Thread: Hi & New Kamisori Coming...

I think you have touched on one of the issues. The spine. There has been some testing with more experienced members here than me and they have mentioned that the tolerance on the spine from toe to heel is off considerable in some samples. This would certainly have an impact on the bevel of the edge and the overall hone-ability.
Perhaps one of the senior members can chime in on this thread with some additional insight.

Solingen is a city in Germany. So the word means nothing really. I days before it meant quality since the city had serious steel standards. Nowadays every company that makes anything in knives/cutlery by cheap standards puts the city name on to make it sound like it's worth something.

So unless you know for a FACT that it's a good brand (meaning people have had a lot of good experience with it I wouldn't spend serious money on anything just because it says SOLINGEN on the blade.