews, especially for vehicles, is scarce.

Human nature is such that good reviews are more the norm by people who
recently purchased the vehicle and are subconsciously justifying their
purchase. The bad reviews come later after many miles on the odometer.

I like my truck, but I've not found it hard to be honest about the
problems I've had while doing the
CR survey. But, there may be a bit of truth to what you say.



Off subject a bit but I like the GMC I bought however the climate
control system drives me nuts sometimes. It's too "smart" for it's own
good. If the relative humidity is above about 60 percent, the AC
compressor runs, even though the display says it's off and I've manually
made sure it is turned off. Then, when heating the truck, when the temp
approaches the desired setpoint, the damn thing starts blowing ice cold
air to prevent an overshoot.

If the humidity is below 60 percent, it seems to work just fine.



Never see that on my GM products, but we did not see much more than 35%
humidity. Wife’s Venza automatic mode never gets close to a steady
temperature.



I have a friend who has a Silverado that is a few years old. His
climate control system does not behave like mine. I did some Google
reading and I am not the only one complaining about it. Apparently the
system now has more input sensors than just temperature. It also senses
humidity and the temperature of the windshield and automatically
controls the AC compressor, even if you have turned it "off".

I can understand turning the compressor on when the windshield defrost
mode is selected like most cars used to do. But, I'd like to be able to
control it's operation when just heating the cabin.

I don't think it's only a GM thing. The 2016 Nissan Altima had a
climate control system that operated similarly although the proportional
band didn't seem as tight as the Canyon's. Don't know about the briefly
owned 2017 Nissan Pathfinder because it never had heat to begin with. :-)

On 10/19/2017 1:45 PM, John H wrote:
On Wed, 18 Oct 2017 20:00:53 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 10/18/2017 5:47 PM, Bill wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 10/18/2017 12:18 PM, John H wrote:
On Wed, 18 Oct 2017 11:59:24 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 10/18/2017 11:42 AM, Its Me wrote:
On Wednesday, October 18, 2017 at 8:00:36 AM UTC-4, John H wrote:
On Wed, 18 Oct 2017 06:58:38 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 10/18/2017 6:41 AM, John H wrote:
On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 18:23:21 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 10/17/2017 4:16 PM, Bill wrote:
wrote:
On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 08:24:20 -0400, John H
wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 22:51:59 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 12:39:18 -0400, John H
wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 12:20:13 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 07:50:29 -0400, John H
wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 01:19:11 -0400, wrote:


There are a few of those TV cooking guys who do pretty knife work.
Jeff Smith (Frugal Gourmet) was a great knife guy. I learned lots of
things from watching that show. Too bad he was a pervert ;-)
I have some Zwillings that even Harry would be proud to have.

My cheap Zwilling Five Stars have served well for many years. But,
I'm sure Harry would look down
his nose at anything less than a set of Michel Bras knives to go in
that fantastically perfect
kitchen of his.


This is my go to knife for general chopping and slicing.
I think Judy paid a buck and a quarter for it.

https://pim-cdn.zwilling.com/data/cdn/workarea/suppliers/zw_lieferant/documents/hotfolder/394/38408180_white.jpg

I've tried the Santoku style, but it just never felt right. Been using
this one too long:

https://s7d1.scene7.com/is/image/BedBathandBeyond/94648246769206p?$478$

Judy got a good buy!

I also have a traditional 10" Chicago Cutlery chef knife and their
12" ham slicer (that I have had for decades) but I am getting pretty
used to the Zwilling. The sharp edge is a little straighter and it is
great for chopping.

I'm in the market for a small knife set for a grandson getting into an
apartment while going to
Virginia Tech. CC has a nice looking set with Japanese steel, but then I
saw it's made in China.
I've had a couple CC knives, but could never get them to hold a decent
edge. Am looking at these
three sets now. This would be a Christmas present, so I've
plenty of time to decide which.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0016J42...=EEOGPHJ KYUD

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0000DBI...=EEOGPHJ KYUD

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00CK8UG...=EEOGPHJ KYUD

Suggestions anyone?

When I hear Ginsu I think of those cheap stamped steel things with the
rough serrated edge.


Ginsu knives were made my a vacuum cleaner company. Name slips me the
moment. Was a canister vac. Mom had one. Was an Asian demo guy, so they
named it Ginsu.


Douglas Redivac owns Ginsu now.

The original name for the knives was "Quiccut" but it was determined
that the name had no marketing appeal so it was changed to "Ginsu",
alluding to Japanese samurai swords.

Ginsu knives are most famous for the marketing campaign used to sell them.

From Wiki:

"The resulting Ginsu ads copied the hard sell direct marketing
techniques of carnival hawkers pioneering TV pitchman Ron Popeil had
adapted to the medium in the 1960s. In the process, they helped solidify
the formula for the modern infomercial. The energetic and verbose ads
were ubiquitous in the late 1970s on U.S. television. Advertisements for
the "amazing" Ginsu knife asked, "How much would you pay? Don't
answer!", urged viewers to "Call now! Operators are standing by!" and
included the signature "But wait! There's more!", which became a popular
infomercial catch phrase ever since."




Funny. Here's CRs take:

"For some, the name Ginsu is synonymous with hammy 1970s-era
infomercials, but this a serious
cutlery company. Its 8-piece set offers incredible value, providing
the cutting performance and
handle comfort of knives costing three and four times as much. The
set includes a chef’s and santoku
knife, but not a slicer."

And:

"There are two basic types of steel knives on the market—stamped
and forged. Ultra cheap knives,
like the $40 Ronco Showtime Six Star+, with its 26 pieces, are
usually made out of stamped steel.
Even at the Ronco's bargain price, cutting performance isn't enough
to make it a smart purchase.
You're better off spending more on knives forged from a single
piece of steel, as they typically
result in a sturdier blade that's less likely to bend.

Of the eight steel-knife sets we recommend, all are forged. Five of
them cost at least $300, and the
priciest of the bunch, the Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Profection
#33049, sells for $600. Along with
fellow German manufacturer Wusthof, Zwilling is a regular leader in
our Ratings (the two brands
currently claim the top four spots).

There is one CR Best Buy in our winner's circle, and it's the
exception to the rule about spending
top dollar for quality knives. If you grew up in the late 1970s,
you might remember the Ginsu
as-seen-on-TV ads featuring a blade sawing through a soda can and
then delicately carving a ripe
tomato. But Ginsu is a serious cutlery company, as evidenced by the
Ginsu Chikara, an eight-piece
set that sells for $75 and delivers excellent cutting performance."

The original Ginsu knives sold on television were all made in
Fremont Ohio by Quikut. They're now
made in China using Japanese 420J stainless steel.

They ought to be good enough for a college kid!

You're showing our age!



Maybe they are being made better than back in the 70's. Searching for a
Christmas present for Mrs.E., I fell for the TV ads and bought a set of
Ginsu knives. As I recall, at first they seemed fine and were sharp but
they didn't last long in that condition. It wasn't long before they
were replaced.

You seem to put a lot of faith in Consumer Reports. I don't, although
I admit I don't read many of their reviews and those I do are usually on
cars or trucks. They've given high scores and recommended a few that
later turned out to be pure junk over the years.


I'll readily admit that CR has made a few boo-boos. But that would
happen to any organization. They
provide a lot of concise information, decent comparisons, and make a
starting point. On the internet
they also provide reviews, which I've found to be worthwhile. Then
I'll go to Amazon, for example,
and look at reviews. If over 80% of many hundred reviews are 4-5
stars, I'm thinking the product may
be worthwhile.

Be aware that Amazon reviews are "seeded" in many cases by suppliers
giving away free product in exchange for reviews, and in some cases
just fake reviews to boost the product's ratings.

One of the most useful CR reports is the vehicle reliability ratings
gathered from the questionnaire they sent their readers. These were
compiled from real people and their experience with vehicles they
bought. Even those may be skewed a bit by the type of people that
read CR, and by people who naturally complain about bad experiences
but may not be as vocal about the good. I guess they still do those surveys.



I think finding truthful reviews, especially for vehicles, is scarce.

Human nature is such that good reviews are more the norm by people who
recently purchased the vehicle and are subconsciously justifying their
purchase. The bad reviews come later after many miles on the odometer.

I like my truck, but I've not found it hard to be honest about the
problems I've had while doing the
CR survey. But, there may be a bit of truth to what you say.



Off subject a bit but I like the GMC I bought however the climate
control system drives me nuts sometimes. It's too "smart" for it's own
good. If the relative humidity is above about 60 percent, the AC
compressor runs, even though the display says it's off and I've manually
made sure it is turned off. Then, when heating the truck, when the temp
approaches the desired setpoint, the damn thing starts blowing ice cold
air to prevent an overshoot.

If the humidity is below 60 percent, it seems to work just fine.



Never see that on my GM products, but we did not see much more than 35%
humidity. Wife’s Venza automatic mode never gets close to a steady
temperature.



I have a friend who has a Silverado that is a few years old. His
climate control system does not behave like mine. I did some Google
reading and I am not the only one complaining about it. Apparently the
system now has more input sensors than just temperature. It also senses
humidity and the temperature of the windshield and automatically
controls the AC compressor, even if you have turned it "off".

I can understand turning the compressor on when the windshield defrost
mode is selected like most cars used to do. But, I'd like to be able to
control it's operation when just heating the cabin.

I don't think it's only a GM thing. The 2016 Nissan Altima had a
climate control system that operated similarly although the proportional
band didn't seem as tight as the Canyon's. Don't know about the briefly
owned 2017 Nissan Pathfinder because it never had heat to begin with. :-)


...waiting...



For what?

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 10/19/2017 1:45 PM, John H wrote:
On Wed, 18 Oct 2017 20:00:53 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 10/18/2017 5:47 PM, Bill wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 10/18/2017 12:18 PM, John H wrote:
On Wed, 18 Oct 2017 11:59:24 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 10/18/2017 11:42 AM, Its Me wrote:
On Wednesday, October 18, 2017 at 8:00:36 AM UTC-4, John H wrote:
On Wed, 18 Oct 2017 06:58:38 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 10/18/2017 6:41 AM, John H wrote:
On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 18:23:21 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 10/17/2017 4:16 PM, Bill wrote:
wrote:
On Tue, 17 Oct 2017 08:24:20 -0400, John H
wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 22:51:59 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 12:39:18 -0400, John H
wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 12:20:13 -0400, wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 07:50:29 -0400, John H
wrote:

On Mon, 16 Oct 2017 01:19:11 -0400, wrote:


There are a few of those TV cooking guys who do pretty knife work.
Jeff Smith (Frugal Gourmet) was a great knife guy. I learned lots of
things from watching that show. Too bad he was a pervert ;-)
I have some Zwillings that even Harry would be proud to have.

My cheap Zwilling Five Stars have served well for many years. But,
I'm sure Harry would look down
his nose at anything less than a set of Michel Bras knives to go in
that fantastically perfect
kitchen of his.


This is my go to knife for general chopping and slicing.
I think Judy paid a buck and a quarter for it.

https://pim-cdn.zwilling.com/data/cdn/workarea/suppliers/zw_lieferant/documents/hotfolder/394/38408180_white.jpg

I've tried the Santoku style, but it just never felt right. Been using
this one too long:

https://s7d1.scene7.com/is/image/BedBathandBeyond/94648246769206p?$478$

Judy got a good buy!

I also have a traditional 10" Chicago Cutlery chef knife and their
12" ham slicer (that I have had for decades) but I am getting pretty
used to the Zwilling. The sharp edge is a little straighter and it is
great for chopping.

I'm in the market for a small knife set for a grandson getting into an
apartment while going to
Virginia Tech. CC has a nice looking set with Japanese steel, but then I
saw it's made in China.
I've had a couple CC knives, but could never get them to hold a decent
edge. Am looking at these
three sets now. This would be a Christmas present, so I've
plenty of time to decide which.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0016J42...=EEOGPHJ KYUD

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0000DBI...=EEOGPHJ KYUD

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00CK8UG...=EEOGPHJ KYUD

Suggestions anyone?

When I hear Ginsu I think of those cheap stamped steel things with the
rough serrated edge.


Ginsu knives were made my a vacuum cleaner company. Name slips me the
moment. Was a canister vac. Mom had one. Was an Asian demo guy, so they
named it Ginsu.


Douglas Redivac owns Ginsu now.

The original name for the knives was "Quiccut" but it was determined
that the name had no marketing appeal so it was changed to "Ginsu",
alluding to Japanese samurai swords.

Ginsu knives are most famous for the marketing campaign used to sell them.

From Wiki:

"The resulting Ginsu ads copied the hard sell direct marketing
techniques of carnival hawkers pioneering TV pitchman Ron Popeil had
adapted to the medium in the 1960s. In the process, they helped solidify
the formula for the modern infomercial. The energetic and verbose ads
were ubiquitous in the late 1970s on U.S. television. Advertisements for
the "amazing" Ginsu knife asked, "How much would you pay? Don't
answer!", urged viewers to "Call now! Operators are standing by!" and
included the signature "But wait! There's more!", which became a popular
infomercial catch phrase ever since."




Funny. Here's CRs take:

"For some, the name Ginsu is synonymous with hammy 1970s-era
infomercials, but this a serious
cutlery company. Its 8-piece set offers incredible value, providing
the cutting performance and
handle comfort of knives costing three and four times as much. The
set includes a chef’s and santoku
knife, but not a slicer."

And:

"There are two basic types of steel knives on the market—stamped
and forged. Ultra cheap knives,
like the $40 Ronco Showtime Six Star+, with its 26 pieces, are
usually made out of stamped steel.
Even at the Ronco's bargain price, cutting performance isn't enough
to make it a smart purchase.
You're better off spending more on knives forged from a single
piece of steel, as they typically
result in a sturdier blade that's less likely to bend.

Of the eight steel-knife sets we recommend, all are forged. Five of
them cost at least $300, and the
priciest of the bunch, the Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Profection
#33049, sells for $600. Along with
fellow German manufacturer Wusthof, Zwilling is a regular leader in
our Ratings (the two brands
currently claim the top four spots).

There is one CR Best Buy in our winner's circle, and it's the
exception to the rule about spending
top dollar for quality knives. If you grew up in the late 1970s,
you might remember the Ginsu
as-seen-on-TV ads featuring a blade sawing through a soda can and
then delicately carving a ripe
tomato. But Ginsu is a serious cutlery company, as evidenced by the
Ginsu Chikara, an eight-piece
set that sells for $75 and delivers excellent cutting performance."

The original Ginsu knives sold on television were all made in
Fremont Ohio by Quikut. They're now
made in China using Japanese 420J stainless steel.

They ought to be good enough for a college kid!

You're showing our age!



Maybe they are being made better than back in the 70's. Searching for a
Christmas present for Mrs.E., I fell for the TV ads and bought a set of
Ginsu knives. As I recall, at first they seemed fine and were sharp but
they didn't last long in that condition. It wasn't long before they
were replaced.

You seem to put a lot of faith in Consumer Reports. I don't, although
I admit I don't read many of their reviews and those I do are usually on
cars or trucks. They've given high scores and recommended a few that
later turned out to be pure junk over the years.


I'll readily admit that CR has made a few boo-boos. But that would
happen to any organization. They
provide a lot of concise information, decent comparisons, and make a
starting point. On the internet
they also provide reviews, which I've found to be worthwhile. Then
I'll go to Amazon, for example,
and look at reviews. If over 80% of many hundred reviews are 4-5
stars, I'm thinking the product may
be worthwhile.

Be aware that Amazon reviews are "seeded" in many cases by suppliers
giving away free product in exchange for reviews, and in some cases
just fake reviews to boost the product's ratings.

One of the most useful CR reports is the vehicle reliability ratings
gathered from the questionnaire they sent their readers. These were
compiled from real people and their experience with vehicles they
bought. Even those may be skewed a bit by the type of people that
read CR, and by people who naturally complain about bad experiences
but may not be as vocal about the good. I guess they still do those surveys.



I think finding truthful reviews, especially for vehicles, is scarce.

Human nature is such that good reviews are more the norm by people who
recently purchased the vehicle and are subconsciously justifying their
purchase. The bad reviews come later after many miles on the odometer.

I like my truck, but I've not found it hard to be honest about the
problems I've had while doing the
CR survey. But, there may be a bit of truth to what you say.



Off subject a bit but I like the GMC I bought however the climate
control system drives me nuts sometimes. It's too "smart" for it's own
good. If the relative humidity is above about 60 percent, the AC
compressor runs, even though the display says it's off and I've manually
made sure it is turned off. Then, when heating the truck, when the temp
approaches the desired setpoint, the damn thing starts blowing ice cold
air to prevent an overshoot.

If the humidity is below 60 percent, it seems to work just fine.



Never see that on my GM products, but we did not see much more than 35%
humidity. Wife’s Venza automatic mode never gets close to a steady
temperature.



I have a friend who has a Silverado that is a few years old. His
climate control system does not behave like mine. I did some Google
reading and I am not the only one complaining about it. Apparently the
system now has more input sensors than just temperature. It also senses
humidity and the temperature of the windshield and automatically
controls the AC compressor, even if you have turned it "off".

I can understand turning the compressor on when the windshield defrost
mode is selected like most cars used to do. But, I'd like to be able to
control it's operation when just heating the cabin.

I don't think it's only a GM thing. The 2016 Nissan Altima had a
climate control system that operated similarly although the proportional
band didn't seem as tight as the Canyon's. Don't know about the briefly
owned 2017 Nissan Pathfinder because it never had heat to begin with. :-)


...waiting...



For what?




Godot.

--
Posted with my iPhone 8+.