Zwilling J. A. Henckels Miyabi 5000S Shotoh, Small Utility Knife

This is an absolutely gorgeous knife! The fit and finish is perfection, and the bevel grinding is also perfect, unlike, for example, the Henckels Twin Four Star line (not that the bevel is badly ground on those knives--it's just a little uneven from tip to heel and from side to side). The handle feels and looks incredible.

The Henckels Miyabi line comes in four flavors:

1. Simply practical (like this knife), the 5000S knives, which use the same German steel as the Four Star series. It's not a bad steel, but it definitely won't reach the same hardness as the steel in the 7000MC Simply Sharp line. The handle is also different, and instead of being made from linen-micarta and stainless steel is made from a completely water-proof material that seems quite similar to the Four Star line, but also seems finished to a higher degree of smoothness and polish. The upshot is that if you (or your spouse) forget this knife after use and leave it sitting on a cutting board stewing in tomato juice, it WILL NOT RUST. It will also be fine soaking in a sink full of water or in a dishwasher. Hence the "practical" name of this lineup.

2. Simply Sharp, (like the J.A. Henckels MIYABI 7000MC Shotoh Small Utility Knife ), the 7000MC knives, which use Cowry-X as the cutting steel (they don't call it this, but that's what it is), sandwiched in three layers of stainless steel for rust resistance, strength, and durability. These knives are HRC 66 and have the linen micarta and stainless steel handle. The handle is exactly the same geometry, it's just made of a different (and more expensive) material. You can't put these knives in the dishwasher and if you leave them sitting on a cutting board with water or food juice on their edge, they just may rust on you! If you go for one of these knives, you need to understand that it should be washed and dried more or less immediately after use. They CAN NOT be abused. The edge is very, very hard, and thus will be more prone to nicking and chipping if you toss this knife in with silverware or other knives or place it point down in a silverware drying basket (don't laugh--it's not funny--this actually happened to me while a relative was visiting--they put my newly sharpened 6 inch four star chefs knife point down with the silverware--glad it wasn't a Hattori KD or anything)

3. Simply Beautiful, (like the J.A. Henckels MIYABI 7000D Shotoh Small Utility Knife ), the 7000D knives, which use CMV60 steel wrapped in 32 layers of select stainless steel giving the knife a wonderful damask design. These use the same handle material as the 7000MC knives, are sharper than the 5000S, but presumably not as sharp as the 7000MC knives, but more rust resistant than them as well (I would guess). In any case, the point is, get these knives if you want the damask appearance.

4. And finally the professional line, which has a more limited selection of models and is heavier duty.

Now, what you should know right away about ALL of these knives, is that the handle is a traditional Japanese handle. It is designed to be used with only THREE FINGERS on it. Your index finger and thumb are expected to be in a pinch grip on the blade. Or, in some cases, your index finger is to be extended out onto the "Mine" (back of the blade near the handle). So, the issue is that you CAN NOT grab this knife comfortably with your whole hand in the "hammer" grip--the handle is just too short, by about 1/2 an inch. Just doesn't work for that grip. And the diameter of the handle is fairly small--think about the size of your index finger. Personally, I just couldn't get used to it and immediately returned this knife. But, for those people who LIKE the Japanese style knives, the Miyabi's are incredible and I would highly recommend them. They are a bit handle-heavy, I suspect, but this shouldn't be a deal breaker for most people--not at all! And they are just so beautiful. I love the steel end of the handle, which has a Japanese character engraved on it. I really came close to keeping this knife because of how beautiful it was, figuring that I would get used to the new handle and grip-style, but in the end figured that that just wasn't practical. So, I returned this and ordered the J.A. Henckels Twin Cermax M66 5-Inch Paring/Utility Knife instead, as it has a much larger, Western style handle, and yet has the blade length and shape I was looking for in an HRC 66 steel (which I'm a bit worried about as I'm not the only one who uses my knives--but I'll take the chance this time--and I'd recommend considering the 7000MC version of this knife if you think you can properly care for it. It's about twice as expensive, but Cowry-X is an amazing steel!)

Miyabi knives belong to best looking kitchen knives and when new are extremely sharp. There are two problems however. They tend to get rusty. Also the blade is too thin at the junction with the handle so the knives tend to bend .

One would certainly expect better quality from such super brand .

The beauty is unquestionable and sharpness superb.

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