Misono 440: The Best All-Around Knife?
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- Опубликовано: 11 сен 2024
- The Misono 440 stainless steel knife is a great all-around knife. But Is it worth your money?
Find out why I love the Misono 440 and why I also don't recommend it. And why the Misono Handmade series might be the better option for you.
Misono 440 Molybdenum Steel Gyuto Review - Misono Handmade Gyuto review and comparison.
🛒S H O P:
Misono 440 Gyuto:
amzn.to/3dnWyPl
Misono Handmade (Series) Gyuto (ideal for home use):
amzn.to/3Lmax4R
Misono High Carbon 240mm Gyuto with Dragon Engraving:
amzn.to/3DuEnCl
Other knives used in this video:
Zwilling Pro:
amzn.to/3D0PdOG
Wusthof Ikon Classic:
amzn.to/3eWrxTw
N O T E S: All knives in this video has been bought with my own money.
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I’ve used misono 440 for 8 years now and I can’t use other brands. Misono 440 is a work horse and super reliable. I only need to send to a professional sharpener once or twice a year (depending on how much care I give to it) I highly recommend it. Worth every dollar.
A knife I love is the Victorinox 8".
No fancy steels but very ergonomic
Also the xinzuo is very nice and balanced
I own one too.... it does it all.
For some reason, I'm not a fan of Damascus and I like the less flashy knives. So just mono-steel or just a cladding. All the other Damascus patterns design etc. is not my thing.
Especially when you need to thin the knife out yourself, it is hard (you need proper tools) to get the Damascus aesthetic back on the knife witch in that case I rather send them to a specialized store to let them thin the knife out for me as it will be cheaper and less time consuming and they have the proper tools.
Victorinox and the Xinzuo 440 are just great for the price and what they deliver is just great!
8" is a great size for women. 10" is better for most men.
@@philipp594 When it comes to western handles I opt for 10 inches as those handles sit the best for my hand size.
When it comes to octagonal Japanese Wa-handle then even the 7inch Santoku will do fine for my hand size and comfort level.
So for that reason, most western handle with a short blade length is not ideal for me to be used for a long period.
In terms of the Misono 440/Handmade series, blade length matters but the 440 has slightly extra added contours and a handle belly compared to the Handmade series.
In terms of lenght+handle size, they are pretty much similar in handle size.
Thank you for this video! I appreciate your professionalism and detail.
Chef Panko, thank you for another lovely video! The main reason I chose Takamura over Misono was the handle. I'm no pro but still.... the way a knife feels says a lot about how it is meant to be used. There should be a clear philosophy and purpose on a great knife where all the details of geometry, steel, handle shape and weight come together... So yeah, I feel these details count and should be considered with every knife purchase.
Having said that, I think I would choose a harder (Carbon) type of steel myself, simply because I enjoy that extreme sharpness
Yeah, details should be considered indeed, it is only very hard to get an idea with the many online shops. The best option would be to get the knives in your hand. But on the other hand, a quick grasp will not tell you much once you have tested it in your use case scenario.
Most knives will do fine for me if I use them for 5 min. But if it is 20+ min it will quickly become noticeable that the knife handle is too small for my hand size. Cramping my hands, since it is too small. And then the entire knife anatomy will become a lot more noticeable (point of balance, blade profile, how thick or thin it is, etc.).
And things like the tiny details of a Japanese octagonal Wa-handle. There are so many variations, so only a ''octagonal Wa-handle'' description in the details section does not say how the knife will feel. Some octagonal are wider, and some are more squared. The only way I found out what I really liked was to use the knives myself with hours of testing per day (since 5/10min a day the difference is noticeable but small and weighted in less).
So a western handle on a Japanese-made knife in the Santoku style usually sits too small in my hands (large hand size).
But a Santoku with an octagonal handle sits perfectly fine even for a long period.
As a customer, I only knew what to look for after testing so many knives.
So a wide selection of knives can be ignored based on my preference.
PS: I also love the Carbon steel despite the extra maintenance.
I love how easy they are to maintain the edge sharpness, even when it is dull it takes less time to make it extremely sharp again.
But one of the reasons is when the knives have a cladding.
The problem is western customers like less maintenance so stainless steel cladding is preferred.
Stainless is harder to maintain especially when you want to thin out the knife, it is easier to thin out a knife with a cladding that is not stainless like iron clad. While iron clad is still soft it acts differently on your stone making it easier to be thinned out. But knife thinning is almost not necessary for many years for home usage unless you have a big chip.
It takes years to get 1/2mm off the cutting edge if you have the proper care (especially on high Rockwell knives of 61+).
I would say even in the professional kitchen you may need to thin the knife out once a year on knives with a Rockwell of 61. (Double bevel knives).
With Single bevel knives, it is advised to thin the knife out with every sharpening session. (as this will save you time and effort in the long run and you will gradually grind out the high and low spots). One of the reasons why I don't prefer Damascus as it takes a lot of time and effort to get the Damascus aesthetic back after thinning.
A lot of things to consider, but it is only considerable due to the experience I got.
Another banger of a video. Keep it up!
Thank you😊
Thanks as always for sharing!
Just a heads up: The video you point to at the end of the video is one on Tuo cutlery, not the Misono carbon gyuto. Could just be on my end, could be a youtube thing, idk, but I thought you might like to know.
thank you for watching and pointing that out I fixed it thanks :)
Otherwise, I would have left it as it is.
I never understood why Misono insists on their asymmetric bevels. I've heard of plenty of people who have re-beveled to 50/50, but I've never heard of anything taking a 50/50 and making it into a Misono style 30/70.
Oddly enough, the "Salmon" UX10 series uses a 50/50 bevel. I just ordered a 210mm gyuto from that series. I love how lightweight and thin it is. I just wish it had a rounded choil and spine. Mercer knives which are only 1/3rd the price of a UX10 all come with excellently rounded spines and forged half bolsters.
I also don't understand why they haven't released or made one of the current series a 50/50. There is some difference to be felt with a 70/30 mostly on softer food but on harder items I prefer a 50/50.
Interesting was not aware that the Salmon UX10 has a 50/50.
The UX10 series is lovely, but the price is quite pricey.
I wish that mercer sold their knives in the Netherlands too, currently, Amazon Netherlands or Germany have them listed but sold by a third party that is asking 5x the price of the Mercer on Amazon NA's official store. As I have heard many good things about them in the comments, but unfortunately due to the price difference to get them imported I haven't bought/tested them.
They have a very broad knife line from various price ranges.
@@chefpanko I live in Hong Kong and I can order from both Amazon US and Amazon Japan. On Amazon JP, I snagged the 210mm UX10 for 21,000 yen, which is about 1/2 or 1/3 the price that I normally see online for the Salmon series.
You can try using those out of country Amazon options. On Amazon US, they have the entire line of Mercers. And I get free shipping to HK so long as my order exceeds 50 USD.
Great detailed reviews you give. I would love to see your review of a nanfang brothers 8" Chef knife.
I ordered one as a gift which was badly sharpened and had one edge that was very uneven, had more sharpening on some parts compared to the rest, the other side barely had an edge at all but was still uneven along the length of it. The tip also appeared to be kinked/crooked. Think I would of been better off with a butter knife.
I gave them benefit of the doubt and ordered another and although the edge was marginally better, it had a chip in the knifes tip and one of the rivets in the handle was loose.
I tried contacting the company with photo proof of the issues and after waiting several days for a reply they simpky said 'if you don't like it then return them'. Their quality control is extremely poor as is their customer service skills.
I even tried to reach our further on their RUclips channel and rather than give a proper response and deal with the points I raised, they simply deleted my comment so they can continue to sell junk quality knives to people.
Extremely disappointed with Nanfang brothers and their poor quality knives.
Thank you, Never heard of Nanfang but looking at their website it looks like another white label brand (or a manufacturer that is trying out different brand names and designs to see what sells).
With the same design style as any other AliExpress knife.
And with a lot of Ali knives it is a gamble of what you get, some brand have improved a lot but other not, and the design is always questionable. I have a few more Chinese made knives reviews coming up next year.
While they improved a lot of things I found in the past they keep making questionable handle design and even blade design choices.
It seems like they prioritize ''cool unique' 'looking knives over functionality and comfort.
Can you do a quick comparison between this and the xinzuo 440 series?
You mean handmade vs Xinzuo 440 or the Misono 440 vs Xinzuo 440? in terms of price range the Xinzuo is cheaper compared to both of them. That will be an interesting comparison.
Thank you, always love your detailed reviews. Is the knife material for 440 similar to UX10? Which one Is better? How is 440 compared to suisin inox?
UX10 is the better one it has a longer edge retention vs the 440 series. Also anatomically the UX10 blades are thinner too but it comes at a premium price point. The 440 series is a fun knife which has abit of everything but does not have something specific that makes the knife outshine others so compared to the UX10 series it is thicker therefore more ductile and it is softer therefore the edge retention is lower than the UX10.
I have not tested the Suisin Inox knives so I can't comment on that. The reality is that a steel-type can vary a lot depended on the manufacturer and how they are heat treated. So I can't comment on the Suisin Inox knives.
Along with new advancement in production techniques and methods we see some steel-types exceeding others that were in the past more superior on paper. One of these method is by using a coreless knife using 2 different high carbon steel and folded over and over to get a smaller steel grain size creating a VG10/VG2 coreless knife that is on par or very close to a powdered steel.
And then you have the brand Ryusen Hamono, while they say that their knives is around 60 on the Rockwell scale I had their knives in the past and I can say that the knives I had performed a lot better beyond the spec sheets. Advertising with a Rockwell of 60 but the knife could easily have a similar edge retention of a knife with a rating of 63. So still no idea what Ryusen does with their VG10 and to this day in my opinion Ryusen is still the #1 brand for me when it comes to VG10 easily outperforming any Shun's VG-Max or other knives with VG10.
But just as the UX10 vs 440 the knives are different in steel and anatomically, since the UX10 is thinner overall giving you a different slicing performance.
But if you ask me what knife from the Misono series I would choose it will have to be the Misono Swedish Carbon one. Despite the extra maintenance needed the edge is the easiest to be maintained and anatomically suits my cutting style and purpose better ie; it assist me better with my everyday prep work.
@@chefpanko thank you very much for your prompt and detailed reply. Might look at the misono carbon steel.
@@user-jw1sm5ki1x In the end it all comes down to personal preference. Have you already decided what knife style would suit you the best in your prepping tasks?
Carbon steel requires a bit more attention in the knife's upkeep than a stainless version.
@@chefpanko more familiar with gyuto/chef knife, willing to try kiritsuke too. Have one Sabatier carbon steel, might try the misono.
Hello chef, can you tell me your opinion about Chroma Type 301 Porsche knives?
Have so much to catch up with you on.
So many knives turning up on Carousell in Hong Kong. Frankly, just scared to take a bet on them and restoring used knives as they turn up. Have 2 Zwillings being worked on atm but will brief you and ask for advice later.
yeah always good to ask for recent pictures that show the choils, profile/spine, etc. Restoring might take some time. Was not aware of Carousel, but if possible I would choose a meet-up so that you can see the knives in person.
@@chefpanko, ok, I can’t resist. I picked up a Twinstar J A Henckels Solingen Germany MagnaDur 31047-180 Friodur Santoku for HK$100, roughly USD12.50 which has never been sharpened.
The reason is that the blade has a special “diamond” coating on one side. The seller told me that he had taken the knife to Zwilling in HK and had been told the knife could not be sharpened without damaging the coating. Doing so would have made the knife “worthless”. I have since treated the knife with kid gloves sharpening it only on the uncoated side and just gently touching up the edge on the coated side with a diamond steel.
It cuts ginger beautifully but it is obviously still a work of love in progress. Still a number of dings in the blade which have been minimalised but I’m not prepared to sacrifice the amount of steel for a perfect finish in one go, preferring to eventually work them out over the course of the next year or so.
Will look forward to your advice and comment when you’ve had a chance to get a handle on the MagnaDur knives.
@@foedspaghetti3290 That is an interesting find! I'm not sure about the ''worthless'' statement as an unsharp knife (entirely dull and can't cut anything) can also be called ''worthless''.
The only concern is how hard it would be to remove a hairline from the diamond-coated side. As I saw some pictures it is added onto the cutting edge and above.
So you can sharpen on the non-coated side and add a hairline edge on the coated side (but this depends on how hard it is to remove the coated side as you only need a hairline edge on that side, not a full sharpening session). Thinking about the Koba (micro/hairline bevel) we add on a single beveled edge.
The coating is usually added after the knife has been finished. But also very interesting vintage finds that have the coating on the cutting edge. normally you find them above the Shinogi line.
I find it strange that the Zwilling store in HK said that it is impossible (makes it worthless) in that case I wonder if a hairline edge on a higher angle can be added as that will preserve the diamond coating and you only sharpen the non-diamond coated side.
Doing so I assume the coated side will be on your left-hand side. and the right-hand side is the non-coated side?
@@chefpanko yes. You’re spot on.
What is the better brand quality Xinzuo or Victorinox and what's the best brand quality Which budget friendly for your but still great quality??
The Xinzuo 440c is a good knife anatomically a good made knife. A lot of the Xinzuo series have questionable design elements making the knife less comfortable for prolonged usage. One thing I hate is that they push so many series, they always manage to make the knife cool looking but very uncomfortable to use for a prolonged period for 5 min they are fine.
Victorinox has made good knives not too expensive and anatomically good and comfortable. You can'' really go wrong with Victorinox, as with Xinzuo and their ever growing catalog, I would not buy 90% of what they offer. And those that do look good and comfertable are nearing the price point of a Japanese knife making it a harder decision to keep going for Xinzuo as for that price point I can get a handmade knife from a Japanese blacksmith under a white label brand name like Sakai Ichimonji (witch also offers free hand chiseled Kanji option by their own inhouse engraver).
How do you know its 57 HRC? Did you test it or was it written on the leaflet the comes with the knife?
There are multiple ways to test the Hardness.
However the indicated hardness says a little about the knife itself.
A knife with a Rockwell of 61 can outperform a knife with a Rockwell of 62.
As the anatomy and heat treatment per manufacturer makes a huge difference.
(also one of the reasons why the Misono 440 will wear out less fast than other stainless knives with the same Rockwell rating).
But I asked the retailers+tested it myself with extended usage and scratch test like the HRC file testers (those with the correct Rockwell and some without the correct Rockwell indicated webshops).
The interesting thing is that even those that indicated a rockwell of 58 or some even 58-60 on their description came back to me with telling me that the knife Rockwell is 57. So in that scenario I have no idea why they have the wrong rockwell on thier webshop.
But most retailers told me they did not know what steel they use other than EU stainless steel.
There was no specific steel-type answer since they all told me Misono did not tell them and did not want to reveal it than having the generic ''Molybdenum'' naming.
One thing they did told me was that the Handmade series was created before the Misono 440.
and that thier Misono carbon is the only one that is hand-forged in the Misono line.
The rest are stamped.
The Misono 440 has 16Cr.
The Misono Handmade 13Cr.
Making the Misono 440 extra rust resistant than the Misono Handmade.
@@chefpanko Thank you for the detailed answer
0:17 broke my heart. Right handed only??😢
:c only select retailers sell the left-handed version which usually comes with an added price premium of around $30+.
And most of the time it is a custom order, so it takes a while before they have it in stock (very rare to find one that has a left-handed version in stock).
You have the regrinding services that most of them offer but that takes the lifespan out of the knife and makes the knife thicker as those services don't come with a thinning service.
Regrinding service also comes with a fee as they are not complimentary. (In Japan most of the retailers there have their own in-house sharpening service and hand-chiseled engraving artist that can translate your English name into ''Kanji'' format which is all complimentary with your purchase and if I'm correct all of them offer tax-free purchases for tourists).
Left handers would barely notice the difference
Great video!
Have you ever heard about or tried the Karmel wooden cutting boards? They sell it in a cookware store in Breda, NL. I'm interested in such a cutting board but it's hard to find reviews online.
Thank you, no never heard of that brand but with natural wood in general the quality depends on the kind of wood they used.
And then you have end grain or edge grain wooden cutting boards.
Some wood is harder than others but as far as I know, they are all good for knives.
With wood, there is always a natural element that you can't control. Wood can warp over time and needs some care.
Wood can crack when there is a sudden shift in temperature/moisture/humidity change.
But other than that wood can last you for a long time and you can resurface them with sanding paper.
I'm also looking for a new wooden cutting board replacement I have my eyes on a Zassenhaus Oak wood end grain cutting board. (not sure how it performs but I like the size and that you can use both sides since it has no feet which also can be a downside, but I have a drying rack).
I recommend mineral oil from time to time (how much depends on the cutting board as some come pre-treated and some don't and some wood don't soak up that much so you have to eyeball it).
Mineral oil will not go rancid or get sticky and therefore a recommended choice.
Other oils can be good to just make sure it won't go rancid or become sticky as olive oil does. And make sure nobody has a nut allergy when you opt for a nut-based oil.
Hey CP, ever tried an end grain Chinese cutting board? I will do some research for you if you’re interested. I’ve have my last one for nearly 20 years. No smell, no oiling.
Your friend,
Spaghetti
@@foedspaghetti3290 The one I use in this video is made in China and sold by knives and tools (it's their Eden series).
Other than that I did not try any of the other brands I have seen that Hezhen/Xinzuo now also offers wooden end grain cutting boards.
This one also has not been oiled for a long time as the wood does not take/want to soak any up (or just a little).
It is according to KNT rubber wood.
Traditionally, people out here just buy a cutting board from the almost totally extinct local shops. In my case, in the Wanchai market. We never ask for a particular brand but instead rely on the knowledge of the retailer.
@@GistGappie I'm dutch, if I come nearby Breda I will see if the shop is nearby, would love to visit them.
70/30 edge angle is just too much for me. I can barely get 50/50 sharp.
Have you tried a Carbon steel? It is easier to get a baseline understanding/frame/feeling/muscle memory on a Carbon steel.
As I find that it acts better on a stone and it is easier to remove the burr on it.
As with stainless + cheap whetstone you may get the feeling that after countless of sharpening session the knife gets duller or you can't get the factory sharpness back. The knife edge retention is worser than you bought it etc.
@2:50, is that a 3000 grit ceramic steel?
yes it is, its a JIS3000 from Wusthof
what is the whetstone please
Shapton Glass
@@chefpanko Thank you 🙂
Personal opinion: Not a huge fan of the added animations. They seem unnecessary, almost silly and take away from the usual professional tone of your videos. Just my 2 cents!
Idk, they are pretty minimalistic, unless you are referring to the sound effect
Thank you for the feedback will see if I can improve on the animation, like a less wiggling effect. Or using it less overall, as it was supposed to do a few things, making the video less long (by removing the spoken disclosure part at the beginning of the video), instead of constantly asking for likes and subscribing I added animation to make the overall length of the video shorter. And the last thing was to emphasize a few things to make things more clear or to add extra information otherwise the sentence would be too wordy/long. If you have any other suggestions please feel free to give me more feedback Thanks :)
@@vloomn was the sound effect too loud? or just too much in general? I would love to experiment with it to make it more enjoyable to watch. I heard that the wiggle effect can induce some motion sickness for sensitive people, so that is something I will reduce (and make it harder to read, especially in the disclosure section with long text).
Ничего не понял. Нож понравился.👍
Несмотря на то, что я не в состоянии понять это, спасибо за просмотр :)
@@chefpanko, don’t worry, he understands nothing, but, likes the knife. Which I guess works for him.
@@foedspaghetti3290 haha I used google translate for it but he likes the knives :P
@@chefpanko, well, it’s like falling in love really. Passion is the key rather than a technical analysis. Going with your heart is as good as it gets.
Please! Traducción Spain, thank!
the best all-around knife is a chinese cleaver
I like those too :)
Not so sure, a bit jaded as I’ve had access to them all my life. Possibly the vegetable CCK one if I had to limit it to one knife only. What would you choose CP?
@@foedspaghetti3290 That is a hard one!!! I probably go for the Gyuto.
@@chefpanko, sorry, my mistake. I meant if you were limited to one Chinese cleaver only.
@@foedspaghetti3290 CCK Vegetable Slicer - KF1912. (current pricing it has gone up a lot in price but if I could choose one it would be that one)