This channel has literally saved me probably thousands of dollars in knives I thought I wanted. I almost bought this until he explained how to use it, which isn't how I would use it. Thanks, pal. I appreciate you and this channel.
If they ask me tomorrow what I did last night, I’m going to be hard-pressed to admit I spent my evening watching someone make their dog food, and enjoyed it!!
Love the knife and enjoy your videos!!! Some points: Apples are good, only raw Parsley is amazing, only raw Celery is ok, especially raw as a snack Same with Carrots but they are good filler. Dogs cannot convert beta carotene to vitamin A Cabbage is useless, not easy to digest Starchy roots are no good, only sweet potato in very small amounts Oatmeal is counterproductive and will overload the Pancreas over time. It also contains a lot of Phytic Acid if not soaked over night. This is my field. Last remark. Add at least 10% liver and maybe 10% tripe. Cheers!
More of your reviews need to be like this. Most people review knifes and they cut paper and shave but I wanna see it in real use. Does food stick to it? Does it put a good chop without leaving whatever it is attached by a skin (although that might be technique) etc. I can make any knife shave and cut paper but you can hear and see how well a knife cuts food
I love mine. I sharpened it two years ago and just strop it to keep it sharp. Always cut on a wood board. No plastic or glass and she will maintain edge for years.
I don’t know why people don’t like you to talk during tests like this, I prefer you talk to us because it keeps us entertained because it helps keeps me and others I’m sure from becoming bored with the monotony of someone chopping up food.
Ohhh my godness. I agree with you but Victorinox's knive Edge retention its very very poor if you compare with Miyabi. If you work in a professional kitchen 10-11 hours per day, cutting hard vegetales like carrots, onions... In 3-4 days, your Victorinox knive dont CUT anything and you have to sharpen It, 2 times in a week. Its steel its normal and not forged. Miyabi its expensive for all. Handmaking process, the Core is 63-64 HRC and SG2 microcarbide and cooled at -193 °C. You can CUT hard things like butter without any efford for your hand during 2-3 months without any resharpened. One knive its ok for learning and the another one its in TOP 5 for the kitchen. The diference its amazing
yup. in a working kitchen, we'd need to sharpen every other day on stones and hone on a rod a dozen or more times a day. I think a home cook would need to hone could get a month out of it before it needs stones. It cracks me up when people say they've never sharpened their victorinox or they only sharpen once a year! I actually think the BEST part of the victorinox is that they are so soft. they make a good "beater" knife because they bend, not chip. But those people who say the edge lasts a long time obviously do NOT know what "sharp" is! Yes, the difference is amazing! it is NOT a bad knife, but it does NOT deserve the hype and there are FAR better choices at the same price point, or LESS
I use victorinox knifes, doing 4-5 hour prep every day, and it looses the sharpness very fast in few days, i need to sharpen them every 10-14 days. I just ordered the miyabi, hopefully it will last way longer. Im hopeing for 1 month atleast.
The knife isn't meant to be rocked, it is more of a push cut, and a shorter blade is better for that because you don't have to lift it as high. When you use the knife for hours a day, you get rid of taller knives because of fatigue.
i am fully aware of that. i was only doing that to show people who are new to gyutos, that they are not the same as a western chef knife. thanks for the comment.
I need you to talk to me about the knife as your using it. I know some people are here for the ASMR experience but I enjoy your insight during the cutting process.
Hello, I use the Miyabi Birchwood knives daily and I have to say they are worth every penny. One thing though my friend, do me and yourself a favor! please get a bench scraper. if you slip you will be going to the hospital.I cringe every time you clean your board. good job
love that SG2 steel which supports the 9 degree edge. I think a company would be crazy to do 9 degrees with any other steel, and even I've backed off my miyabi artisans to about 11 degrees. GORGEOUS birchwood handle. Gorgeous suminagashi blade (my artisan series does not have the beautiful patterning) Thanks ryky for another great video!!!!! And thanks for teaching people about push cutting and rocking as opposed to just hammering a blade. Thanks for discussing ergonomics for each individual person instead of "one fits all". That's why working cooks choose more than one blade for a specific task, a specific product, and especially the style and ergonomics of the end user.
great feedback, and thank you, for the input. just doing my best, and will be the last to saying i know too much about anything, and always learning as i go and always learning from my viewers, such as yourself.
Harrison Hamada I am thinking about buying a miyabi artisan gyoto and would like to hear your thoughts on its edge retention, slicing vs rocking, cutting board choice, (especially plastic cutting board use with knives like this), etc.
I'm semi retired now, but often bring my knife to working kitchens. That means Poly "boards". Because of that, I'm walking back my nine degree out of the box edge to about 12 degree where I have my first artisan (I've had my artisan for 6-7 years. I like it SO much that I got another on black Friday.) My personal style is usually more push slicing, but the Artisan has a definite curve to it. You can rock with it very well, but it also is just fine for a push cutter like me. And especially when I want to rock, this is the one I most often grab. Edge retention is spectacular. It is exceptionally hard. And you can feel a bit of "stiffness" when you cut, so it does take a little getting used to. Part of that reason is the hardness and part is because it is a razors edge because of the nine degrees. BTW it is also somewhat immune to abrasion, so it is not easy to sharpen, but it is not too bad. Just a few more minutes. Ryky can give you far better info about sharpening than I can, but I can give a cooks perspective. I have never had a chip issue with it, but there again, I never had an issue with VG10, either. And yes, SG2 is LESS "chippy" than VG10. You DO need to exercise pretty good technique, but not as much as with VG10. But I'm still getting it back to 11-12 degrees where I feel more comfortable. Yes, I HIGHLY prefer wood boards, but I use the artisan on poly all the time. Remember there is no "best" knife, only "best for you". But objectively, this is a superb knife and subjectively, it's one of my favorites. BTW the Mizu is the same EXACT blade, just with the same handle type that is on a Kaizen. This is the same steel as the Birchwood, but it is only clad with one on each side so it isn't as "pretty"
Harrison Hamada thank you for the reply, I heard somewhere that using Japanese knives on plastic cutting boards dulls the edge more because they can easily cut into the board, but again I guess that is just cutting technique (or rather bad cutting techique?). Do you have any experience with the artisan 13cm shotoh by any chance? All the reviews say that artisan has the most comfortable handles hence my interest in them.
I personally love the Artisan handle. No I don't have any experience with the shotoh yet. I'd like one though! Yes, poly boards at not ad good as wood, but it's industry standard and I don't have a choice when out and about. At home, I use wood boards. It's not as bad as all that. Plastic might dull "german steel", but the artisan is like 5 points higher.as far as technique, it's more an issue of not hammering, cutting at exactly 90 degrees, not 85 degrees. Not scraping the blade. It's not a thing of "rocking" vs "slicing". The artisan will let you do both.
The more you use that knife the easier all cutting becomes. i have used mine for a year and have yet to try a knife that even comes close. holds an edge for a long time, BUT it is pricey. My edge can easily be maintained by just a few swipes on a ceramic steel and a few strop's. so its a big help when doing mass prep (8+ Hrs) of Veg/Meat No Bones/Fish etc. But if you do end up buying it you will not be disappointed.
Thanks for all of your fantastic videos. With a SG2 steel like this Miyabi what would you recommend the chopping block be made out of? Would something softer be better?
A wood block is better, but you don't need to worry too much with SG2. What you need to worry about is no scraping, cutting at exactly 90 degrees, not 85 degrees and no twisting.
Great video as usual, thanks for showing us how it cuts out of the box. For flattening 120 (shapton), 800 (king) and 1000 (king) grit stones, would you advise to get the atoma 140 or the 400?
I would use atoma 140 for the speed since your stones' grits aren't too high. You don't really have to worry about the 140 scratching your stones too hard. I think the atoma 400 is more suitable for #1000 stones upwards. But if you get the atoma 400, I will begin my sharpening with atoma 400 and skip the shapton 120 since diamond plates are crazily fast for any given steels in my past experience. However, atoma 140 is not so great for sharpening knives (at least for beginners)because it is too aggressive especially on softer steel. (Leaving a very very toothy edge and could sometimes chip your edge)
Currently tied up at work.... Cant wait to watch this video. I absolutely love this knife and surprisingly don't have one yet (silly I know). It was love at first sight, just gotta save up the $$$
I own this and a simple victorinox and the flatter profile really throws me off. They can both take a similar edge despite being on either end of the price spectrum. It's definitely the most beautiful commercially available knife however.
so you think a 54-56 Rockwell knife is similar to a 63 Rockwell? You think 19 degrees is the same a NINE degrees? You think chromium carbides are as hard as vanadium carbides? A cictorinox is a very reliable, cost effective knife, I have owned dozens of them. But that is like comparing Mc Donalds to Les Bernadin
Hi ! Loving the videos, thank you !! I wanted to ask you: how would you compare the Birchwood to the Black Series ? Does it worth the $200 extra ? Thank you !
thanks for your videos, quite informing, .....this on the video has 100 layers, the 5000 MCD series has 132 , yaxel super gou 161 layer,, of the three mentioned what is the best?
ALL are objective great knives. but NOT because of the layers. After 3 layers, it's only cosmetics. In the old day, and with a very few craftmen, having layers meant extra labor which meant that they were going to do extra care at the same time. Miyabi, Shun and Yaxell all do their own metallurgy, but most companies don't. Nowdays, the forge welded layers are machine PREmade in "production knives" and then simply attatched to the core. In many less expensive knives, the entire blank (core AND "Damascus" layers) are premade from a factory. NO labor involved. The knife in this video IS the MCD5000. It has 101 layers with SG2 core. The Gou is also 101 layers with SG2 core. The Super Gou is 161 with SG2 core. Miyabi Black Ash is ZDP189. But just because it has a "hard" steel or just because it has "more layers" does not mean it's the knife for your body and your cutting style. And also remember, that the harder, more acute the bevel, the more skill is required to use it.
I've taken old Japanese rusty knives that I got at a flea market and restored them to good working order making new handles an all. Some times it takes some welding and regrinding reshaping and sharing from scratch but they work great and cheap. I would love to try a fancy high dollar knife someday but for now my cheap stuff will have to do. I made a wonderful chopper up last year looks kool and works great.
and who knows what that "rusty old Japanese knife might be"? It might be aogami, it might be shirogami. Nothing wrong at all with an older Japanese knife! And OLD French knives are a thousand times better than new French knives. New French knives are horrible they SUCK. But old ones are usually pretty awesome! It's great that you have wisdom, and skill and great luck in finding bargains! But yes, like ryky said, don't give up on good new products. And avoid crummy products all together. Please let some of your luck rub off on me
It would be really cool to see some rock cutting along with the chop style cutting in the next showcase :) (just to show how the shape of the knife does with different styles. Your explanation was great, but i thought the visual would be cool)
Would love to see a cut demo with the Kramer knives (at least a comparison between the Carbon Steel and the Damascus Finish), The 2 camera angles are super helpful in seeing how the knife performs, and since the Kramer knives have such a unique design I'd love to see how it's like to use them.
"unique" means that it will not fit every person's body or cutting style. They are objectively great knives, BUT they are very very "different" to use. I sold mine within a week of owning it. As far as a comparison between the 52100 carbon and their "Damascus", the geometry is the same so cutting will be the same. What is different is the steel. The 52100 will not keep as sharp as long, but it is VERY simple to sharpen. The powdered metal will hold an edge incredibly long but it is very time consuming to sharpen.
Stan Bode the kramer damascus is also SG2, so virtually it's the same as this miyabi. Between those you can pick which you prefer. The carbon steel one has the keener edge due to smaller molecules and also is the one to retain better the edge, but then there's the maintenance...
For edge retention, the Miyabi. NO contest. The Kramer carbon is not as hard. It is only about as hard as VG10. The birchwood is about Rockwell 63. BUT it's not just about retention. There are many more considerations. The Kramer carbon is VERY VERY easy to sharpen. Which design fits your ergonomics best. Neither of those two is better than the other one is. One might be "better for you" (your style and your body ergonomics), but that doesn't mean it's inherently better. BOTH are "Heckels" conglomerate and BOTH are excellent. You can't go wrong with either, but they are meant for two completely different purposes and maybe endusers. the Kramer carbon is 52100 steel. Very nice. Takes a wicked sharp edge but henckels backs off the bevel angle which I think is wise. Remember, 52100 might be considered "chippy" by people who don't slice well. But it is much softer so you'll have to sharpen it often, but it is EASY to sharpen. 52100 takes a gorgeous patina if you care for it (and of course will riust and chip if you do not clean and dry it all the time). SG2 does NOT take a patina at all nor does the 420 very soft steel cladding of the miyabi. Remember Bob Kramer did NOT nake Kraner knives, He DESIGNED them and they use his name under license. Also, remember this is a Kramer profile so it is VERY VERY different to use. And it appeals to rockers. IF you are in the market for a Kramer carbon I HIGHLY recommend trying one at WS or Sur laTable and cutting up a few potatoes and onions. I would bring a few of your own in because they only give you one and that is not enough to feel the ergonomics. Also bring in one of your own SHARPENED knives to go head to head with. They purposely sharpen up the higher mark up knives a lot more than the other knives. They're not on "commission" but they are "incentivized". And if you aren't used to a real sharpened knife, when you go in to a store, most people are fooled by a sharp blade because what they're used to at home is usually a big difference. And don't bother asking any questions, they usually only know "talking points". The miyabi birchwood takes an even finer edge at a microscopic level because of the very fine carbides and the powdered steel metelurgy technology. And on the eye level it is at 9 degree bevel. I've had artisan series for many years and have never had a chipping issue despite the exceptionally high bevel, but I've purposely backed off my edges to probably about 11-12 degree (done by eye, not with a guide, but when I've checked it, it appears to be 11 degrees) Sg2 is much harder than 52100 but it's still fairly ductile. I think it's lesss "chippy" than 52100. The upside is that your edge retention will be around 5 times what the 52100 steel is. The downside is that it is harder to sharpen because in addition to being MUCH harder, it's also very, very resistant (but not as bad a hap40 or zdp189). It takes a bit of patience to sharpen sg2, it's almost a chore, whereas the 52100 is almost fun to sharpen.
agrees with Leonardo that the kramer damascus is SG2 so with steel, it is the same CORE as the miyabi in the video. (gave him a thumbs up) But as Leo noted, stan was talking about kramer CARBON. I'd far prefer a knife made of shirogami over 52100 is just sharpness was the only issue and at the microscopic level the carbides that can be generated with new metallurgy techniques can beat shirogami (at a much higher price, but the prices are starting to get better and the metals are consistently improving) I also think a lot of people are making false generalizations about "carbon blades". It stems from the days when stainless was so carppy. It no longer is. And it also stems from the day when carbon knives were mostly aogami, shirogami or 52100. they no longer are. Now tons of carp is being dumped on the public just because it's "carbon steel". The perfect example is knives coming out of china, pakistand and especially france. OLD French carbon steel used to be pretty good. I have several old sabatiers that I treasure. But have you tried french carbon steel over the last 20 years? Absolute shite! So while the Kramer carbon IS a highly regarded steel (52100), don't make the assumption that all "carbon blades" are good, or even decent or that the fabrication is any good either. And please people lets remember all the Zwilling Karmer knives are NOT MADE BY BOB KRAMER. It's a Kramer DESIGN that is made by Henckels. The Ken Onion designed knives aren't made by Ken Onion, either. They're licensing his name for a design. It's not like a Carter (excluding the muteki like) or an Anryu, Kurosaki, Doi, or a Kamo where the knife is handmade by a master. And of course, lets remember ergonomics and cutting style should be main considerations when choosing a blade also. Even though I like the blde to handle angle of the Kramer series knives, I can't hold the handles well and I hate cutting with them because I have mostly a Japanese cutting style. As great as the Kramer Carbon is, it slows me way down and is painful.
Yes, Harrison made a good point. Even though good carbon steel may provide a keener edge etc etc, the difference was huge when stainless steel was shit. Nowadays you can get excellent knives with stainless steel, so it's hard to say you really need a better edge than that, specially having to care a lot more for maintenance, which is not forgiving at all if you leave it wet, for example.
in absolute terms, the Miyabi probably does. I have only had it in my kitchen for 2 weeks, so will report on this in a few weeks. the Kramer carbon was in use now for 4 weeks, and edge was close to out of the box sharpness. how you use the knives, and cutting board will all play a role.
great, edge retention , slicer profile, super lightweight, japanese d-handle,= miyabi better rocker, western handle, good edge retention, pretty lightweight = masamoto both are great knives. miyabi is a bit more specialized.
It's quite a dangerous way to feed your dog. Store bought dog food, is often not the healthies, but at least contains the bare minimum nutrient level your dog needs to survive. When making it yourself (without proper knowledge) your dog will highly likely not get enough of the nutrients their body needs. Aside from that, dogs are carnivores and need to eat well balanced meal consisting of mainly uncooked meat with a small percentage of organs (very important), and bones. You can possibly add some fermented vegetables or berries. A shame, and quite odd, that it's become such a trend to make dog food yourself from ingredients we eat ourselves. Besides that, love your videos, I've learned a lot!
Thanks for the videos. Like them a lot. How long was the chef knife? Miyabi has both 20 cm and 24 cm. What do you prefer for length of chef knife. And what do your wife prefer?
I just got the miyabi artisan slicer from sur la tab today. handle feels great, i was a bit skeptical when i saw it online, so ive been wanting to hold it personally before buying it. were you trying describe a push cut?
Gr8 demo! I just subscribed and all of a sudden, found myself looking out for a stone to sharp my cheap knife set 😂 by the way that knife is just a work of art, never seen anything like that in stores to be honest.
shun classic is VG10. The Miyabi Birchwood is a SG2 just like the Shun Hiro or Shun Fuji. I'm not partial to shun classics, because the handles don't fit my body, but they are nice knives. A head to head of the Hiro or Fuji against the Birchwood would be a better comparison. Or a comparison between Miyabi Kaizen to Shun Classic. Or C&M's "Enso" knife is a great head to head against the Shun Classic. Shun Hiro/ Shun Fuji, Miyabi birchwood/ Miyabi Artisan/Mizu can take a finer edge and have MUCH longer edge retention than a Shun Classic/Miyabi Kaizen. Think keeping an edge for several months instead of two weeks. They are also less likely to chip because they're more ductile. I very much like "powdered metal" knives and am slowly switching out some of my VG10. Shun and Miyabi are not the only brands to consider SG2 is not the only steel to consider. Miyabi SG2 knives have a crazy out of the box sharpening that I don't recommend most users use. It's at NINE degrees. They seem to be having no real problems that I have heard of with that high a degree, but even I have tried to bak off the extreme degree on one the Miyabi Artisan Gyutos I have. I am slowly trying to take it down to about twelve degrees. I recently got a new Artisan from cutlery and more on Black Friday and it hasn't even been used yet, but I'll be backing that one off the extreme, too. The Artisan/Mizu have only 3 layers so they're not as pretty as the Birchwood. C&M has some killer deals going now,
Please compare any Yaxell dragon knives (BD1N) to the Miyabi Birchwood (SG2) to Kramer carbon and any one of your VG10 knives. Mostly interested in the BD1N knives because there aren’t many out there.
The Dragon is designed by a vary famous designer that likes knives with lots of belly that might be a very interesting comparison because the two designers often license their designs out. It is a stainless knife. If you compare to the Kramer, it might be more useful to compare to the Euroline collection. For SHAPE and geometry, Kramer vs "dragon" would make a great video. Remember, Kramer does NOT make the Zwilling Kramer knives, he designed them. His handmade knives are only for sale on the collector market. The other designer has a few knives floating around for sale, but very very few Even a short video wouldn't show the difference between BD1n and 52100. It would take a weeks or real use but it's pretty obvious the carbon knife would have to be sharpened after a week, but that it is very easy to sharpen. BD1N would take a few weeks of real use even in a professional kitchen and a few months of home use before it needed sharpening, but I have to tell you it takes a long time. It is not a fun steel to sharpen. A short video is not going to provide any info of one steel over the other, only a long term test. It would take a few weeks of professional level use to just to start to see a difference in the steels if BS1N vs SG2. BS1N and SG2 are treated to appx the same Rockwell scale by both mfgrs. BOTH are powdered steel metallurgy. I own the dragon, so I can talk about long term. I also own another brand BD1N knife by the same designer by marketed by a different company. I don't have the birchwood, but I have a handful of the Miyabi Artisan series which is also SG2, but not as pretty (only 3 layers). I'd say the edge retention on the SG2 is a little better. I for sure think the SG2 takes a better edge and is easier to sharpen. BY FAR. But the BD1N knives have taken quite a bit of abuse with no relative ill effect. It seems as bombproof as "german steel" I've been much more aggressive because I got a few of the other as samples so I wasn't worried about ruining one. BD1N is so bombproof, I have no fears about loaning one out, even to comis level cooks. I'm not about to loan out an SG2 knife unless I know the person is an expert. A few years back a "quick fix" chef (look it up) from Food Network forgot her knife and cutting board at a demo we were doing. I loaned her one of my BD1N knives and we cut steak right on a sanitized stainless steel prep table. No cutting board. I had to sharpen it afterwards, but I was not at all afraid of chips or of permanently ruining the knife. She had some issues with the belly, but she was floored that I didn't care if we cut on a stainless steel table.
Harrison Hamada wow so BD1N sounds awesome and durable with the trade off against sg2 to be slightly less edge retention and sharpness. Would you ever consider using a BD1N like the dragon fusion for chopping through bone and frozen food? I think the size, weight and profile of the fusion knife might be a decent cleaver. Btw, is the designer Ken Onion? His “sky” line uses BD1N and he even has the “fusion” knife in his “rain” line. I would buy them but I’m not a fan of the way he shaped his handles, they remind me more of a survival knife then a kitchen knife.
I would a cheap ginzu quality SEERRATED knife to cut through frozen food and coping saw to say through bone. You might consider whacking chicken or duck with a german steel meat cleaver or a Chinese steel meat cleaver but I'd never recommend anyone else do it. I use a bad azz Chinese meat cleaver to bang through chicken of duck bones sometimes, but it's really better to have your purveyor do it with a band saw. Better for the product, less chance of accident and better on your knives, even an old bad azz Chinese butcher cleaver like mine. And just because it doesn't deform under the abuse I put it through does no mean it has the physical heft ( (weight) to power through bone. I don't own a fusion, but I've used them, it is not heavy like what I'd call a cleaver. It will never power through bone, but it will turn hard squash into little chunks quickly. Think of it like a nakiri with a big belly bit not chippy like VG10. Can you imagine doing acorn squash or butterbut squash with G10? Or think if it like the awesome little "Dexter 5197" with a more pronounced belly but stainless and with very hard steel. But be careful the word "cleaver" is really all over the map. A Chinese CCK knife is NOT a cleaver even though people call it one. They make separate MEAT CLEAVERS which look similar but are made of softer steel and are heavier, and have the weight distributed differently. And even western companies like Messermeister, Wushof, Victorinox use the description for a SHAPE that looks vaguely rectangular. The Dalstrong german steel cleaver might or might not be a meat cleaver (I'm thinking of getting one just to play with) But the SHOGUN SERIES IS NOT A MEAT CLEAVER, it's more like a CCK. If some people are stupid enough to do that with the Shogun "cleaver" that is NOT dalstrongs fault when it chips and it WILL chip. I guarantee it. And as good as their customer service is, you will be announcing to every person that you're a moron if you try to use a shogun to hack meat. Warranties are for defects in material and workmanship, not customer stupidity. they'd probably still take care of you the first time, though. As far as the dragon's designer, hint hint. It's just that no one can say because of licensing issues. I personally own a few of the sky series from when they were made for chef works. I think now they don't have the chef works logo, but there may be a few old models floating around. that does NOT affect their quality. They are pretty awesome, they're laser cut so there is no artistry issue in comparison to the dragons. It's like someone took a ken onion designed cookie cutter to rolled steel. The shape of the Sky are a bit more 'organic" than a dragon. the dragon is pretty straight forward. I have a sky uitility, detail paring and a 8" chef, but the one I really wanted is the one they didn't give me. I am definitely going to buy a reverse paring but I already bought one knife this month and I've got to be realistic. Yes, I agree that the handles are a little different to hold. They are comfortable if you use a pinch grip, not so much if you use a tennis racket grip. Remember they were once marketed to chefs who are almost never going to use a racket grip. But you can probably find a killer deal on clearance. The Rain series uses another interesting steel. it isn't hardened as much, but it is also very chip resistant. I've used to have one, but I don't have one currently. I'd think of it like VG10, without having to worry about chipping. I think C&M has them both. When you buy it let them know that ryky tran from burrfection sent you
Hi Ryky! Thanks for another great video! What size is the knife in the video? It looks like it would be perfect for me, but I am not sure which size to pick.
Blah - maybe you shouldn't listen to everyone. I miss your commentary while cutting! But, having some usage footage right after unboxing is a great thing.
the mizu/artisan have the same core steel, but only have 3 layers (that's all you need anyways any more is just cosmetics). The Artisan/misu have more belly (but not too much) so they are slightly better rockers, but they have a good flat for push cutters.
That knife is beautiful! Out of my price range for sure... Agh, the pain of watching all these videos and wanting every knife. Do you know much about the Tamahagane San Tsubame? I saw a decently priced 8" Gyuto but saw very little written about it.
Most ingot steel is made by melting iron chunks or powder in a modern furnace, adding in the different alloy ingredients in a scientific way. It's then poured into molds or rolled into sheets Tamahagane IS a good company. But tamahagane is a type of steel that is made the old fashioned way by melting iron sands in hand billowed temporary clay furnace made for one time use. It takes like 3 days to make enough for a couple of knives. A real live person who is a master and maybe an apprentice stay awake and watch the process the entire time. The resulting metal flows to the bottom. It has quite a few impurities. It looks like an ugly meteorite with lots of nooks and crannies. It's then HAND hammered. The physical action of hammering is what removes the impurities and what you get at the end is about like white #2 steel. But the expertise and the sheer amount of labor make it very very expensive. Because of the sheer amount of labor involved there are only a few hundred knives made with this steel. Because the raw steel is so expensive, only the most skilled of masters is going to work with it. A tamahagane forge is not going to give their steel to a lesser artist, no matter what the price. SO You have the rarest steel, paired with the best artists, which means the rarest most expensive knives. So when a chef or a knife nut says they have a tamahagane PROCESS knife (small T), we're all crazy over it. But Tamahagane, the knife company (capital T) IS a great company and I would highly recommend them. I do not own one currently, but in the past I've owned one from the series called "san" (not the series that you have, but I know the company is really really good quality). The one I had didn't have VG10. I'm not sure what yours is but mine wasn't. I WOULD consider owning one again (but I'm mostly into powdered metals for my stainless and super aogami for my carbon now.)
I just notice my miyabi 5000 sg2 has different bevel in the two sides. I'm a right hand, if you grab the miyabi you see the right side bevel like wider than the left bevel. Did you see that diference?
Didn't know Miyabi's were so expensive....$700+ for a single knife??? :) Waaaaaay BEYOND my needs/knife skill ability to have any reason to be in my collection. :) Overkill fo me. At most I might consider the Artisan. For me to notice the "Birchwood SG2" with more layers of folded cladding...the benefits I'm not sure...if but for bragging rights? Something to say amongst JP kitchen knife enthusiasts? "My Gyutoh has 101 layers!!"...even the 63 or so layered Artisan non-Birchwood model...might be a tiny stretch for my use. HEH!! Also has the SG2 core...if THAT even matters in use...does it?? Please do a video talking about the different steels used in JP kitchen knives and why some one (clearly very experienced (Pro) would want one with "blue steel" , "white steel"...SG2...etc. I highly doubt they would be able to feel the difference in use "blindfolded" :)
Hi, there is a zdp-189(mc66) version of this knife. I am a newbie in sharpening. Are zdp-189 knives worth to buy compared to sg2? Are these knives really hard to be sharpened? Some people claim that they would rather buy a ceramic knife as zdp-189 is hard to be sharpened and could be easily rusted. What is your opinion? Thanks!
this knife only comes in SG2. the "black ash" comes in ZDP 189. ZDP189 will hold an edge longer, but they are MUCH MUCH harder to sharpen. And you'd better be very skilled because you're likely to change your angle over the MANY passes you have to make using ZDP189. Cermaic knives are great IF you have a good maker. KYOCERA. Do NOT buy off brand ceramic knives. A home sharpener can NOT sharpen ceramic (but kyocer offeres free liketime sharpening) Ceramic knives are even more brittle than ZDP189 is. You cannot use ceramic in a "working kitchen". You CAN use HAP40, s35vn, SG2 or ZDP189. Just having a hard steel does NOT mean it is a "better steel", and even more so, does NOT mean it's a better knife. AND having a "better" knife does NOT mean an inexperienced cook can catch up to a more experienced cook. Quite the opposite. the better the knife the MORE skill is needed to use it without chipping it. An inexperienced cook should be using "german steel" or if a "pretty good cook", maybe AUS8, AUS10 or VG10.
Burrfection......where are your Big Knives? Where is your friend in Japan's big knives website..................? Did I missed your show? I want those big Giyato knives............
a small handmade artisan is probably not going to send sample knives to a vblogger. Some of us might own one. Perhaps the community will chime in if they have one. There are hundreds of knifemakers do you expect ryky to buy every one? And there are other zdp 189 knives that are probably better and there are hundreds of models of hap40, sg2, aogami and shirogami that are as good or better. And I'd personally steer clear of any knife maker that sells off alibaba
The best dog food is RAW MEAT. You should research raw feeding. There are 2 groups on Facebook you might very helpful: The Raw Feeding Community and Raw Feeding 101. Check them out - a lot of good info. My pit bull's been on raw for 3 years now. Healthy and happy. Cheers. (Carbs are not natural for a dog. And while the dog can eat them they are not healthy. Vegetables are good. Forego the oatmeal).
Ryky don't know if you've seen the Knifewear documentary on Japanese blacksmiths, but if you haven't I think you will love it. It goes into the history, traditions and the desire to pass on the craft to the next generation. Pretty cool stuff. ruclips.net/video/iFedUlHx558/видео.html
can you please sharpen this knife the Miyabi Birchwood 8-inch SG2 gyuto I bought this knife as a treat for my self and it's so beautiful and i am scared that i scratch it while sharpening so please make a video on sharpening it man please man please !!!!!!
Hey guys. I just bought this knife as a present for my dad. I heard it was a good Damascus. Now after discovering this channel, I saw the Kramer Damascus. Im thinking of bringing this one back as he said hes always wanted a Kramer. How do they compare? In terms of maintenance/ use? I have to decide before christmas haha.
Yeah I watched that vid. Im looking for a comparison between the Miyabi birchwood, and the Kramer Damascus. I know from your vid it honestly sounds like damascus is not all its chalked up to be an carbon steel is the better option, but my dad is one vayne man haha. He just likes the patterns on damascus.
the damascus will perform JUST FINE. it's only when goofs like me "compare" SIDE BY SIDE two great knives, that we have something "bad" to say about one. haha. like i said in the video, if you were to use it by itself. you would NEVER come up with the conclusions i did. it's a great knife, and certainly a beautiful one. your dad would love it. huge sale at C&M bit.ly/KramerCutlery, or if you are primer amzn.to/2yJRcUb
In canada. they dont ship here unfortunately, but not to worry my local shop has them. Thanks for the advice. Ill swap it. Hes a bit of a caveman, so i think the bigger handle on the Kramer will suit him better. thanks for the advice!
BOTH are great steels, but I gotta tell you, you don't want to have to spend time sharpening a ZDP189 knife. SG2 is pretty easy, almost as easy as VG10 but much less chippy. It's also more reasonably priced. A agree with ryky, for most users a zdp189 knife is like owning a Ferrari to go to the grocery store. For people who are working professionals, ZDP189 has some benefits and as said, have some detriments. There are also other steels in between in hardness, ductility and price. Ryky posted about his HAP40 knife which is an absolute bargain! And it's easier to sharpen than ZDP189 and there are many many other steels and many other makers, too!
kevin tang i have both miyabi birchwood and kotetsu gyutos. r2 and sg2 are the same steel. i would recommend kotetsu over the birchwood hands down. the kotetsu is a thin laser like knife. it has more of a flatter profile. shibata is also master sharpener and the kotetsu is screaming sharp ootb. he is the owner of the masakage lines.
kevin tang both a knife nut and a chef. but most of all, a food junkie. lol. i use naniwa pro which was chosera before i believe. 400, 1k, and 5k progression. it has better feedback. although i use shapton glass too as it is a faster cutter. it is a harder stone so the feedback is lacking in comparison to the naniwa pro or chosera. at least for me that is. take my words with a grain of salt as i am far from being an expert. 😅
Jessie Kimura lol i am a knife lover too, i just finished my culinary studies now entering the market. I learned a lot from ryky's channel about sharpening and good knives. I think my next knife will be a shibata, looks and feels so nice, had the chance to grab one from a chef from dubai. But quite expensive, worth the price?
kevin tang in my opinion, it is worth it. comparing the birchwood price of $279 vs the kotetsu price of $270 (both 210mm), it is a no brainer. don't get me wrong, the birchwood is a nice knife but if you will be working in a pro environment, i think you will be better off with the kotetsu. if you are a carbon lover and is on a budget, japanese knife import has ikazuchi knife. for $200 you get a 240mm gyuto and it is an aogami super with stainless cladding. you get the best of both worlds. no need to be too paranoid that you left your knife sitting for way too long without cleaning it. this helps a lot when you are busy in the line or prepping. mind you, it still needs attention but not so much as a full carbon requires. congrats by the way in finishing your culinary studies.
Don't wanna be a hater, but these celery pieces aren't separated from one another. Pretty annoying in my view when you're cooking. Is it the blade profile or the technique ?
tomato tests are useless. It only tests the relative sharpness at the time and even a halfway decent sharpener can even make a "Crapco" knife pass a tomato test. It can also be easily manipulated because two tomatoes may not have the same skin thickness or ripeness (even if they tried to be the same) And most of the youtube videos purposely try to say a knife that is known to be mediocre Chinese knife is a good value. Or crappy is as good as a knife that is known to be decent or better so you should save your money and buy the mediocre knife instead of the good knife. You could also put a super wicked blade angle on one knife and a normal blade bevel on the other. OR you would purposely use a sharpening with alot of "tooth". A good 600 stone sharpening might even beat a 5000 stone sharpening on a tomato. A tomato test does not test ergonomics. it doesn't test blade retention, it doesn't test sharpenability. it doesn't test the designers intent, the manufacturers skill or experience. A crappy (but very pretty) pakistani knife might look good on a tomato test
As always with finer things: you could buy 2-3 good ones for a price of the really great ONE, The choice is yours, folks. It's definitely is not a poor person's knife, but I want a set of these badly! Thumbs up!
SO much different end users in mind. Like comparing a ford 250 truck vs a chevy corvette. BOTH are each great at what they were designed to do, but each has different end users. A comparison of pulling strength and vertical clearance is going to make the corvette look bad. A comparison of raw speed or lateral g pad is going to make the ford look bad. How would that comparison be useful? A miyabi and Kramer are each great, made by the same company, but they are meant for different end users.
That's why it makes a great comparison. You can articulate the pros and cons of each design philosophy and inform viewers on how different knives can be used differently through a battery of tests. It's all for fun :)
anymore give aways to chefs or ppl in the industry? seems as tho i always miss them lol. also is this open to all ppl no matter where they live, such as canada?
How did you find it after sharpening? I've reground mine at 11 degrees and it is noticeably sharper and wedges way less on tough vegetables. Re the profile, yeah it is a push cutter (which I like), not a rocker (which I don't like)!
There is vague documentation that *suggests* this. Several reviewers have commented that they think the usual OOB edge is *not* 9 degrees (more like 15-18). That is my experience also. An 11 degree grind on good stones (6000-8000 grit) is sharper than factory on *both* my Miyabi knives.
there ARE companies that inflate the out of box sharpness for marketing purposes. (one company that we see a LOT on this channel included). But Henckels has an incredible QA process. they measure the angle on EVERY knife they sell with a LASER. The miyabi's are HAND sharpened but they still have to make it past the laser to proceed to the next step. It also goes past a laser at the last step before boxing. While it IS possible that one of their workers made a mistake, it wouldn't make it past the lasers and would be sent back around. They also have the money to be able to afford to archive a test knife of every production run. they even have the money to do DESTRUCTIVE testing on every production run. IF a knife run is bad, they would know before it even left the factory.In my younger days I used to have a VERY close relationship with Henckels . I KNOW them well. if you said that about another company, I might believe it, but not about Miyabi. I like them so much, I even buy their knives from retail companies since I retired and I don't get nice little gifts from them (and most other companies) any more. I call BULL on the reviewers who claim it's 15-18 on their SG2 knives. I DO believe the lower end miyabis have 11-13 degree bevels. VG10 is not wise to sharpen at nine degree, it is WAY to chippy, so if they put it at 11, that is still pushing it past what is safe. It's wise to back it off. They also used to sell a morimoto made of "german steel". That's not wise to ramp up to nine degrees either for the opposite reason, the edge would roll over almost immediately. I had that entire line when it first came out. I never tested the edge bevel and I never asked because it was free. I think they felt like about 15 degrees but it's been more than a dozen years now. I've gon on record in this room numerous times that out of box edges for end users are TOO extreme for the customers good. I've backed pretty much all my SG2 to about 11-12 degrees and I guarantee, even if it were the higher number and even with a touch of artritis, I am less likely to chip a blade than anyon except a handful of people that will read this. I am also on record as saying VG10 should be on the upper end of 13-15 for even an advanced gourmet level home cook. I don't even think 90% of most Americans should even own VG10 because of it's delicate nature. That huge box of knives ryky is refurbishing is because if USER error. NOT because of any defect in manufacturing. I DO believe that your hand sharpening gives you a different feel than an out of the box sharpness, no matter what the bevel degree is. People mistake "tooth" for sharpness. People also mistake japense expression of specs with the way an American or a europen company or a communist company expresses spec. A good example is a home stereo amplifier. A Japanese company will always give BETTER than specs allow. Onkyo for instance sells amplifiers that have 2db "headroom" above the spec they advertise. Yamaha used to have 1.8db headroom. That means when they sold what they call a "100 watt amp", is far better. A 3 db electrical is adoubling of electric power. An GOOD American company might place the rating at a true "half power point. (20 log10 over 1sq2 vs 10 log 10 over 1sq2). And a communist company might sat 100 and it be 100 at the 3db upper tolerance IF you're lucky. Again taking an audio amplifier for an example. A company also tries to purposely misinform as to the difference between the electrical value of a watt vs the mechanical value of a watt. 3db means a doubling of electrical power vs 10 db means a difference of SPL. Back tracking to knives, the primary bevel and portions of a convex curvature of a knife are often mistaken by people who don't know knives. Especially when they talk about wedging. Another thing people mistake is out of box sharpness means NOTHING. When you buy some exceptionally high end knives they are (relatively) dull out of the box. It has nothing to do with the quality of the knife. The fact that miyabi claims nine degrees does not mean that miyabi is better than a yaxell, mcuesta, misono, or other top notch production knives. Super high end Japanese knives don't come super sharp out of the box because they assume the end user will sharpen it to their liking and they don't want to over do the primary bevel for the end users preference because as you and I both agree, it takes time and effort to back it OFF the acute edge. Also beware, there are a TON of Chinese counterfeits of Miyabi knives (and shun and global, etc). Do NOT buy one from an unlicensed retailer. Buy only from a LICENSED AUTHORIZED RETAILER. Even be careful off places like Amazon. if you buy from them make sure it is SOLD BY AMAZON, not a 3rd party using their infrastructure unless that retailer is a company like cutlery and more, sur la table, Williams Sonoma which use amazon as a secondary retail channel. ALWAYS check the "sold by" part of the page when buying on Amazon. Again I 100% DO believe that your perception of sharpness is better with a hand polishing. But again I call BULL on a reviewer that claims a miyabi SG2 is at 15-18 degrees. They either don't know what the hell they're taking about or they got a counterfeit. Miyabi did NOT make a mistake. And the reviewer didn't get the one that "accidentally make it past QA". It's literally impossible.
I note that the Miyabi official website specially does *not* mention the grind angle. This suggests that folk are relying on word of mouth testimony from product reps...not the most credible source. I do not recall the knife packaging mentioning said angle either...which to me casts doubt on the validity of your well worded reply above. And re toothiness, yeah I'm well aware of that effect...but sharpening on 8000 grit Naniwa tends to *reduce* toothiness over OOB grinds in my experience (e.g I have some Aogami Blue Super Harukazi carbons that clearly exhibit *less* toothiness after I've sharpened them...but are overall sharper than their factory grinds - just, these guys came real sharp)
Quick reply to add some verification. I see a comment from Henkels support re grind angles here: www.zwillingonline.com/34373203.html . Essentially they are saying a careful hand sharpening at angles between 9.5 and 12 degrees. I can certainly believe that...as it was pretty sharp OOB.
Nice movie. But for me you can say anything during this 30 minutes, for ex. "its cuting good/bad, i ve problems with.." or just anything else. But ist my oppinion. I ve got some Miyabi Knives, (f.e. 5000 MCD 16 cm chutoh) and i like it very much. It will be nice to see some test with Miyabi, Dallstrong, Wusthof or Tojiro. But maybe someday you will interest with knive from little manufactory (Yoshimitzu, Kohetsu or others) and compare it with knives that you have got now? After all - nice video. (P. S. sorry for my badly english) EDIT: Sorry, i have got find todey your movie with Gihei Hap40...
there is no comparison between dalstrong and miyabi or tojiro and comparison to wusthof is pointless unless you're comparing to the gladiator series. Ryky has posted some videos from a few small knifemakers such as Gehei. Kohetsu is NOT a knifemaker. it is the house brand of CKTG. They ARE terrific values. A small company is not going to give out sample knives. So, are you going to chip in and contribute to help buy knives from small companies or do you expect ryky to shell out his money? It's also pointless to compare handmade knives to production knives. A handmade knife varies in length, width, height from knife to knife. Even within the same "series" by the same exact bladesmith, one might be spectacular and one might be mediocre. And remember, a line like Kohetsu might be made by a dozen or more smiths, not just one. A production knife like wusthof, miyabi, shun, yaxell or tojiro will almost be identical to another within a make and model. I happen to think VERY highly of CKTG the company that sells Kohetsu. I've made a half dozen or more purchases from them. Everything you buy from them will objectively be a very good to great knife. They do a SUPERB job of curating their companies and subcontractors. I HIGHLY recommend them as a retailer. Anything you purchase from them will be at a VERY good price to performance ratio. I've owned a few Kohetsu. And several other of ryky's followers probably have to. If you have a specific question feel free to ask. But you have to be realistic, OR you help to help chip in to buy knives.
You have got right all around yours post. Ryky is doing a great job. That was never was my intension to "shell Ryky out of his money". Maybe i just forgot to write "if thats possible". Sorry for that misunderstood and for my badly english.
sorry if I came on too strong. I think all of us would love to have ryky test one of the knives we were interested in before we bought to prevent buyers regret. I'm sorry it wasn't even you I meant to lash out against. If you read these forums, we see a lot of people that also just list a small handmade knife that is expensive just because they want to sound like they know about knives. And you have to admit we DO see a lot of people asking for ryky to get things also even they have no intention of buying. I know you're in the former category and not the latter because you asked for a very high value for the dollar brand, not just an "emperors new clothes" brand. I had just got done replying to one of those people and I took it out on you. SORRY. COMPLETELY MY FAULT. I APPOLOGIZE. I took the a post by the guy before you and took it out on you. But it IS kinda pointless to compare a Chinese knife to an upper end semi handmade knife made by a Japanese company, and made of better steel. And has far as the Kohetsu. It WILL vary from knife to knife, but Mark does a GREAT job of curating before he buys what he sells. You're completely safe. Anything you buy from them will be an excellent value for the dollar, it will be "as described" and they will all be within a narrow range of variance, but they WILL vary. You're also safe because IF an item is not up to par, he will either return it to the maker before it is sold to the customer, OR he will sell it at in the "closeout" section with a discount and he will list any defect. He has pretty liberal customer service and will fix things if it's wrong on their end but like ALL companies, once you use it, they can't resell it unless they sell it as "used". Happy New year, and I apologize (but I don't apologize to the guy before you that caused me to over react to you) LOL
lerax2010 well yeah I have one, but the fit and finished needed work (which wasn’t hard to do) I prefer using my Yoshihiro gyuoto over it... most people can get their needs covered by the 40 dollar victornox chef knife.... doesn’t mean I’ll get one because I can purchase one that is more for collecting as well as using
This channel has literally saved me probably thousands of dollars in knives I thought I wanted. I almost bought this until he explained how to use it, which isn't how I would use it. Thanks, pal. I appreciate you and this channel.
Right on
If they ask me tomorrow what I did last night, I’m going to be hard-pressed to admit I spent my evening watching someone make their dog food, and enjoyed it!!
Love the knife and enjoy your videos!!!
Some points:
Apples are good, only raw
Parsley is amazing, only raw
Celery is ok, especially raw as a snack
Same with Carrots but they are good filler. Dogs cannot convert beta carotene to vitamin A
Cabbage is useless, not easy to digest
Starchy roots are no good, only sweet potato in very small amounts
Oatmeal is counterproductive and will overload the Pancreas over time. It also contains a lot of Phytic Acid if not soaked over night.
This is my field.
Last remark. Add at least 10% liver and maybe 10% tripe.
Cheers!
Great Tips.
More of your reviews need to be like this. Most people review knifes and they cut paper and shave but I wanna see it in real use. Does food stick to it? Does it put a good chop without leaving whatever it is attached by a skin (although that might be technique) etc. I can make any knife shave and cut paper but you can hear and see how well a knife cuts food
Nice video. I'm still learning knives and this is my go to channel. Thanks for sharing!
right on. always good to hear from you.
You can tell he's like a little kid again with this knife just so excited and happy you know this knife is amazing
got to stay young at heart
I love mine. I sharpened it two years ago and just strop it to keep it sharp. Always cut on a wood board. No plastic or glass and she will maintain edge for years.
I don’t know why people don’t like you to talk during tests like this, I prefer you talk to us because it keeps us entertained because it helps keeps me and others I’m sure from becoming bored with the monotony of someone chopping up food.
Ohhh my godness.
I agree with you but Victorinox's knive Edge retention its very very poor if you compare with Miyabi.
If you work in a professional kitchen 10-11 hours per day, cutting hard vegetales like carrots, onions... In 3-4 days, your Victorinox knive dont CUT anything and you have to sharpen It, 2 times in a week.
Its steel its normal and not forged. Miyabi its expensive for all. Handmaking process, the Core is 63-64 HRC and SG2 microcarbide and cooled at -193 °C.
You can CUT hard things like butter without any efford for your hand during 2-3 months without any resharpened.
One knive its ok for learning and the another one its in TOP 5 for the kitchen.
The diference its amazing
yup. in a working kitchen, we'd need to sharpen every other day on stones and hone on a rod a dozen or more times a day.
I think a home cook would need to hone could get a month out of it before it needs stones.
It cracks me up when people say they've never sharpened their victorinox or they only sharpen once a year!
I actually think the BEST part of the victorinox is that they are so soft. they make a good "beater" knife because they bend, not chip. But those people who say the edge lasts a long time obviously do NOT know what "sharp" is!
Yes, the difference is amazing!
it is NOT a bad knife, but it does NOT deserve the hype and there are FAR better choices at the same price point, or LESS
I use victorinox knifes, doing 4-5 hour prep every day, and it looses the sharpness very fast in few days, i need to sharpen them every 10-14 days. I just ordered the miyabi, hopefully it will last way longer. Im hopeing for 1 month atleast.
The knife isn't meant to be rocked, it is more of a push cut, and a shorter blade is better for that because you don't have to lift it as high. When you use the knife for hours a day, you get rid of taller knives because of fatigue.
i am fully aware of that. i was only doing that to show people who are new to gyutos, that they are not the same as a western chef knife. thanks for the comment.
I need you to talk to me about the knife as your using it. I know some people are here for the ASMR experience but I enjoy your insight during the cutting process.
One of the things I've found since I've bought quality knives is that I tend to cook more and I find that I enjoy the prep as well.
Hello, I use the Miyabi Birchwood knives daily and I have to say they are worth every penny. One thing though my friend, do me and yourself a favor! please get a bench scraper. if you slip you will be going to the hospital.I cringe every time you clean your board. good job
YESSSS been waiting for this one. I played with one in store and have been eyeing it ever since.
save up! Christmas is around the corner.
I agree, this is a very beautiful knife.
But I like the forged ones out of carbon-steel much more :-P
i hear you .
love that SG2 steel which supports the 9 degree edge. I think a company would be crazy to do 9 degrees with any other steel, and even I've backed off my miyabi artisans to about 11 degrees.
GORGEOUS birchwood handle. Gorgeous suminagashi blade (my artisan series does not have the beautiful patterning)
Thanks ryky for another great video!!!!! And thanks for teaching people about push cutting and rocking as opposed to just hammering a blade. Thanks for discussing ergonomics for each individual person instead of "one fits all". That's why working cooks choose more than one blade for a specific task, a specific product, and especially the style and ergonomics of the end user.
great feedback, and thank you, for the input. just doing my best, and will be the last to saying i know too much about anything, and always learning as i go and always learning from my viewers, such as yourself.
Harrison Hamada I am thinking about buying a miyabi artisan gyoto and would like to hear your thoughts on its edge retention, slicing vs rocking, cutting board choice, (especially plastic cutting board use with knives like this), etc.
I'm semi retired now, but often bring my knife to working kitchens. That means Poly "boards". Because of that, I'm walking back my nine degree out of the box edge to about 12 degree where I have my first artisan
(I've had my artisan for 6-7 years. I like it SO much that I got another on black Friday.)
My personal style is usually more push slicing, but the Artisan has a definite curve to it. You can rock with it very well, but it also is just fine for a push cutter like me. And especially when I want to rock, this is the one I most often grab.
Edge retention is spectacular. It is exceptionally hard. And you can feel a bit of "stiffness" when you cut, so it does take a little getting used to. Part of that reason is the hardness and part is because it is a razors edge because of the nine degrees. BTW it is also somewhat immune to abrasion, so it is not easy to sharpen, but it is not too bad. Just a few more minutes. Ryky can give you far better info about sharpening than I can, but I can give a cooks perspective.
I have never had a chip issue with it, but there again, I never had an issue with VG10, either. And yes, SG2 is LESS "chippy" than VG10. You DO need to exercise pretty good technique, but not as much as with VG10. But I'm still getting it back to 11-12 degrees where I feel more comfortable.
Yes, I HIGHLY prefer wood boards, but I use the artisan on poly all the time.
Remember there is no "best" knife, only "best for you". But objectively, this is a superb knife and subjectively, it's one of my favorites.
BTW the Mizu is the same EXACT blade, just with the same handle type that is on a Kaizen.
This is the same steel as the Birchwood, but it is only clad with one on each side so it isn't as "pretty"
Harrison Hamada thank you for the reply, I heard somewhere that using Japanese knives on plastic cutting boards dulls the edge more because they can easily cut into the board, but again I guess that is just cutting technique (or rather bad cutting techique?). Do you have any experience with the artisan 13cm shotoh by any chance? All the reviews say that artisan has the most comfortable handles hence my interest in them.
I personally love the Artisan handle.
No I don't have any experience with the shotoh yet. I'd like one though!
Yes, poly boards at not ad good as wood, but it's industry standard and I don't have a choice when out and about. At home, I use wood boards. It's not as bad as all that. Plastic might dull "german steel", but the artisan is like 5 points higher.as far as technique, it's more an issue of not hammering, cutting at exactly 90 degrees, not 85 degrees. Not scraping the blade. It's not a thing of "rocking" vs "slicing". The artisan will let you do both.
The knife used in the video was the 8 or 9.5 gyuto? Thank you
Did u figure it out
this is the one knife ive been dying to get. Thanks for doing this video!
The more you use that knife the easier all cutting becomes. i have used mine for a year and have yet to try a knife that even comes close. holds an edge for a long time, BUT it is pricey.
My edge can easily be maintained by just a few swipes on a ceramic steel and a few strop's. so its a big help when doing mass prep (8+ Hrs) of Veg/Meat No Bones/Fish etc.
But if you do end up buying it you will not be disappointed.
My favorite ASMR channel.
Thanks a lot for showing this in high definition
Thanks for all of your fantastic videos. With a SG2 steel like this Miyabi what would you recommend the chopping block be made out of? Would something softer be better?
A wood block is better, but you don't need to worry too much with SG2. What you need to worry about is no scraping, cutting at exactly 90 degrees, not 85 degrees and no twisting.
Great video as usual, thanks for showing us how it cuts out of the box.
For flattening 120 (shapton), 800 (king) and 1000 (king) grit stones, would you advise to get the atoma 140 or the 400?
I would use atoma 140 for the speed since your stones' grits aren't too high. You don't really have to worry about the 140 scratching your stones too hard.
I think the atoma 400 is more suitable for #1000 stones upwards.
But if you get the atoma 400, I will begin my sharpening with atoma 400 and skip the shapton 120 since diamond plates are crazily fast for any given steels in my past experience.
However, atoma 140 is not so great for sharpening knives (at least for beginners)because it is too aggressive especially on softer steel. (Leaving a very very toothy edge and could sometimes chip your edge)
Currently tied up at work.... Cant wait to watch this video. I absolutely love this knife and surprisingly don't have one yet (silly I know). It was love at first sight, just gotta save up the $$$
I own this and a simple victorinox and the flatter profile really throws me off. They can both take a similar edge despite being on either end of the price spectrum. It's definitely the most beautiful commercially available knife however.
so you think a 54-56 Rockwell knife is similar to a 63 Rockwell? You think 19 degrees is the same a NINE degrees? You think chromium carbides are as hard as vanadium carbides?
A cictorinox is a very reliable, cost effective knife, I have owned dozens of them. But that is like comparing Mc Donalds to Les Bernadin
Hi ! Loving the videos, thank you !! I wanted to ask you: how would you compare the Birchwood to the Black Series ? Does it worth the $200 extra ? Thank you !
thanks for your videos, quite informing, .....this on the video has 100 layers, the 5000 MCD series has 132 , yaxel super gou 161 layer,, of the three mentioned what is the best?
ALL are objective great knives. but NOT because of the layers.
After 3 layers, it's only cosmetics. In the old day, and with a very few craftmen, having layers meant extra labor which meant that they were going to do extra care at the same time. Miyabi, Shun and Yaxell all do their own metallurgy, but most companies don't.
Nowdays, the forge welded layers are machine PREmade in "production knives" and then simply attatched to the core. In many less expensive knives, the entire blank (core AND "Damascus" layers) are premade from a factory. NO labor involved.
The knife in this video IS the MCD5000. It has 101 layers with SG2 core. The Gou is also 101 layers with SG2 core. The Super Gou is 161 with SG2 core. Miyabi Black Ash is ZDP189.
But just because it has a "hard" steel or just because it has "more layers" does not mean it's the knife for your body and your cutting style. And also remember, that the harder, more acute the bevel, the more skill is required to use it.
i always want to buy birchwood miyabi wowwwww specialy the sujiki miyabi birchwood woowww
Love that wood. And the gyuto profile. Onions and tomatoes would have been more interesting. Maybe some meats, poultry and fish?
i cut what needs to be prepped and ready. if i fine a day when i have those ingredients and i have time to shoot, i'll do those ingredients.
I have enough expensive hobbies that squeeze my wallet. But my oh my.. that knife... what a beauty
it's just ONE extra knife. pick one up and treat yourself.
when can I come over for a dog food meal
I've taken old Japanese rusty knives that I got at a flea market and restored them to good working order making new handles an all. Some times it takes some welding and regrinding reshaping and sharing from scratch but they work great and cheap. I would love to try a fancy high dollar knife someday but for now my cheap stuff will have to do. I made a wonderful chopper up last year looks kool and works great.
keep doing what you are doing, and save up for the right knife.
and who knows what that "rusty old Japanese knife might be"? It might be aogami, it might be shirogami. Nothing wrong at all with an older Japanese knife! And OLD French knives are a thousand times better than new French knives. New French knives are horrible they SUCK. But old ones are usually pretty awesome!
It's great that you have wisdom, and skill and great luck in finding bargains!
But yes, like ryky said, don't give up on good new products. And avoid crummy products all together.
Please let some of your luck rub off on me
It would be really cool to see some rock cutting along with the chop style cutting in the next showcase :) (just to show how the shape of the knife does with different styles. Your explanation was great, but i thought the visual would be cool)
i will do it with two different style knives to illustrate it better.
Would love to see a cut demo with the Kramer knives (at least a comparison between the Carbon Steel and the Damascus Finish), The 2 camera angles are super helpful in seeing how the knife performs, and since the Kramer knives have such a unique design I'd love to see how it's like to use them.
will have Kramer knives soon
"unique" means that it will not fit every person's body or cutting style. They are objectively great knives, BUT they are very very "different" to use. I sold mine within a week of owning it.
As far as a comparison between the 52100 carbon and their "Damascus", the geometry is the same so cutting will be the same. What is different is the steel. The 52100 will not keep as sharp as long, but it is VERY simple to sharpen. The powdered metal will hold an edge incredibly long but it is very time consuming to sharpen.
Great to see another one of your videos up! For edge retention would you recommend the Kramer carbon or this Miyabi SG2?
Stan Bode the kramer damascus is also SG2, so virtually it's the same as this miyabi. Between those you can pick which you prefer.
The carbon steel one has the keener edge due to smaller molecules and also is the one to retain better the edge, but then there's the maintenance...
For edge retention, the Miyabi. NO contest. The Kramer carbon is not as hard. It is only about as hard as VG10. The birchwood is about Rockwell 63.
BUT it's not just about retention. There are many more considerations. The Kramer carbon is VERY VERY easy to sharpen. Which design fits your ergonomics best. Neither of those two is better than the other one is. One might be "better for you" (your style and your body ergonomics), but that doesn't mean it's inherently better.
BOTH are "Heckels" conglomerate and BOTH are excellent. You can't go wrong with either, but they are meant for two completely different purposes and maybe endusers.
the Kramer carbon is 52100 steel. Very nice. Takes a wicked sharp edge but henckels backs off the bevel angle which I think is wise. Remember, 52100 might be considered "chippy" by people who don't slice well. But it is much softer so you'll have to sharpen it often, but it is EASY to sharpen. 52100 takes a gorgeous patina if you care for it (and of course will riust and chip if you do not clean and dry it all the time). SG2 does NOT take a patina at all nor does the 420 very soft steel cladding of the miyabi. Remember Bob Kramer did NOT nake Kraner knives, He DESIGNED them and they use his name under license.
Also, remember this is a Kramer profile so it is VERY VERY different to use. And it appeals to rockers. IF you are in the market for a Kramer carbon I HIGHLY recommend trying one at WS or Sur laTable and cutting up a few potatoes and onions. I would bring a few of your own in because they only give you one and that is not enough to feel the ergonomics. Also bring in one of your own SHARPENED knives to go head to head with. They purposely sharpen up the higher mark up knives a lot more than the other knives. They're not on "commission" but they are "incentivized". And if you aren't used to a real sharpened knife, when you go in to a store, most people are fooled by a sharp blade because what they're used to at home is usually a big difference. And don't bother asking any questions, they usually only know "talking points".
The miyabi birchwood takes an even finer edge at a microscopic level because of the very fine carbides and the powdered steel metelurgy technology. And on the eye level it is at 9 degree bevel. I've had artisan series for many years and have never had a chipping issue despite the exceptionally high bevel, but I've purposely backed off my edges to probably about 11-12 degree (done by eye, not with a guide, but when I've checked it, it appears to be 11 degrees) Sg2 is much harder than 52100 but it's still fairly ductile. I think it's lesss "chippy" than 52100. The upside is that your edge retention will be around 5 times what the 52100 steel is.
The downside is that it is harder to sharpen because in addition to being MUCH harder, it's also very, very resistant (but not as bad a hap40 or zdp189). It takes a bit of patience to sharpen sg2, it's almost a chore, whereas the 52100 is almost fun to sharpen.
agrees with Leonardo that the kramer damascus is SG2 so with steel, it is the same CORE as the miyabi in the video. (gave him a thumbs up) But as Leo noted, stan was talking about kramer CARBON. I'd far prefer a knife made of shirogami over 52100 is just sharpness was the only issue and at the microscopic level the carbides that can be generated with new metallurgy techniques can beat shirogami (at a much higher price, but the prices are starting to get better and the metals are consistently improving)
I also think a lot of people are making false generalizations about "carbon blades".
It stems from the days when stainless was so carppy. It no longer is. And it also stems from the day when carbon knives were mostly aogami, shirogami or 52100. they no longer are. Now tons of carp is being dumped on the public just because it's "carbon steel". The perfect example is knives coming out of china, pakistand and especially france. OLD French carbon steel used to be pretty good. I have several old sabatiers that I treasure. But have you tried french carbon steel over the last 20 years? Absolute shite! So while the Kramer carbon IS a highly regarded steel (52100), don't make the assumption that all "carbon blades" are good, or even decent or that the fabrication is any good either.
And please people lets remember all the Zwilling Karmer knives are NOT MADE BY BOB KRAMER. It's a Kramer DESIGN that is made by Henckels. The Ken Onion designed knives aren't made by Ken Onion, either. They're licensing his name for a design. It's not like a Carter (excluding the muteki like) or an Anryu, Kurosaki, Doi, or a Kamo where the knife is handmade by a master.
And of course, lets remember ergonomics and cutting style should be main considerations when choosing a blade also. Even though I like the blde to handle angle of the Kramer series knives, I can't hold the handles well and I hate cutting with them because I have mostly a Japanese cutting style. As great as the Kramer Carbon is, it slows me way down and is painful.
Yes, Harrison made a good point. Even though good carbon steel may provide a keener edge etc etc, the difference was huge when stainless steel was shit. Nowadays you can get excellent knives with stainless steel, so it's hard to say you really need a better edge than that, specially having to care a lot more for maintenance, which is not forgiving at all if you leave it wet, for example.
in absolute terms, the Miyabi probably does. I have only had it in my kitchen for 2 weeks, so will report on this in a few weeks. the Kramer carbon was in use now for 4 weeks, and edge was close to out of the box sharpness. how you use the knives, and cutting board will all play a role.
Which one would you recommend between the Miyabi Birchwood and the Masamoto VG?
great, edge retention , slicer profile, super lightweight, japanese d-handle,= miyabi
better rocker, western handle, good edge retention, pretty lightweight = masamoto
both are great knives. miyabi is a bit more specialized.
Thank you
BOTH are objectively great knives. But is the choice is going to be based on steel, geometry, handle ergonomics, etc?
It's quite a dangerous way to feed your dog. Store bought dog food, is often not the healthies, but at least contains the bare minimum nutrient level your dog needs to survive. When making it yourself (without proper knowledge) your dog will highly likely not get enough of the nutrients their body needs. Aside from that, dogs are carnivores and need to eat well balanced meal consisting of mainly uncooked meat with a small percentage of organs (very important), and bones. You can possibly add some fermented vegetables or berries. A shame, and quite odd, that it's become such a trend to make dog food yourself from ingredients we eat ourselves. Besides that, love your videos, I've learned a lot!
Thanks for the videos. Like them a lot. How long was the chef knife? Miyabi has both 20 cm and 24 cm. What do you prefer for length of chef knife. And what do your wife prefer?
I just got the miyabi artisan slicer from sur la tab today. handle feels great, i was a bit skeptical when i saw it online, so ive been wanting to hold it personally before buying it.
were you trying describe a push cut?
something like that.
Thanks, beautiful knife.
Gr8 demo! I just subscribed and all of a sudden, found myself looking out for a stone to sharp my cheap knife set 😂 by the way that knife is just a work of art, never seen anything like that in stores to be honest.
welcome and stay in touch!
Burrfection thank you and for sure, I want to know more about knifes now
Would be interesting to hear how long it takes in daily use before you need to sharpen it..
What kind of cutting board or butcher block is that? I love the size of it. Can you let me know?
I'd like to see a head to head of the Birchwood and the Shun Classic. I own the Classic, but I've considered switching to the Miyabi.
hmmm. ok. i'll put that in cue
shun classic is VG10. The Miyabi Birchwood is a SG2 just like the Shun Hiro or Shun Fuji.
I'm not partial to shun classics, because the handles don't fit my body, but they are nice knives.
A head to head of the Hiro or Fuji against the Birchwood would be a better comparison.
Or a comparison between Miyabi Kaizen to Shun Classic.
Or C&M's "Enso" knife is a great head to head against the Shun Classic.
Shun Hiro/ Shun Fuji, Miyabi birchwood/ Miyabi Artisan/Mizu can take a finer edge and have MUCH longer edge retention than a Shun Classic/Miyabi Kaizen. Think keeping an edge for several months instead of two weeks.
They are also less likely to chip because they're more ductile.
I very much like "powdered metal" knives and am slowly switching out some of my VG10. Shun and Miyabi are not the only brands to consider SG2 is not the only steel to consider.
Miyabi SG2 knives have a crazy out of the box sharpening that I don't recommend most users use. It's at NINE degrees. They seem to be having no real problems that I have heard of with that high a degree, but even I have tried to bak off the extreme degree on one the Miyabi Artisan Gyutos I have. I am slowly trying to take it down to about twelve degrees. I recently got a new Artisan from cutlery and more on Black Friday and it hasn't even been used yet, but I'll be backing that one off the extreme, too. The Artisan/Mizu have only 3 layers so they're not as pretty as the Birchwood.
C&M has some killer deals going now,
That is NOT a functional rivet. It is just a superficial crest imbedded in the wood. I know this because mine fell out....
Please compare any Yaxell dragon knives (BD1N) to the Miyabi Birchwood (SG2) to Kramer carbon and any one of your VG10 knives. Mostly interested in the BD1N knives because there aren’t many out there.
will do.
The Dragon is designed by a vary famous designer that likes knives with lots of belly that might be a very interesting comparison because the two designers often license their designs out. It is a stainless knife. If you compare to the Kramer, it might be more useful to compare to the Euroline collection. For SHAPE and geometry, Kramer vs "dragon" would make a great video.
Remember, Kramer does NOT make the Zwilling Kramer knives, he designed them. His handmade knives are only for sale on the collector market. The other designer has a few knives floating around for sale, but very very few
Even a short video wouldn't show the difference between BD1n and 52100. It would take a weeks or real use but it's pretty obvious the carbon knife would have to be sharpened after a week, but that it is very easy to sharpen. BD1N would take a few weeks of real use even in a professional kitchen and a few months of home use before it needed sharpening, but I have to tell you it takes a long time. It is not a fun steel to sharpen.
A short video is not going to provide any info of one steel over the other, only a long term test. It would take a few weeks of professional level use to just to start to see a difference in the steels if BS1N vs SG2.
BS1N and SG2 are treated to appx the same Rockwell scale by both mfgrs. BOTH are powdered steel metallurgy.
I own the dragon, so I can talk about long term. I also own another brand BD1N knife by the same designer by marketed by a different company. I don't have the birchwood, but I have a handful of the Miyabi Artisan series which is also SG2, but not as pretty (only 3 layers). I'd say the edge retention on the SG2 is a little better. I for sure think the SG2 takes a better edge and is easier to sharpen. BY FAR. But the BD1N knives have taken quite a bit of abuse with no relative ill effect. It seems as bombproof as "german steel" I've been much more aggressive because I got a few of the other as samples so I wasn't worried about ruining one. BD1N is so bombproof, I have no fears about loaning one out, even to comis level cooks. I'm not about to loan out an SG2 knife unless I know the person is an expert.
A few years back a "quick fix" chef (look it up) from Food Network forgot her knife and cutting board at a demo we were doing. I loaned her one of my BD1N knives and we cut steak right on a sanitized stainless steel prep table. No cutting board. I had to sharpen it afterwards, but I was not at all afraid of chips or of permanently ruining the knife. She had some issues with the belly, but she was floored that I didn't care if we cut on a stainless steel table.
Harrison Hamada wow so BD1N sounds awesome and durable with the trade off against sg2 to be slightly less edge retention and sharpness. Would you ever consider using a BD1N like the dragon fusion for chopping through bone and frozen food? I think the size, weight and profile of the fusion knife might be a decent cleaver.
Btw, is the designer Ken Onion? His “sky” line uses BD1N and he even has the “fusion” knife in his “rain” line. I would buy them but I’m not a fan of the way he shaped his handles, they remind me more of a survival knife then a kitchen knife.
I would a cheap ginzu quality SEERRATED knife to cut through frozen food and coping saw to say through bone. You might consider whacking chicken or duck with a german steel meat cleaver or a Chinese steel meat cleaver but I'd never recommend anyone else do it. I use a bad azz Chinese meat cleaver to bang through chicken of duck bones sometimes, but it's really better to have your purveyor do it with a band saw. Better for the product, less chance of accident and better on your knives, even an old bad azz Chinese butcher cleaver like mine. And just because it doesn't deform under the abuse I put it through does no mean it has the physical heft (
(weight) to power through bone.
I don't own a fusion, but I've used them, it is not heavy like what I'd call a cleaver. It will never power through bone, but it will turn hard squash into little chunks quickly. Think of it like a nakiri with a big belly bit not chippy like VG10. Can you imagine doing acorn squash or butterbut squash with G10? Or think if it like the awesome little "Dexter 5197" with a more pronounced belly but stainless and with very hard steel.
But be careful the word "cleaver" is really all over the map. A Chinese CCK knife is NOT a cleaver even though people call it one. They make separate MEAT CLEAVERS which look similar but are made of softer steel and are heavier, and have the weight distributed differently. And even western companies like Messermeister, Wushof, Victorinox use the description for a SHAPE that looks vaguely rectangular. The Dalstrong german steel cleaver might or might not be a meat cleaver (I'm thinking of getting one just to play with) But the SHOGUN SERIES IS NOT A MEAT CLEAVER, it's more like a CCK. If some people are stupid enough to do that with the Shogun "cleaver" that is NOT dalstrongs fault when it chips and it WILL chip. I guarantee it. And as good as their customer service is, you will be announcing to every person that you're a moron if you try to use a shogun to hack meat. Warranties are for defects in material and workmanship, not customer stupidity. they'd probably still take care of you the first time, though.
As far as the dragon's designer, hint hint. It's just that no one can say because of licensing issues.
I personally own a few of the sky series from when they were made for chef works. I think now they don't have the chef works logo, but there may be a few old models floating around. that does NOT affect their quality. They are pretty awesome, they're laser cut so there is no artistry issue in comparison to the dragons. It's like someone took a ken onion designed cookie cutter to rolled steel. The shape of the Sky are a bit more 'organic" than a dragon. the dragon is pretty straight forward. I have a sky uitility, detail paring and a 8" chef, but the one I really wanted is the one they didn't give me. I am definitely going to buy a reverse paring but I already bought one knife this month and I've got to be realistic.
Yes, I agree that the handles are a little different to hold. They are comfortable if you use a pinch grip, not so much if you use a tennis racket grip. Remember they were once marketed to chefs who are almost never going to use a racket grip. But you can probably find a killer deal on clearance. The Rain series uses another interesting steel. it isn't hardened as much, but it is also very chip resistant. I've used to have one, but I don't have one currently. I'd think of it like VG10, without having to worry about chipping. I think C&M has them both. When you buy it let them know that ryky tran from burrfection sent you
Hi Ryky! Thanks for another great video! What size is the knife in the video? It looks like it would be perfect for me, but I am not sure which size to pick.
greengohm It’s 20 cm, 8”
that dog must be a beloved one
Blah - maybe you shouldn't listen to everyone. I miss your commentary while cutting! But, having some usage footage right after unboxing is a great thing.
appreciate the feedback!
thank you for the cut demo..best to see performance !!
thanks RG. just doing my best.
I have one too, I also like Miyabi black as well
Nice demo video! Is the shapes of Artisan/Mizu chef's knife same of this knife? Will they rock better?
the mizu/artisan have the same core steel, but only have 3 layers (that's all you need anyways any more is just cosmetics). The Artisan/misu have more belly (but not too much) so they are slightly better rockers, but they have a good flat for push cutters.
That knife is beautiful! Out of my price range for sure... Agh, the pain of watching all these videos and wanting every knife. Do you know much about the Tamahagane San Tsubame? I saw a decently priced 8" Gyuto but saw very little written about it.
i havne't seen it yet. will look it up.
nice knives, very good company. I just hate they use that name because it means something else to many of us.
Harrison Hamada would you please explain the cultural significance and meaning of the word?
Most ingot steel is made by melting iron chunks or powder in a modern furnace, adding in the different alloy ingredients in a scientific way. It's then poured into molds or rolled into sheets
Tamahagane IS a good company. But tamahagane is a type of steel that is made the old fashioned way by melting iron sands in hand billowed temporary clay furnace made for one time use. It takes like 3 days to make enough for a couple of knives. A real live person who is a master and maybe an apprentice stay awake and watch the process the entire time.
The resulting metal flows to the bottom. It has quite a few impurities. It looks like an ugly meteorite with lots of nooks and crannies. It's then HAND hammered. The physical action of hammering is what removes the impurities and what you get at the end is about like white #2 steel. But the expertise and the sheer amount of labor make it very very expensive. Because of the sheer amount of labor involved there are only a few hundred knives made with this steel. Because the raw steel is so expensive, only the most skilled of masters is going to work with it. A tamahagane forge is not going to give their steel to a lesser artist, no matter what the price. SO You have the rarest steel, paired with the best artists, which means the rarest most expensive knives.
So when a chef or a knife nut says they have a tamahagane PROCESS knife (small T), we're all crazy over it. But Tamahagane, the knife company (capital T) IS a great company and I would highly recommend them. I do not own one currently, but in the past I've owned one from the series called "san" (not the series that you have, but I know the company is really really good quality). The one I had didn't have VG10. I'm not sure what yours is but mine wasn't.
I WOULD consider owning one again (but I'm mostly into powdered metals for my stainless and super aogami for my carbon now.)
Harrison Hamada that was the best explanation ever. Thank you so much
Your dog is so lucky, I would looooooove to eat those vegetables 😋
I just notice my miyabi 5000 sg2 has different bevel in the two sides. I'm a right hand, if you grab the miyabi you see the right side bevel like wider than the left bevel.
Did you see that diference?
no they are 50/50. What you might be talking about is the hamon line which is completely random.
Didn't know Miyabi's were so expensive....$700+ for a single knife??? :) Waaaaaay BEYOND my needs/knife skill ability to have any reason to be in my collection. :) Overkill fo me. At most I might consider the Artisan. For me to notice the "Birchwood SG2" with more layers of folded cladding...the benefits I'm not sure...if but for bragging rights? Something to say amongst JP kitchen knife enthusiasts? "My Gyutoh has 101 layers!!"...even the 63 or so layered Artisan non-Birchwood model...might be a tiny stretch for my use. HEH!! Also has the SG2 core...if THAT even matters in use...does it??
Please do a video talking about the different steels used in JP kitchen knives and why some one (clearly very experienced (Pro) would want one with "blue steel" , "white steel"...SG2...etc. I highly doubt they would be able to feel the difference in use "blindfolded" :)
I tend to notice it when on the stones.
Is this knife applicable for left-handed chefs/users?
Hi, there is a zdp-189(mc66) version of this knife. I am a newbie in sharpening. Are zdp-189 knives worth to buy compared to sg2? Are these knives really hard to be sharpened? Some people claim that they would rather buy a ceramic knife as zdp-189 is hard to be sharpened and could be easily rusted. What is your opinion? Thanks!
this knife only comes in SG2. the "black ash" comes in ZDP 189.
ZDP189 will hold an edge longer, but they are MUCH MUCH harder to sharpen. And you'd better be very skilled because you're likely to change your angle over the MANY passes you have to make using ZDP189.
Cermaic knives are great IF you have a good maker. KYOCERA. Do NOT buy off brand ceramic knives. A home sharpener can NOT sharpen ceramic (but kyocer offeres free liketime sharpening)
Ceramic knives are even more brittle than ZDP189 is. You cannot use ceramic in a "working kitchen". You CAN use HAP40, s35vn, SG2 or ZDP189. Just having a hard steel does NOT mean it is a "better steel", and even more so, does NOT mean it's a better knife.
AND having a "better" knife does NOT mean an inexperienced cook can catch up to a more experienced cook. Quite the opposite. the better the knife the MORE skill is needed to use it without chipping it. An inexperienced cook should be using "german steel" or if a "pretty good cook", maybe AUS8, AUS10 or VG10.
There is more, than push cut technique ;). From my point of view, you should adopt more cutting styles in your routine.
Wow - what an amazing knife. I want one of those.
questions maestranzi knife chef is good or bad knife
are the miyabi ok for left handed ? im reading mixed info ?
What a beautiful knife, thanks for sharing. ATB
I want that cutting board sooooo baaaaaaaaaaad
go for it.... bit.ly/CottonandDust Hannah Grace
birch wood were used in faberge egg
Would you suggest this over the Black? Can you review them?
on the way
How does it compare to a Masamoto KS gyuto?
ryky i am not sure if you have noticed but your colors between the two cameras are way off. Camera 1 (facing you) is much more dulled
yeah, still working all of the cameras color corrected and matched.
Was it the 9" or the 8"?
can you make a review on Shun Engetsu
Thats one savegly good looking knife damn
yeah... have to agree
Burrfection......where are your Big Knives? Where is your friend in Japan's big knives website..................? Did I missed your show? I want those big Giyato knives............
can you please review the yoshida hamono zdp 189 knife it a really interesting knife
a small handmade artisan is probably not going to send sample knives to a vblogger. Some of us might own one. Perhaps the community will chime in if they have one. There are hundreds of knifemakers do you expect ryky to buy every one? And there are other zdp 189 knives that are probably better and there are hundreds of models of hap40, sg2, aogami and shirogami that are as good or better. And I'd personally steer clear of any knife maker that sells off alibaba
The best dog food is RAW MEAT. You should research raw feeding. There are 2 groups on Facebook you might very helpful: The Raw Feeding Community and Raw Feeding 101. Check them out - a lot of good info. My pit bull's been on raw for 3 years now. Healthy and happy. Cheers. (Carbs are not natural for a dog. And while the dog can eat them they are not healthy. Vegetables are good. Forego the oatmeal).
You cut the ends off the vegetables for a dog?
I like this guy!
For the denser items such as the potatoes, cabbage and carrots it seemed that the chefs knife was not as good as a nakiri or a cleaver.
no, it's not. nakiris and cleavers designed to generate a lot more cutting force, so you are right.
asmr cut video, I like it!
I love this knife!
Ryky don't know if you've seen the Knifewear documentary on Japanese blacksmiths, but if you haven't I think you will love it. It goes into the history, traditions and the desire to pass on the craft to the next generation. Pretty cool stuff. ruclips.net/video/iFedUlHx558/видео.html
do you know how to rock chop its so much easier and quicker
Japaneese knife isnt for rock chop
can you please sharpen this knife the Miyabi Birchwood 8-inch SG2 gyuto I bought this knife as a treat for my self and it's so beautiful and i am scared that i scratch it while sharpening so please make a video on sharpening it man please man please !!!!!!
Hey guys. I just bought this knife as a present for my dad. I heard it was a good Damascus. Now after discovering this channel, I saw the Kramer Damascus. Im thinking of bringing this one back as he said hes always wanted a Kramer. How do they compare? In terms of maintenance/ use? I have to decide before christmas haha.
this might help ruclips.net/video/WnIa4TDdApk/видео.html
Yeah I watched that vid. Im looking for a comparison between the Miyabi birchwood, and the Kramer Damascus. I know from your vid it honestly sounds like damascus is not all its chalked up to be an carbon steel is the better option, but my dad is one vayne man haha. He just likes the patterns on damascus.
the damascus will perform JUST FINE. it's only when goofs like me "compare" SIDE BY SIDE two great knives, that we have something "bad" to say about one. haha. like i said in the video, if you were to use it by itself. you would NEVER come up with the conclusions i did. it's a great knife, and certainly a beautiful one. your dad would love it. huge sale at C&M bit.ly/KramerCutlery, or if you are primer amzn.to/2yJRcUb
In canada. they dont ship here unfortunately, but not to worry my local shop has them. Thanks for the advice. Ill swap it. Hes a bit of a caveman, so i think the bigger handle on the Kramer will suit him better. thanks for the advice!
Nice threadless shirt!
What would be your choice between SG2 and ZDP-189 ?
price SG2. raw performance, i find it REALLY hard to tell between the two. for home kitchen knives, 63-64 HRC is way higher than needed.
BOTH are great steels, but I gotta tell you, you don't want to have to spend time sharpening a ZDP189 knife. SG2 is pretty easy, almost as easy as VG10 but much less chippy. It's also more reasonably priced.
A agree with ryky, for most users a zdp189 knife is like owning a Ferrari to go to the grocery store. For people who are working professionals, ZDP189 has some benefits and as said, have some detriments. There are also other steels in between in hardness, ductility and price. Ryky posted about his HAP40 knife which is an absolute bargain! And it's easier to sharpen than ZDP189 and there are many many other steels and many other makers, too!
Miyabi vs kramer galore!!! :D
many of those on the way
Also one question, when will your review for the kramer carbon steel be up? :D
We Brazilians are for the beef most. So, please shows us a knife which really has a razor sharp edge...
Nice knife. Ryky have u ever heard about shibata kotetsu, do u think its worth the price?
kevin tang i have both miyabi birchwood and kotetsu gyutos. r2 and sg2 are the same steel. i would recommend kotetsu over the birchwood hands down. the kotetsu is a thin laser like knife. it has more of a flatter profile. shibata is also master sharpener and the kotetsu is screaming sharp ootb. he is the owner of the masakage lines.
Jessie Kimura ok thank you, chef i guess? Or just knife lover? What stones are you using to sharpen sg2 or r2 steel?
kevin tang both a knife nut and a chef. but most of all, a food junkie. lol. i use naniwa pro which was chosera before i believe. 400, 1k, and 5k progression. it has better feedback. although i use shapton glass too as it is a faster cutter. it is a harder stone so the feedback is lacking in comparison to the naniwa pro or chosera. at least for me that is. take my words with a grain of salt as i am far from being an expert. 😅
Jessie Kimura lol i am a knife lover too, i just finished my culinary studies now entering the market. I learned a lot from ryky's channel about sharpening and good knives. I think my next knife will be a shibata, looks and feels so nice, had the chance to grab one from a chef from dubai. But quite expensive, worth the price?
kevin tang in my opinion, it is worth it. comparing the birchwood price of $279 vs the kotetsu price of $270 (both 210mm), it is a no brainer. don't get me wrong, the birchwood is a nice knife but if you will be working in a pro environment, i think you will be better off with the kotetsu. if you are a carbon lover and is on a budget, japanese knife import has ikazuchi knife. for $200 you get a 240mm gyuto and it is an aogami super with stainless cladding. you get the best of both worlds. no need to be too paranoid that you left your knife sitting for way too long without cleaning it. this helps a lot when you are busy in the line or prepping. mind you, it still needs attention but not so much as a full carbon requires. congrats by the way in finishing your culinary studies.
Beautiful 🔪 knife
Don't wanna be a hater, but these celery pieces aren't separated from one another. Pretty annoying in my view when you're cooking. Is it the blade profile or the technique ?
its' my "technique"
A little bit of feedback while you're chopping would be good. Just a little bit of what you're experiencing here and there
Tomato test would be totally awesome. I can see it now... a composition of tomato knife tests.
tomato tests are useless.
It only tests the relative sharpness at the time and even a halfway decent sharpener can even make a "Crapco" knife pass a tomato test.
It can also be easily manipulated because two tomatoes may not have the same skin thickness or ripeness (even if they tried to be the same) And most of the youtube videos purposely try to say a knife that is known to be mediocre Chinese knife is a good value. Or crappy is as good as a knife that is known to be decent or better so you should save your money and buy the mediocre knife instead of the good knife.
You could also put a super wicked blade angle on one knife and a normal blade bevel on the other. OR you would purposely use a sharpening with alot of "tooth". A good 600 stone sharpening might even beat a 5000 stone sharpening on a tomato.
A tomato test does not test ergonomics. it doesn't test blade retention, it doesn't test sharpenability. it doesn't test the designers intent, the manufacturers skill or experience. A crappy (but very pretty) pakistani knife might look good on a tomato test
As always with finer things: you could buy 2-3 good ones for a price of the really great ONE,
The choice is yours, folks. It's definitely is not a poor person's knife, but I want a set of these badly!
Thumbs up!
Miyabi vs Kramer :)
pretty sure kramer wins. i have a kramer and giving the miyabi to a friend. kramer feels like theres more power.
Different profiles though. Makes for an interesting face off.
SO much different end users in mind.
Like comparing a ford 250 truck vs a chevy corvette. BOTH are each great at what they were designed to do, but each has different end users. A comparison of pulling strength and vertical clearance is going to make the corvette look bad. A comparison of raw speed or lateral g pad is going to make the ford look bad. How would that comparison be useful?
A miyabi and Kramer are each great, made by the same company, but they are meant for different end users.
That's why it makes a great comparison. You can articulate the pros and cons of each design philosophy and inform viewers on how different knives can be used differently through a battery of tests. It's all for fun :)
i will get those videos up, but those knives are VERY different. both great, but profile, steels, and overall design are nothing alike.
You're supposed to cut through the celery Ricky
anymore give aways to chefs or ppl in the industry? seems as tho i always miss them lol. also is this open to all ppl no matter where they live, such as canada?
many giveaways coming. don't worry
How did you find it after sharpening? I've reground mine at 11 degrees and it is noticeably sharper and wedges way less on tough vegetables. Re the profile, yeah it is a push cutter (which I like), not a rocker (which I don't like)!
the OOB edge was NINE degrees. Eleven degrees is NOT as sharp. But I too have backed my edge off to about 11-12 degrees. I feel most comfortable there
There is vague documentation that *suggests* this. Several reviewers have commented that they think the usual OOB edge is *not* 9 degrees (more like 15-18). That is my experience also. An 11 degree grind on good stones (6000-8000 grit) is sharper than factory on *both* my Miyabi knives.
there ARE companies that inflate the out of box sharpness for marketing purposes. (one company that we see a LOT on this channel included). But Henckels has an incredible QA process. they measure the angle on EVERY knife they sell with a LASER. The miyabi's are HAND sharpened but they still have to make it past the laser to proceed to the next step. It also goes past a laser at the last step before boxing. While it IS possible that one of their workers made a mistake, it wouldn't make it past the lasers and would be sent back around. They also have the money to be able to afford to archive a test knife of every production run. they even have the money to do DESTRUCTIVE testing on every production run. IF a knife run is bad, they would know before it even left the factory.In my younger days I used to have a VERY close relationship with Henckels . I KNOW them well. if you said that about another company, I might believe it, but not about Miyabi. I like them so much, I even buy their knives from retail companies since I retired and I don't get nice little gifts from them (and most other companies) any more.
I call BULL on the reviewers who claim it's 15-18 on their SG2 knives. I DO believe the lower end miyabis have 11-13 degree bevels. VG10 is not wise to sharpen at nine degree, it is WAY to chippy, so if they put it at 11, that is still pushing it past what is safe. It's wise to back it off. They also used to sell a morimoto made of "german steel". That's not wise to ramp up to nine degrees either for the opposite reason, the edge would roll over almost immediately. I had that entire line when it first came out. I never tested the edge bevel and I never asked because it was free. I think they felt like about 15 degrees but it's been more than a dozen years now.
I've gon on record in this room numerous times that out of box edges for end users are TOO extreme for the customers good. I've backed pretty much all my SG2 to about 11-12 degrees and I guarantee, even if it were the higher number and even with a touch of artritis, I am less likely to chip a blade than anyon except a handful of people that will read this. I am also on record as saying VG10 should be on the upper end of 13-15 for even an advanced gourmet level home cook. I don't even think 90% of most Americans should even own VG10 because of it's delicate nature. That huge box of knives ryky is refurbishing is because if USER error. NOT because of any defect in manufacturing.
I DO believe that your hand sharpening gives you a different feel than an out of the box sharpness, no matter what the bevel degree is. People mistake "tooth" for sharpness.
People also mistake japense expression of specs with the way an American or a europen company or a communist company expresses spec. A good example is a home stereo amplifier. A Japanese company will always give BETTER than specs allow. Onkyo for instance sells amplifiers that have 2db "headroom" above the spec they advertise. Yamaha used to have 1.8db headroom. That means when they sold what they call a "100 watt amp", is far better. A 3 db electrical is adoubling of electric power. An GOOD American company might place the rating at a true "half power point. (20 log10 over 1sq2 vs 10 log 10 over 1sq2). And a communist company might sat 100 and it be 100 at the 3db upper tolerance IF you're lucky.
Again taking an audio amplifier for an example. A company also tries to purposely misinform as to the difference between the electrical value of a watt vs the mechanical value of a watt. 3db means a doubling of electrical power vs 10 db means a difference of SPL. Back tracking to knives, the primary bevel and portions of a convex curvature of a knife are often mistaken by people who don't know knives. Especially when they talk about wedging.
Another thing people mistake is out of box sharpness means NOTHING. When you buy some exceptionally high end knives they are (relatively) dull out of the box. It has nothing to do with the quality of the knife. The fact that miyabi claims nine degrees does not mean that miyabi is better than a yaxell, mcuesta, misono, or other top notch production knives. Super high end Japanese knives don't come super sharp out of the box because they assume the end user will sharpen it to their liking and they don't want to over do the primary bevel for the end users preference because as you and I both agree, it takes time and effort to back it OFF the acute edge.
Also beware, there are a TON of Chinese counterfeits of Miyabi knives (and shun and global, etc). Do NOT buy one from an unlicensed retailer. Buy only from a LICENSED AUTHORIZED RETAILER. Even be careful off places like Amazon. if you buy from them make sure it is SOLD BY AMAZON, not a 3rd party using their infrastructure unless that retailer is a company like cutlery and more, sur la table, Williams Sonoma which use amazon as a secondary retail channel. ALWAYS check the "sold by" part of the page when buying on Amazon.
Again I 100% DO believe that your perception of sharpness is better with a hand polishing.
But again I call BULL on a reviewer that claims a miyabi SG2 is at 15-18 degrees. They either don't know what the hell they're taking about or they got a counterfeit. Miyabi did NOT make a mistake. And the reviewer didn't get the one that "accidentally make it past QA". It's literally impossible.
I note that the Miyabi official website specially does *not* mention the grind angle. This suggests that folk are relying on word of mouth testimony from product reps...not the most credible source. I do not recall the knife packaging mentioning said angle either...which to me casts doubt on the validity of your well worded reply above. And re toothiness, yeah I'm well aware of that effect...but sharpening on 8000 grit Naniwa tends to *reduce* toothiness over OOB grinds in my experience (e.g I have some Aogami Blue Super Harukazi carbons that clearly exhibit *less* toothiness after I've sharpened them...but are overall sharper than their factory grinds - just, these guys came real sharp)
Quick reply to add some verification. I see a comment from Henkels support re grind angles here: www.zwillingonline.com/34373203.html . Essentially they are saying a careful hand sharpening at angles between 9.5 and 12 degrees. I can certainly believe that...as it was pretty sharp OOB.
w0000!!! More cut videos please!!!
Nice movie.
But for me you can say anything during this 30 minutes, for ex. "its cuting good/bad, i ve problems with.." or just anything else. But ist my oppinion.
I ve got some Miyabi Knives, (f.e. 5000 MCD 16 cm chutoh) and i like it very much. It will be nice to see some test with Miyabi, Dallstrong, Wusthof or Tojiro.
But maybe someday you will interest with knive from little manufactory (Yoshimitzu, Kohetsu or others) and compare it with knives that you have got now?
After all - nice video. (P. S. sorry for my badly english) EDIT: Sorry, i have got find todey your movie with Gihei Hap40...
there is no comparison between dalstrong and miyabi or tojiro and comparison to wusthof is pointless unless you're comparing to the gladiator series.
Ryky has posted some videos from a few small knifemakers such as Gehei. Kohetsu is NOT a knifemaker. it is the house brand of CKTG. They ARE terrific values. A small company is not going to give out sample knives.
So, are you going to chip in and contribute to help buy knives from small companies or do you expect ryky to shell out his money?
It's also pointless to compare handmade knives to production knives. A handmade knife varies in length, width, height from knife to knife. Even within the same "series" by the same exact bladesmith, one might be spectacular and one might be mediocre. And remember, a line like Kohetsu might be made by a dozen or more smiths, not just one. A production knife like wusthof, miyabi, shun, yaxell or tojiro will almost be identical to another within a make and model.
I happen to think VERY highly of CKTG the company that sells Kohetsu. I've made a half dozen or more purchases from them. Everything you buy from them will objectively be a very good to great knife. They do a SUPERB job of curating their companies and subcontractors. I HIGHLY recommend them as a retailer. Anything you purchase from them will be at a VERY good price to performance ratio. I've owned a few Kohetsu. And several other of ryky's followers probably have to. If you have a specific question feel free to ask.
But you have to be realistic, OR you help to help chip in to buy knives.
You have got right all around yours post. Ryky is doing a great job. That was never was my intension to "shell Ryky out of his money". Maybe i just forgot to write "if thats possible". Sorry for that misunderstood and for my badly english.
sorry if I came on too strong. I think all of us would love to have ryky test one of the knives we were interested in before we bought to prevent buyers regret. I'm sorry it wasn't even you I meant to lash out against. If you read these forums, we see a lot of people that also just list a small handmade knife that is expensive just because they want to sound like they know about knives. And you have to admit we DO see a lot of people asking for ryky to get things also even they have no intention of buying. I know you're in the former category and not the latter because you asked for a very high value for the dollar brand, not just an "emperors new clothes" brand.
I had just got done replying to one of those people and I took it out on you. SORRY. COMPLETELY MY FAULT. I APPOLOGIZE. I took the a post by the guy before you and took it out on you.
But it IS kinda pointless to compare a Chinese knife to an upper end semi handmade knife made by a Japanese company, and made of better steel.
And has far as the Kohetsu. It WILL vary from knife to knife, but Mark does a GREAT job of curating before he buys what he sells. You're completely safe. Anything you buy from them will be an excellent value for the dollar, it will be "as described" and they will all be within a narrow range of variance, but they WILL vary.
You're also safe because IF an item is not up to par, he will either return it to the maker before it is sold to the customer, OR he will sell it at in the "closeout" section with a discount and he will list any defect. He has pretty liberal customer service and will fix things if it's wrong on their end but like ALL companies, once you use it, they can't resell it unless they sell it as "used".
Happy New year, and I apologize (but I don't apologize to the guy before you that caused me to over react to you) LOL
God I want one
its marketing only. Get Tojiro DP and it will cover all your needs
lerax2010 well yeah I have one, but the fit and finished needed work (which wasn’t hard to do) I prefer using my Yoshihiro gyuoto over it... most people can get their needs covered by the 40 dollar victornox chef knife.... doesn’t mean I’ll get one because I can purchase one that is more for collecting as well as using
gotja
Dunno, but when it comes to knives, I like to beat up machine made knives and collect handmade knives. To each his own I suppose.
it's a nice knife. if you can afford it, and can care for it properly, get it.