Korin is highly regarded by the r/BuyItForLife community for two distinct product categories: their Japanese-style GANGY can opener and their knife selection and sharpening services. The can opener is frequently cited as a near-indestructible tool with no moving parts, while the store itself is considered one of the most trusted sources for Japanese knives in the US. Community sentiment is overwhelmingly positive across both product lines.
Both Korin's GANGY can opener and their knife offerings receive consistent, enthusiastic endorsements from the community with virtually no quality concerns, making them reliable BIFL choices in their respective categories.
The Korin GANGY can opener earns praise for its simplicity and durability, while Korin's knife selection and in-house sharpening services are consistently recommended by both home cooks and professional chefs. Both product lines are regularly included in community members' BIFL kitchen essentials lists.
Criticism is minimal but a small number of users find the GANGY-style can opener technique unintuitive compared to traditional rotary openers. One user noted concern about enamel chipping on the colored version.
One commenter who works at a correctional facility said the Korin can opener performed so well opening hundreds of large industrial cans that it ended up on the official equipment list.
A user who bought their Korin knives in person described watching the resident knife master hand-sharpen each blade on Japanese water stones right before purchase — calling it a kind of performance.
Multiple community members describe the GANGY-style opener as essentially nuclear-proof, predicting it will outlast its owner and everyone they know.
A commenter noted that after cycling through various can openers that broke within months, switching to the Korin opener in 2019 solved the problem completely — still cutting like butter years later.