Killer deal on high-end knife .....

maxward

Macy’s offer ends tonight. Just ordered one.

gyosa

The ones you want are the Birchwood ( SG2 steel ) , or the Black ( ZDP-189 steel ).....

VG-10 steel is not nearly as hard and won’t keep an edge like the other 2.
And then there are the traditional Japanese “blue”and “white” steels - of which there are many variations - which are high carbon , much softer and not stainless - they rust easily.

The use of these 2 so called “super steels” are what makes these 2 particular lines of Miyabis so special.
They are expensive steels to begin with , and difficult to forge properly.

And , obviously , the more layers , the more expensive.

Bk

gyosa

Yes , 5”.
Dunno why pic is different.

Should be like the one in my pic..

Dunno why the lengths are different ...
The Black I just got - and I got it directly from Zwilling - is 5 1/2 and their website sez 5 1/4 ...
Maybe they measure differently.

I prefer the longer length.


Bk

jdjohn wrote: »

gyosa wrote: »

The knife is actually 5” long - dunno why it says 4.5”
I own this one and several others from the series.

Thanks for sharing. Is the actual cutting edge 5"? The one in the link does not match any in your pic.

JayCee

Club Polk..."helping you spend money you have but didn't know you need to spend."

Thanks, Gyosa, for the tip. Ordered the pairing knife and matching sharpening steel for daily maintenance. Was going to add the Nakiri, a great all-around design for me, as it's listed on sale but decided to compare prices on the web since it didn't include the additional discount thru Macy's.

Found it for $299 on Amazon and the Zwilling site, much cheaper than Macy's. Searched discount codes for Zwilling.com and came up w/a 20% off code PERKSPOT20.

Also added the 1000 grit Japanese wet stone.

https://www.zwilling.com/us/miyabi/cutlery/birchwood-sg2-5000mcd/
Prices after discount.


My mantra, if you're going to have a knife it better be damn sharp. I'm tired of sharp but not razor sharp knives. I'm a former Boyscout and was taught a dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp one. Words to live by.

gyosa

Cancel the sharpening rod and stone .
Rod will ruin the knife with one use and there is a much better , cheaper stone..

Look for a Cerax 1,000 grit - should be about 50 bucks.
Than get a Suehiro Rika 5,000 grit - about 50 bucks.

I just did a quick search and both are much less than 50 bucks at the moment.

These 2 are all anyone needs for these knives and these 2 stones are widely regarded as the best bang for the buck.

https://www.suehiro-toishi.com/en/ceraxseries/cerax/1010-re/

https://www.suehiro-toishi.com/en/gyomu/5000/

I have the Nakiri as well ... probably my favorite.



And , yes , I only buy these knives when I can find them at a SUBSTANTIAL discount.

There are better hand made Japanese “knife snob” knives out there at a miyabi’s full msrp.
But when on sale , nothing can beat them.

Look at what a “starter” boutique “snob” Damascus SG2 or ZDP189 knife will cost .....it will blow you away.


Bk

JayCee

Cool, thanks. Will do.

JayCee

Been over an hour on each order and neither will cancel. No worries, I can return them.

I talked myself into the stone and sharpening steel because they're the mates to this series and the reviews on Zwilling were positive. I've read this thread over several days and do recall you mentioning this. Just like in audio...you can piece together a good system but experience and trusted guidance will always put you ahead.

Recommended stones are ordered.

My sister and BIL just moved to the DFW area. You let me down and I'll find you when I visit! Thanks for the course correction before I ended up out of my glide slope.

jdjohn

gyosa wrote: »

Yes , 5”.
Dunno why pic is different.

Should be like the one in my pic..

Dunno why the lengths are different ...
The Black I just got - and I got it directly from Zwilling - is 5 1/2 and their website sez 5 1/4 ...
Maybe they measure differently.

I prefer the longer length.


Bk

Yours:

Theirs:


We've been using a set of Global knives for several years. Wifey has dainty hands, so those skinny handles on the Globals suit her, but not me.

gyosa

The bigger knives have bigger handles.
Has to do with the Balance of the knife.
See my first pic

Bk

gyosa

😂

Bk

JayCee wrote: »

Been over an hour on each order and neither will cancel. No worries, I can return them.

I talked myself into the stone and sharpening steel because they're the mates to this series and the reviews on Zwilling were positive. I've read this thread over several days and do recall you mentioning this. Just like in audio...you can piece together a good system but experience and trusted guidance will always put you ahead.

Recommended stones are ordered.

My sister and BIL just moved to the DFW area. You let me down and I'll find you when I visit! Thanks for the course correction before I ended up out of my glide slope.

gyosa

Good review of these 2 stones .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nn2qqZrTtE&feature=share

Bk

fish357

That guy is a knife whiz.

delkal

Do not use a sharpening steel on any high end Japanese knife. They are too hard and ground at a finer edge. You will not sharpen it and probably chip the edge. Japanese knives are extremely sharp but not as tough as western knives. If you have something hard or extremely tough that you have to chop or saw thru thats when you grab your regular knife.

Also, I wouldn't call this "4.5 inch parer" a paring knife (parer means peeling). The blade on mine is 5 1/4 and the OAL is 9.5 inches. I don't care what Henckels want to market it as it is not a paring knife. It is a Japanese petty knife. It is a very useful size but if you try and peel a potato you will need band-aids.

delkal

gyosa wrote: »

The ones you want are the Birchwood ( SG2 steel ) , or the Black ( ZDP-189 steel ).....

VG-10 steel is not nearly as hard and won’t keep an edge like the other 2.
And then there are the traditional Japanese “blue”and “white” steels - of which there are many variations - which are high carbon , much softer and not stainless - they rust easily.

Bk

Sorry but I have to make a (slight) clarification here. Japanese white steels can be tempered the hardest and have the finest grain obtainable in a steel. And they can get the sharpest edge of all the steels when freshly sharpened. But they are not as tough as blue steel which are more of a tool steel. Blue steel will hold an edge longer but are slightly less sharp (I never noticed a difference in actual use). Third in line has always been stainless (IMHO) I always scoffed at VG-10 knives. This knife is the first Japanese stainless knife I owned and it will be interesting to see how it compares.


Yes stainless doesn't rust but if you take care of your knives a carbon steel knife will never rust either. It might take a while to get your wife/girlfriend/kids to get it but when you are finished cooking/cutting something you usually need to wash your hands. WASH AND DRY THE KNIFE TOO!. Then put it back in your cutting block. And if you ever think about putting these knives in your dishwasher or letting them soak it your sink? Don't! All I could do would be to shout obscenities.

gyosa

Yeah , I scream at my wife as she just lays a wet knife on the towel to air dry ....

Here’s a link regarding the various Japanese knife steels if anyone is interested ...

The ZDP’s and SG2’s are among the hardest ( powdered steel ) ...but yes , some of the whites and blues are just as hard ....
and I do like the patina that the whites and blues develop over time.
My wife is 1/2 Japanese and her mother is from Tokyo - you should see some of her knives that are 40-50 years old.

The ZDP is so hard it’s more difficult to sharpen.

All these steels are so much sharper than western knives , we’re really splitting hairs .

At any rate , any well made Japanese knife really is something special - most who use just one , will never go back to western knives and acquire more.
They’re just that good . As expensive as they are , they’re probably worth it .

Rabbit hole ........

https://www.japanny.com/pages/japanese-knife-blade-steels

Bk

msg

delkal wrote: »

It is a very useful size but if you try and peel a potato you will need band-aids.

Only Band-Aids? Psssh, doesn't sound very sharp.

jdjohn

gyosa wrote: »

All these steels are so much sharper than western knives , we’re really splitting hairs.

The proof is in the pudding. Let's see some hair splitting
For the record: Macy's got some of my money on this. Hopefully my ceramic sharpening rod will be good for tune-ups.

gyosa

Read above ....

Sharpening rod is a big no-no.

Bk

jdjohn wrote: »

gyosa wrote: »

All these steels are so much sharper than western knives , we’re really splitting hairs.

The proof is in the pudding. Let's see some hair splitting
For the record: Macy's got some of my money on this. Hopefully my ceramic sharpening rod will be good for tune-ups.

jdjohn

I did read, but those were sharpening steel rods. Mine is ceramic. Still 'no'?

delkal

jdjohn wrote: »

gyosa wrote: »

All these steels are so much sharper than western knives , we’re really splitting hairs.

The proof is in the pudding. Let's see some hair splitting
For the record: Macy's got some of my money on this. Hopefully my ceramic sharpening rod will be good for tune-ups.

How about this? You can tell when I have been sharpening my knives or trying out a new one. (normally there are hairs everywhere on the back of my hand).




For me there are 4 basic levels of sharpening on a knife.

1) Is butter knife like. These are the ones you sharpen for your grandmother and they are stored piled together with junk in the kitchen drawer.

2) Is when you can cut something but you have to saw some (or crush the tomatoes). These are also usually stored in a drawer. I will also lump in serrated knives in this class.

3) Is when you can shave the hairs on your hand but might have to take a couple strokes. You can also cut a single sheet of paper in half if you try hard and get the angle right. These should ALWAYS be stored in a butcher block. This is my minimum acceptable level of sharpness. If I hand you a knife that doesn't do this I will apologize, put it aside for sharpening, and give you another.

4) Is when you are shaving hairs it immediately "pops" the hairs off. You will feel it immediately cutting the hairs and they will even jump a small distance. If you hold a piece of paper sideways you can shred it into thin strips with out any effort and if you loosely fold the paper in half it will dig in and cut the paper from the middle. This is what I get when freshly sharpening a quality knife on Japanese water stones. It is also what the Miyabi knife did out of the box and it was the first knife I bought that could do this.

fish357

gyosa wrote: »

Switchblades ?
Haven’t seen one of those in years !

Bk

IMG_3478.3gp

You have now.
@tophatjohnny Really nice collection.

Crap, short video won’t upload.
Oh well, Microtech Combat Troodon.

gyosa

No .

If you don’t want to go down the rabbit hole , just get the Cerax 1010 , 1000 grit stone I linked above.
It’s really all you need. If you only wanted one stone , that would be it. The 5,000 just cleans up the edge - puts a polish on it.
Less than 50 bucks.

You really should use a water stone on any of your knives anyways.
Much much better edge than any rod.
Only takes a few minutes if you keep them sharp.

These Miyabi’s ( birchwood ) really don’t need to be sharpened that often...
No need to really touch them up - although I do if I’m gonna trim a brisket before the cook - need a razor sharp edge for the hard fat.

Honestly don’t know why anybody uses a rod at all , just destroys and chips any knife’s edge. You’d be better off taking your knives to a shop to get sharpened.

Bk

jdjohn wrote: »

I did read, but those were sharpening steel rods. Mine is ceramic. Still 'no'?

gyosa

Told ya !

Best $93 knife you’ll ever own .....

It really is a beautiful tool - the fit and finish is impeccable, at least on all mine.

😂😂

So , thumbs up ?

Bk





This is what I get when freshly sharpening a quality knife on Japanese water stones. It is also what the Miyabi knife did out of the box and it was the first knife I bought that could do this.




[/quote]

jdjohn

I think my qualifier of 'tune-up' is being lost. I would never try to put a new edge on a knife with a sharpening rod, but they are good for tune-ups in-between stone sharpenings. I used to have a steel sharpening rod, but threw it out and got a ceramic version. I was thinking it might be safe. I have some whetstones for my Global knives, which I guess are considered cheap Japanese knives, but I would not use those stones on this new Damascus blade that has an SG2 core. The Global knives are made of Cromova 18 chromium steel. They are fairly easy to sharpen.

delkal

For Japanese knives the best thing to use for a tune up is a leather strop. This straightens the micro bevel and can usually get it razor sharp again. This is what the western butcher steels but they are too course for a fine edge. Unfortunately for the harder knives you have to sharpen them yourself on quality water stones or find a professional that knows about Japanese knives and will sharpen them by hand. I would not bring mine to a professional that uses any kind of machine. Look at the sharpening Youtube series I linked earlier to get an idea what I am talking about.

I don't want to scare anyone away but think of high end Japanese knives as a Ferrari or (since this is an audio forum) a direct coupled tube preamp. They perform the best but they have to be treated with respect. Be careful (especially at first) the razor sharp edges can easily be chipped if you chop, cut something frozen or too hard, or even slam thru the food and hit the cutting board violently. I personally don't use Japanese knives on things like a hard dried salami or a hard cheese. These can easily be cut with a stronger western knife which doesn't have to be razor sharp. But when it comes to boneless meats and vegetables nothing else comes close.

scubalab

Well, dang it... I had the page open, one in the cart, and thought... Since the wife's been asking for a Christmas list, I should send the link to her. Completely forgot, and the sale ended.

But, fear not, It's now at a lower price with only a 15% discount through 11/12. So, instead of $93.09, it's now $96.89. My procrastination cost me $3.80.

This looks like a perfect size for us. We have an 8" cheap Damascus steel chef knife, and a 7" Shun Classic Santoku knife (that came in a set of three with a weird shaped pairing knife and bread/"utility" knife). The Santoku has been our go-to for just about everything.

Thanks for the links and all the advice. I can also add a nice wet stone to the xmas list!

And why do wives insist on completely ignoring the instructions on proper cleaning/drying of a good knife?!? Can't tell you how many times I've been given the "you're number one" every time I find one in the sink or drying rack and politely remind her that's a no-no.

msg

I just watched a couple of that Ryke kid's videos.
I hate you guys.
I can see myself getting sucked into this and then having to change careers to become a sushi chef or something just to get some ROI.

gyosa

Wow , 3 pages !
Glad we could get all you polki’s to spend money on something you didn’t know you needed !
Ha ha

Bk

BlueBirdMusic

No one has yet talked about playing some great music while chopping veggies etc. with a Japanese knife. And, having a great glass of wine.

Soothing to the soul.

gyosa

https://img.discogs.com/KhjJSiBjeyjaht8OttHN02juHz0=/fit-in/453x433/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-102616-1439649374-3464.jpeg.jpg