Hocho-Knife Anmeldelser 83

For context, I ordered a Yu Kurosaki knife that arrived slanted and with a rattling sound when shaken lightly on its side.

I contacted support, provided photo/video evidence, and they instructed me in writing to return the knife.

After tracking showed the return had been delivered back to them, they stated they could not confirm the issue and offered only:

- I pay for shipping to have the knife sent back to me, or
- a refund minus a 30% “cancellation fee.”

They also set response deadlines repeatedly throughout the process, in two cases stating: “Please let us know your preference within 48 hours… otherwise we would deem that you agree with the cancellation (option 2).”

I’ve also seen other customer reviews on this website alleging significant cancellation/handling fees (e.g., ~20% after 1 hour of ordering, or fee deductions even after a return).

I declined both options and escalated through Paypal, receiving a refund within 3 days. If you're in a similar situation, you can raise the issue through Paypal Buyer Protection or your payment provider, (e.g., a bank chargeback if applicable).

Tips for anyone buying: unbox on video, take clear photos, document defects immediately, and don’t use the knife until you’ve thoroughly inspected it. Keep all emails and tracking. Don’t accept “silence = acceptance” deadlines. If your order is cancelled or the item is discontinued and you never receive it, don’t accept any “handling/restocking/cancellation fee", request a full refund of everything charged. If they refuse or delay, you can make your case via PayPal (Item Not Received) or your bank/card chargeback and attach the order confirmation, cancellation notice, and proof of charge. No item received > no basis for keeping the funds.

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To pre-empt the usual deflections:

- This was not a change-of-mind cancellation. The return was initiated after a defect report and approved by Hocho (in writing).

- “We can’t reproduce it” doesn’t negate the original evidence (intermittent fitment/play and alignment issues can be hard to reproduce depending on handling). The visible alignment issue was also present in photos and I had three videos of the rattling. You can use your original evidence in a dispute.

- Any discussion about a “sleeve/guard” or case insert scuff is a packaging matter and unrelated to the underlying knife defect, and does not convert this into a discretionary cancellation.

- The knife was not used for food prep/cutting at all. It was inspected only with minimal handling, then returned as directed.

- I made sure to provide order number, tracking, and the email screenshots confirming return label instruction, delivery back to Hocho, and the later 30% fee vs paid-shipping options.

- As a defect return, policy about cancellation fees is irrelevant.

Finally, if this were truly a “customer satisfaction/low satisfaction” return (their wording), a defect return process would not have been initiated after reviewing the evidence. The attempt to reframe it that way after receiving the return is what led to the dispute.

They wrote: [We would like you to understand that "low satisfaction with a product" does not necessarily equal "defective product."]
I refused to let a documented defect (with evidence, returned under their written instruction) be flattened into a “satisfaction” issue in order to justify fees after the return was delivered.

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Edit:
As expected (see my pre-empt section), their response is to repeat that they “could not confirm” the defect after receiving the return and therefore treated it as a “non-defective/low satisfaction” return (including fee options). This is exactly the pattern I described. Once the return was delivered, the only options offered were paid shipping to send it back or a refund minus a 30% “cancellation fee,” with “respond within 48 hours… otherwise we would deem you agree” condition. They also pointed to policy (again as expected), but the issue is applying a “low satisfaction” fee policy after a defect based return was authorised and the item was already returned.
So the matter was ultimately resolved only via PayPal, which is exactly what my review is about.
Side note - payment disputes are much easier when the seller has the item, because they can’t keep both the product and your money. "Merchant has the item" is one of the strongest positions.

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Edit (2): For reference, the business flagged this review as “defamatory”. Trustpilot reviewed it and reinstated it.

I ordered two Sakai Takayuki 33-Layer VG10 Damascus Hammered knives. I have used this brand of knife in the past and love it. After having seen so many bad reviews of Hocho Knife, I was concerned that I might get knock-offs or that my order would never arrive. Happy to report that the knives arrived and are excellent! Other reviewers who had bad experiences are likely ordering low-end cutlery. I will say that PayPal doesn't seem to like Hocho and held up my order for 10-days. Once that cleared, the knives came quickly! I will happily reorder from Hocho, but will not use PayPal next time.

Stay away from this webstore.
I place an order. 3 days later they offer some different options. I got a knife few days later. Trying to cut a vegetable and surprise- blade starts to loose a metal chips right away. After 2 days required return. Customer support answer-"we don't accept return for used knife ". Great!

Use to be a good place. I spent lot of money here. Now it’s a ridiculous site with crazy expensive price tags. Unbelievable.. very unorganised company with no realistic, reasonable buisness ethics.. prices going up every single day.. and they think they are the only place selling Japanese knives

As an answer to their reply here, a good organisation should see around and keep competitive rates. I am a person who lived in japan half of my life and visit often.their pricing are nearly 25% higher than the competitors and want to highlight this. This BS what they talk about limited quantity is only for very few craftsmen’s winch mostly they target local markets. Most the brands honcho knife sells here are industry scale products.

Go away from this store !
There is no update on the website, the customer service is very bad, they reject my order 3 days after they received my money that's Unacceptable !
I sent an email this morning to PayPal for my money back.. I am very disappointed right now.
So don't do the same mistake guys !

They don’t update their inventory accurately nor timely. They notified me that one of the items I ordered was discontinued, 8 hours after I placed the order. Discontinued is NOT the same as not in stock. The item shouldn’t have been on the site. This disqualified me from canceling my order and not having to incur a handling fee of 20%. Their cancellation policy states that I only have 1 hour to cancel my order after placing it to receive a full refund. If you’re only giving one hour to cancel and get a full refund then you need to have accurate information regarding your inventory. It’s unethical to charge a handling fee based on your inability to display an accurate inventory for purchases. Unethical business practices here. Please beware!!! There are other options out there.

Ordered twice all cancelled for no reason and charged auto restocking fees. Security issue to 2 different countries listed on their website as countries they've experienced shipping to? Scam site. All the negative reviews here are legit!

J’ai commandé un couteau à 270$ j’ai reçu une contre façon, acier non damassé, esthétique imprimée au laser, manche collé grossièrement avec coulée de colle et vernis mal posé.
Paypal à protégé le vendeur sur ma réclamation. Grosse déception pour noël dernier

I have ordered several times from them. Every time the product was shipped out within a day or two. Great selection of quality products and always exactly as represented. I recommend them without hesitation.

I have bene a customer for some times and spent $1000s of here. However, when I requested to return a wooden cutting board due to it warping they refused to accept it. Trying to tell me how to look after the board instead.

There is no defense against this.

I won't be shopping here again.

The Mioroshi Deba I purchased is wonderful and all I expected. But.....they use Paypal, a parasitic PITA sucking unnecessary.......straightforward credit card purchase is all that should be required - very archaic! VAT charges should be charged at source by Hocho, not by FedEx. Their process is convoluted, interwoven with PayPal and FedEx, not transparent enough with mysterious additional charges.
Burrfection beats them hands down with their process, express shipping is covered on purchases over $200 and DHL is far better and faster than FedEx. They just didn't have the knife I wanted.

My fiance tried to order me a knife as a birthday gift from this site twice. The first order was cancelled and "refuned" due to a "security issue". It was estimated that the refund would be processed on May 10th, it is now May 15th and still the refund is stuck in limbo The second time she tried to place the order they again took the money out of her account, and yet again, cancelled the order for another "security issue." We reached out on various platforms and through both of our platforms to what I assume is a pathetic excuse of an automated reply about "not detailing the security issue". Instead of suggesting a way to overcome this issue. So now my fiance is down $700 with no proper explanation in addition to a 3% cancellation fee. Somehow the error on their end means we get charged 3% of the price, which is blatant robbery. This company has terrible communication, terrible business practices, and is all around just bad. And all charges including the 3% cancellation fee will be disputed with my bank.

I purchased a boning Knife for $151.00. The knife showed up and after close inspection the fit and finish of the knife is sub par. Gaps in the wood handle and tang. The bolster is uneven from left to right. I own a lot of high end Japanese knives and this is the worst one I have ever seen. Took a while for customer service to get back to me. Their return policy is poor and in favor of the vendor. You will loose 30% for a returned item. Loosing 30% on a defective knife doesn't feel good.

Behalten illegal Geld ein wenn man storniert. Halten sich nicht an deutsches Recht und werden jetzt verklagt!

Ich habe alles über PayPal laufen lassen. Dort hat man sich geweigert, das Geld zurück zu erstatten. Ich habe deshalb einen Konflikt aufgemacht und PayPal hat diesen für mich entschieden. Gegen den Willen des Verkäufers wurde dann das Geld zurückbezahlt.

Avoid!!! Completely lame experience. I have tried twice to order a knife, which has been canceled "for security reason", no matter which delivery option or payment method you select. Their security check is not announced on their website, and of course they cannot tell their criteria, so you're left as it is. Your payment has been accepted by paypal, but seller later grant himself the right to refuse your order without any justification. Their support is like a parrot always repeating the same mantra of secret security criteria, without providing any clue of the problem they may find. They could ask for additional detail (they are selling knifes after all) if they need to confirm personnal information, but prefer to cancel order and take their fees. They hide behind their clause of 3% fees to collect your money, even if order cancelation is only their decision, without any clear explanation. The FAQ doesn't provide any information other than how to pay. Please use more transparent and reliable knife shops.

Incredibly frustrated... I have tried to place my order twice, the first time through PayPal with a credit card (there is no option to simply use a credit card even though their FAQ page says there is) when the first order was refunded I called my credit card company and they said it was approved through them so it was something on the side of the seller. So I attempted the order again through the other option which was Amazon pay... I again received a message saying there was a problem with payment and I would be refunded the full amount less the 3% charge which lo-and-behold showed up on my credit card statement IMMEDIATELY! I am FURIOUS... if they can take the 3% why can't they take the full amount and just ship the order?! On my account with Hocho it says awaiting shipping but the message from them says I'm being refunded.... I even paid for expedited shipping. Terrible company terrible customer service... I guess I'll have to go find my left handed yanagiba knife somewhere else (hocho knife if you are reading this it is order number 111444 and 111400) it would be nice to just rectify the situation since I've tried every avenue possible to place my order!

Ordered several items from hocho. Their website had issues on checkout, forcing me to order twice (no coupon applied first time, second time applying the coupon submitted my order). The bank details provided on checkout were displayed with ASCII code and were incomplete or incorrect.

As a result of this my transfer was returned, minus 10% retained by their intermediary bank. Having emailed hocho with no response, I placed another order to test the checkout and found it had been updated with additional bank details to those I was shown.

Hocho have ignored my requests to deal with the loss of $150 due to their website faults however they had the nerve to respond to my test order (placed after my emails regarding the failed transfer) telling me as its under $1000 they won't accept bank transfer payment.

Simply put, their website screws up, they ignore you despite costing you significant sums but will respond when you place a new order.

Absolute disgrace. Avoid like the plague.

Update: So as you can read from their reply, their website malfunction is my fault. It wasn't user error, I was not given a full output on checkout. The statement that I received the same information as other customers is wholly incorrect and Hocho is well aware.

I've worked in IT for 20yrs, from web hosting to now being an engineer for fortune 500 companies. I made no error, I proceeded with the details their site provided. I've made more international bank transfers than I care to recall.

If you value your money, avoid Hocho. I made them aware of the site issues and before making the transfer I provided screenshots and asked them to review (they ignored), updated when the funds were returned minus 10% and provided them proof of loss along with the output I was given on checkout. To say this is customer error is beyond disingenuous, it's despicable and outright lies. Their response is to resend the funds to 'the correct account'. Well I sent funds to the account THEY provided and lost $150. I'm not about to do that again.

There are many other retailers who actually value their customers and provide customer service orders of magnitude greater than Hocho. I strongly advise you to order from them instead.

I'm now $150 out of pocket due to their technical deficiency and complete unwillingness to resolve the issue THEIR website and disgraceful customer service caused. There are numerous other online reviews regarding Hocho's appalling customer service which I wish I had seen before ordering. They treat customers with any issue with contempt. I suppose I should count myself lucky it was only $150 unlike the poor gent with a warped several hundred dollars paperweight.

"Thief" seems more applicable than "Retailer".

Japan has a reputation for being diligent, honest and acting with integrity. Hocho has demonstrated that is not the case. Their actions are shameful.

J’avais un doute de base mais j’ai sauté le pas en essayant avec 1seul couteau. 3 commandes par la suite et toujours arrivées à bon port je recommande !!

Sold junk merchandise. The hollow ground back of my knife was clearly malformed. Impossible to sharpen. Told that I was stuck with it because i had already sharpened it.

The knife will never sharpen properly and was malformed from the factory. Hocho Knife is passing the buck and has no problem leaving me with an expensive paperweight

Do not interact with this disreputable and dishonourable company.

Oh. And Hocho Knife? Don’t bother responding to this with your customer service cut-and-paste. You already emailed it to me. You sell junk and don’t stand behind it. Repeating your self serving policies doesn’t change that.

I bought a knife to my boyfriend with name engraving service, it was so nice. Can't wait to give it to him! :)