Buy MISONO CHINESE STYLE CLEAVER
CUSTOMER REVIEW
FACTS: The Misono No. 61 Chinese style knife weighs aproximately 329 grams, at least the one I received. The overall length is 303mm. The metal is a high carbon 13 chrome stainless molybdenum steel*, with a full tang. The blade portion is about 192mm long, by 98mm high max' (i.e. from sharp edge to spine). The thickness along the spine, as best as I can measure, is approx' 2.2 mm at handle, evenly tapering to aprox 1mm at lead edge. The wooden handle is 105mm long, with a thickness of 22mm from front to back, and has 3 rivets which secure it to the blade. The balance point, when placed on a fulcrum, is about midway between lead edge and the butt of handle (i.e. aprox. 55mm into blade from the handle: see photo of balance test).
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: This knife is so practical as to suggest design by cooks. For example, the large surface serves as a spatula and useful for crusing garlic; the butt of the handle serves as a meat tenderizer; the lead edge serves as a dough scraper. Particularly usefull for parting large vegetables, like squash. In my judgement, this style of knife is more efficient, and generally safer, for cutting most vegetables than the typical pointed knife with low blade height. Additionally, when cutting onions with its super sharp edge, I experience fewer tears. Glad I bought it.
PROS: Good sharpness retention. Good balance for a knife of this type. The handle is traditional hand crafted wood with solid rivets. The deep squared off shape reflects a traditional chinese chef knife style, which makes this knife highly versatile. The extra blade height, or depth, is considered by many to be safer. At the same time, the weight is not excessive for a knife of this size.
CONS: Despite carefull cleaning after each use, I have noticed some insignificant stains at about a month out: to be fair, the blade is stain resistent, but not quite 100% stainless. The enclosed written material is only in japanese, which is cumbersome for those of us who do not read that language. Also, the overall size is a slightly smaller than the typical professional chinese chef knife, making it more appropriate for home kitchen use.
OBSERVATION: Although the shape of this knifie resembles a much heavier butcher's meat cleaver, it is in fact a general purpose kitchen knife, not a cleaver! Arguably, the term cleaver is somewhat misleading, suggesting a far heftier product.
SUMMARY: In my opinion, the Misono No. 61 Chinese style knife is a versatile, hand crafted, general purpose kitchen knife, that can arguably replace most every home kitchen knife, with the possible exception of a small paring knife for the finest work. Hats off to Misono for a great product at a fair price!
* source: japan chef knife.com
