Blade: approx 142mm (5.5 inches) long; “damascus” warikomi cladding CMV60 (VG-10) core (target 60 HRC); double-bevel edge
Handle: western-style; micarta
Weight: 77g
Price: $80 discounted ($110 standard)
What month is it? Why it’s Knovember—the cuttiest, choppiest, sliciest month of the year! And unlike those other “special” months (you know, the ones like Remorseuary, Junkly, Suicitember and Sucktober) I actually plan to enjoy this one! And how do we celebrate Knovember? Why, naturally it’s by getting, using and talking about knives! Of course that’s a lucky thing for both you and me, reader, since it’s pretty much one of our favorite topics.
For me, Knovember will start with reviewing the Miyabi Fusion 5.5 inch utility knife (initially found during my petty search described here). Granted, I purchased this knife back in October but since I’m talking about it now, it still counts toward the Knovember celebration. 😉
As was the case with my Miyabi Fusion gyuto, the packaging was pretty simple while fit and finish were very good. There is a tiny bit of unevenness noticeable in the butt-end (ha—butt!) of the handle where the spacers and scales meet, but it isn’t super obvious and since that portion of the handle never gets touched during normal use, it was not much of a point of concern for me. Looks are standard for the Fusion line and nice as far as I’m concerned; the damascus cladding isn’t real damascus, of course, but it looks good and isn’t as in-your-face or chincy looking as other, similar knives (for example the Miyabi Kaizens or Shun Kramers).
As for the blade’s more concrete properties, it’s only 5.5 inches long and weighs in at a relatively light 77 grams. On top of that, it has a very central balance point, just behind the ferrule. These properties combine to make it handle a bit like a long paring knife. The thin blade and relatively flat profile also give it elements of a diminutive slicer. The cutting edge was quite sharp out of the box as far as these things go—easily able to shave hair and slice the majority of things that I put in its way—although it does appear to lose that edge relatively quickly.
But how is the performance? I went through two days of dinner prep for myself and the Gastrognome in which I used this knife exclusively so I could test it on a range of foods. I had no issues julienning bell peppers, halving lemons and limes or mincing shallots and jalapeños. It also did well in trimming chicken breasts. Slicing carrots, celery and sausage (raw) proved doable if a bit more difficult than performing the same task with a chef’s knife. Mincing herbs was a pain due to the blade’s lack of rocking ability. A big, brown onion turned out to be the little knife’s downfall; the burly bulb was simply too thick and too broad to be easily diced and I had to cut it into smaller, more manageable pieces before proceeding with a task that would have been no problem at all for a chef’s knife. On the other hand, the small, slender blade did excel in a few areas where a chef’s knife or larger slicer normally doesn’t, namely paring tasks. Peeling an apple, coring a small chili and paring cauliflower florets were all easy as can be and I actually feel like the long, thin tip of this knife even made the latter two tasks simpler than doing them with a regular, squatter paring knife would have been.
Overall I’m really enjoying this knife so far and would definitely recommend it to others looking for something that fits into the realm of “small slicer/large paring knife.” The Gastrognome also likes it and reports that it feels comfortable in her hand and is a nice length for someone with smaller hands as well. If you dig something short and slender, I think this knife is certainly one to consider. For something more utilitarian, however, I would look elsewhere—it may have “utility” in the name, but it isn’t really all-purpose. I’ll also add that I was able to buy this knife at a considerable discount and I think that due to the narrower range of uses one is likely to whip it out for, the standard price does potentially push the cost-to-value ratio into unfavorable territory.
More pics to follow once the friggen sun comes out again.
More kitchen knife reviews:
Miyabi Artisan 8″ gyuto/chef’s
MAC 10″ gyuto/chef’s
Miyabi Fusion 8″ gyuto/chef’s
First: love the slice of light within which this knife is being photographed. For some reason, it reminds me of every scene in The Adam’s Family movies that depicts Morticia in relative shadow, except for a horizontal band of light across her eyes.
Second: I’m afraid all this Knovember Knife talk has me feeling a tad igknorant, though I do admire the knear-obsessive passion with which you write these reviews.
Third: There is no
third, spoon, knifeAnything involving full tang will inevitably result in breasts.
Or something like that.
I have a Shun much like this that I use all the time for smaller things: smashing garlic, the aforementioned chili peppers, scallions, etc. I’ll continue with my belief however, that if there’s one knife to have, it’s an 8 inch chef’s.
In the butt-end.