Misono UX 10 Knife Purchase

[bleugirl]

Hello,

Recently I purchased my first high end knife, the Misono UX 10 240 mm chef's knife. I did conduct quite a bit of research prior to my purchase. Upon it's arrival, I tried it out immediately. It slide through an onion with the greatest of ease and my excitement was building as the thought of struggling through my chopping duties was a thing of the ugly past.

Filled with vigor, I decided to tackle a couple of sweet potatoes. Suddenly, it wasn't like "cutting through butter" anymore.

Can anyone proffer some suggestions of the reason for this disappointing performance of only the second item I cut with my out of the box knife? Imposter knife? Perhaps, not always it's sharpest out of the box, which doesn't seem logical? A return that saw some use, but have absolutely no signs of wear, and was sold as new?

Perplexed!

bleugirl

 

[phatch]

Sweet potatoes are hard and rigid. A knife has a thin V profile, but enough of a v that some items like sweet potatos can bind up on the knife. They'll often fracture the last 1/4 or so in the cut. Carrots do this too on big thick ones.

To some degree sharpness ameliorates this effect.

And yes, out of the box sharpness is often far from the sharpness a knife can take.

 

[bleugirl]

Hi Phatch -

Really appreciate your quick response. I assumed that the out of the box edge wasn't as good as it gets from the reviews, both professional and otherwise. Further, I wasn't certain if that accounted for the disappointing performance on the sweet potatoes, which are tough, I know. Would you have an opinion to proffer on the Misono?

 

[phatch]

I'm a cheapskate and use mostly Forschner and an older Henkels. I've read many good things of the Misono.

 

[bleugirl]

Hah! I deserve a medal for pulling it off! It was gift from my man, as he was probably tired of my endless tirades while "chopping" with my other cheap knives. Also, the verbal picture I painted of looking as though I tried to perform hari kari while desperating struggling through a butternut squash with my subpar knives. Suddenly, the cost of the knife paled in comparison to a trip to the ER! Again, thank you for your response. It helped.

bleugirl

 

[coolj]

Hey Phatch, aren't those older henckels the best?? I use the twinmaster line, the ones with the yellow handles. I also have a couple from the cologne series (black handle, department store model) they are also great knives. I'm very attached to my santoku.

 

[coolj]

I just googled Misono knives. They look like great knives. Personally though I think I would stay away from them. The handles seem too smooth. Depends on the chef though.

 

[boar_d_laze]

Re sweet potatoes:

Most likely the problem is a function of "stiction." That is, the high moisture content and density of the potatoes, causes the sides of the kerf to stick to the sides the knife, slowing it down in the cut. That's very common with new knives, especially stainless. Don't worry, stiction will diminish as the knife gets micro-scratches from use and cleaning. You can hasten the improvement in the knife's surfaces by using something mildly abrasive like a Scotch-Brite to clean it.

Another possible cause is that the knife is "wedging" in the cut, partly because of the sharpening profile -- but I doubt that. It's a relatively thin knife sharpened to relatively acute angles.

Many Japanese knives do not come well sharpened out of the box. Misono UX-10 are usually an exception to that rule, and usually are fairly sharp. But that doesn't mean there aren't exceptions on the Misono production line, nor that even a relatively sharp OOTB edge can't be improved by quite a bit.

It's easy enough to find out if the problem is sharpening related by simply sharpening correctly. 15* bevels on both sides, fair degree of symmetry, polished to 8000# JIS or higher.

Re the handle:

When the UX-10 first came out it became the cynosure of all kitchen knife collectors' eyes, the "knife that would save the world." However once the initial enthusiasm wore off, an equally irrational counter-stampede took over. It became popular for a little, especially in the Knife Forum, to be "disappointed" in the UX-10 for one reason or another -- largely in comparison to very thin and more Japanese styled gyutos (chef's knives), which were the next knife that would save the world.

Very few people don't like Misono handles, especially the UX-10; but of those that don't, the only reason I've seen given is that the handles are "too broad." Of the many people I've heard complain about the UX-10, I've never heard any say the handle was too smooth. KF disappointment aside, I think the UX-10 handle is outstandingly good for almost every hand and grip.

The truth about the UX-10 is that it's a very nice knife, in fact, one of the best western handled, mass-produced, stainless knives available at any price. But it's not a life changer. Or if it does change your life, you had a pretty lousy life.

BDL

 

[bleugirl]

Evening, BDL,

Again, your response was full of details. Yes, I noticed immediately, even for one that hasn't had prior experience with the high end knives, that the angles of the edge were quite accute, which I admit, added to my, perhaps, usually high expectations.

I concur, the hype of the researched comments that I found did add to the "it will change your life" expectation. Nonetheless, I am still happy with the purchase and feel that further kitchen testing is necessary for a more thorough assessment of its suitability for me.

As for the handle, I haven't any complaints. It is quite comfortable for me and I prefer the larger blades. Thus far, it seems to suit me well. Again, I agree. The grip, I have found, is very comfortable, as well as the weight. And, I didn't find the handle too broad, either.

Your assessment is quite on, it wasn't a life changer, but I am looking forward to tackling my everyday chopping tasks and am hopeful that with wear and a proper sharpening that I will be even more pleased with it in the future.

Much appreciative of your very quick and thoughtful response.

bleugirl

 

[bleugirl]

Evening, coolJ,

Curious, why would you stay away from them? Your response intrigued me. I do, as I mentioned in a prior thread, owe a sundry collection of knives; Calphalon Santoku, Henckels Santoku, and when freshly sharpened, not too bad a performance did they give. Also, an old bread knife, Japanese made, but probably too poor of quality to mention. Although, in its day, may have been descent, it is quite old and I inherited it from my father.

And, don't laugh, but a couple of knives that I picked up very cheaply when I first was on my own that have seen their share of kitchen duties, but did retain their sharpness for a respectable amount of time. It must be stated though, I wasn't quite into chopping the amounts of foods and cooking as I am today. It was Rada Cutlery, a little paring knife, and a couple of its larger relatives, but they let me down when tackling the aforementioned more challenging food items, like the root veggies.

Thanks, bleugirl

 

[bleugirl]

Evening, again, coolJ,

My older, black handled, department store, Cologne series Santoku was used for a long time. I was just looking for a great go-to knife that would ease the cutting and chopping of the tougher, more demanding chores of the kitchen. The Misono, for me, is still to new to tell, but I have to state that it does feel good in hand. Finally, I was able to chop an entire large onion without tearing up profusely. Just a little teary eyed at the end. I chalk it up to the Misono sliding through it without pushing out copious amounts of the milky substance. I have often read that the sharper the knife, the less one tears up when chopping onions.

Thank you for your input. Appreciated.

bleugirl

 

[coolj]

Evening, coolJ,

Curious, why would you stay away from them? Your response intrigued me.

Just going by the picture on the website, the handles looked really smooth, at least to me. You might think this is weird, but when I look at a knife I the first think I do is assess the grip. Because, thanks to a previous manager, I now consider the slip factor when I'm chopping, the less risk there is of a knife slipping out of my hand and cutting me, the better. I would definetly have to use a misono to give it a fair assessment.

 

[duckfat]

bluegirl if you are unhappy with the knife for any reason why not return or exhange it since it seems to be new?
IIR Chef Feitag used a UX10 on the next Iron Chef series.

 

[bleugirl]

Hello, DuckFat,

Apologies, wasn't expressing so much unhappiness with the Misono. I was just looking for some clarification. I think that I will stick with it.

bleugirl

 

[bleugirl]

Hello coolJ,

I don't think that your perspective is weird at all. I assumed that you were concerned about slipping, rightly so. Since my arena is far less demanding than the professional arena in which you reside, I wasn't so much concerned with the handle being too smooth. But, for you, that would be a very important factor in considering using one knife versus another.

Thank you to one and all. Much, much appreciated.

bleugirl

 

[jacques straw]

Aren't these knives 70/30 bevel?

 

[rick alan]

Ahahaha, could be these days, this theread is only 6 years old.