Damascus: I think that your assumption about this is largely fair. There has been a plague of bad mass-produced damascus knives, or damascus-printed knives, available everywhere recently. This is unfortunate because there are still many extremely high performing knives utilizing damascus steel.
Damascus and suminagashi are techniques built on antiquated necessity but remain as a way for makers to flex their skill. It is extremely labor intensive and requires a significant skill set. My interest in the damascus of Shigehiro knives is the beautiful pattern that is specific to Ikeda-san. It shows incredible skill and through aesthetic can heighten the users interaction with the knife. I assure you that despite many damascus knives putting form and price over function, they will never be in my shop.
Table: Thanks! You're saying they're good as is, right?
Bevels: Great point. I haven't yet listed any single-bevels so it hadn't crossed my mind. They will primarily be categorically separate, but would a line inclusion on the tables suffice?
Guarantee: You're right. I wasn't explicit here, partially to clip abuse. I realize that it might seem slightly self-protective, but I do want to instill confidence that I do guarantee full satisfaction from what we offer. I'm concerned about being too explicit because I don't want to offer a time cutoff nor can I say that if you decide you don't quite like a knife in five years that I'm liable for it. There are many potential scenarios, in most of which I'd pay the shipping, but how many do I list? If you've got suggestions for what would make you feel more comfortable, I'd love to hear them.
Single-bevels: They totally will. Both sides are important
Board: thanks! I'll add that now.
Petty: I'm not sure what you mean by this?
Thanks!
* The stock images on the front page are a bit odd. In particular, the vintage-ish B&W images of a person with a knife in a wicker chair and what looks like a group of people standing a an old store. These have a very old-Western feel to them that is totally at odds with the fact that you are selling Japanese knives. Lots of cognitive dissonance as a result.
* One of the first images that appears at the top of the front page is a blade with a Damascus finish. FWIW, I associate this with overpriced, form-before-function knives, not knives of good performance and good value for money.
* Love, love, love the clear presentation of lengh, spine thickness, etc. A table-style set of listings with these front and centre would be priceless for me.
* It is unclear (from both the browse page and the detail page) which knives are single-bevel and wich are double-bevel. This is first-round decision-making info; very few people know (or can remember) that the difference between a nakiri and an usuba is just single vs double bevel. Maybe a icon or abbreviation on each listing?
* Saying "100% SATISFACTION. GUARANTEED." is promising, but some details would be nice. Who pays return shipping? Do I get a refund, a credit, and/or replacement? With handcrafted blades, a nontrivial number get chipped or tipped within the first few uses, at no fault of the user. I am hesitant to buy until I know how this would be handled.
* Listings for single-bevel knives should have photos of both the front side and the urasaki-side, since, well, they are different.
* The listing for the heavy cutting board doesn't have dimensions.
* Took a bit of mental processing to realise 'petti' was being spelled 'petty'.