I'm always surprised by how offended random internet users can be by my steel. The most common complaint is that it's insulting to Bladesmiths with years of expertise in forging. Simply put, YLK is not the same business model as a Bladesmith. I want to bring beautiful, custom knives to the masses. Bladesmiths work for up to and over 40+ hours to create a single blade, and then the customer must also pay (rightly so) for the Bladesmiths time to create the steel. We offer a less expensive product because you are not paying for our time in forging the blades by hand. This doesn't make our steel inferior, it's just an alternative way of making the same product.A Bladesmith may have years of experience in forging blades, but I have 16 years experience in using knives in a commercial kitchen. I used to cook 3 meals a day for over 200+ people, I know what you need in a good blade, and mine are custom designed to my exact specifications. I've done the testing and the research so you don't have to.