# Please Stop Me from Returning Miyabi Mizu SG2s



## mic-cosmos (Dec 27, 2019)

Hi all,

I'm a casual home cook who only deals with fruits (including melons), vegetables, and veggie "meats". I previously inherited (or was given) an old Kai nakiri and a variety of other dollar-store quality knives. They have more or less sufficed my needs but I was open to upgrading my knives. As Cutlery and More had a recent sale, I went with the Miyabi Mizu SG2 and bought the following recently based on some reviews and suggestions:

8" chef ($128)
6" chef ($100)
3.5" paring ($100)
6.5" nakiri ($120)
7" santoku ($130)

After reading KKF and other forums, I understand that Miyabis are generally overpriced for performance due to supply chain mark-ups and marketing costs. Given the price I paid for them though, the calculus may be different. I'm having second thoughts and am planning on returning the above purchase. Is any of the above actually worth keeping?

FWIW, I also bought an 8" Victorinox Fibrox for $25 as an "upgrade" and something to practice stoning on (in addition to the preexisting cheap knives) should the need arise.

Other background information below:
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LOCATION
What country are you in?

*USA*

KNIFE TYPE
What type of knife are you interested in (e.g., chef’s knife, slicer, boning knife, utility knife, bread knife, paring knife, cleaver)?

*Chef vs. santoku vs. nakiri?, paring*

Are you right or left handed?

*Right*

Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle?

*Probably Japanese*

What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)?

*6-8 inches*

Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no)

*No*

What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife?

*$200 USD*

KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment?

*Home*

What are the main tasks you primarily intend to use the knife for (e.g., slicing vegetables, chopping vegetables, mincing vegetables, slicing meats, cutting down poultry, breaking poultry bones, filleting fish, trimming meats, etc.)? (Please identify as many tasks as you would like.)

*Chef/Santoku/nakiri: Slice/chop/dice/Julienne/mince vegetables
Paring: cutting fruits*

What knife, if any, are you replacing?

*Hand-me-down Kai nakiri, dollar-store type chef's*

Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use? (Please click on this LINK for the common types of grips.)

*No (hammer, learning pinch)*

What cutting motions do you primarily use? (Please click on this LINK for types of cutting motions and identify the two or three most common cutting motions, in order of most used to least used.)

*chop, slice, rock, walk*

What improvements do you want from your current knife? If you are not replacing a knife, please identify as many characteristics identified below in parentheses that you would like this knife to have.)

*Edge retention, sharpness, any upgrade really*

Better aesthetics (e.g., a certain type of finish; layered/Damascus or other pattern of steel; different handle color/pattern/shape/wood; better scratch resistance; better stain resistance)?

Comfort (e.g., lighter/heavier knife; better handle material; better handle shape; rounded spine/choil of the knife; improved balance)?

Ease of Use (e.g., ability to use the knife right out of the box; smoother rock chopping, push cutting, or slicing motion; less wedging; better food release; less reactivity with food; easier to sharpen)?

Edge Retention (i.e., length of time you want the edge to last without sharpening)?



KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board? (Yes or no.)

*Synthetic, wood*

Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.)

*No*

If not, are you interested in learning how to sharpen your knives? (Yes or no.)

*Yes*

Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives? (Yes or no.)

*Yes*


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## labor of love (Dec 27, 2019)

Hey there,
I’m not familiar with that particular Miyabi line but those look like fair prices to me.


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## drsmp (Dec 27, 2019)

Miyabi are nice knives and those are SG2 also a very good steel. I’d return the Santoku and 6” chef possibly the paring knife. Take the +/- $230 and watch the BST for a 210 carbon core/stainless clad gyuto. The Anryu and Kurosaki’s with AS cores are good looking great entry level knives. As I’ve gotten more comfortable with knife skills I rarely use my 4” paring knife(100mm petty) usually going with a 130 or 150 petty.


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## daveb (Dec 27, 2019)

The santoku and 6" are largely redundant and lesser knives than the 8" chef. I'm not a fan of Myabi at any price - handles too small, most have more belly than I do, ...... But if you like it then the price is fair. If you do return any then check on price of 150mm Shun classic utility (petty) and 3.5" paring. Both are decent knives for their class.


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## labor of love (Dec 27, 2019)

Unfortunately this little Tanaka just sold. Anyway for the price I think you would love it for fruit.

https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/tanaka-damascus-petty.44751/


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## Kristoffer (Dec 28, 2019)

Seems like good prices for quality knives; you get good steel, nice looking knives (I might be a minority here, but I really like the looks of Miyabi knives) and superb fit&finish for your money. 

Were it up to me though, I would take the ~600 usd and get one very, very high quality 240 Gyuto that can do most of what the chefs knives and Nakiri can do, and a few 3-4 inch Victorinox pairing knives for smaller fruits, berries etc. 

I guess the answer will be “it depends” though? Are you interested in joining KKF crew in a wonderful tumble down the rabbit hole that is handmade Japanese knives? How quickly would you want to fall? 

Like someone mentioned above, maybe replace a few of the redundancies, to see if it’s for you? Or, fast track - replace them all with what would amount to a grail knife for many? Or, also a good option, keep the nice knives you got for a good price?

To conclude the rambling; get a Toyama or Watanabe 240 mm Gyuto and a Shapton Pro 2000 grit sharpening stone to go with it, and welcome to the rabbit hole


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## slickmamba (Dec 28, 2019)

I would return the two chefs, santoku and nakiri. Like others have said, the 6", santoku and nakiri essentially fill the same role. At most I would keep one of the smaller ones(6" chef, santoku, nakiri) and spend the money on a nice stainless clad carbon knife with great fit and finish(wakui, tanaka, ikazuchi, anryu, kurosaki) and the rest on a couple stones.(shapton glass 500 + shapton pro 2000 would be a good fit, or a shapton pro 1000 and whatever 3-6k stone you want). You already have the victorionox to use as a beater and on stuff you don't want to risk nicer steel on.


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## TBS19106 (Dec 28, 2019)

drsmp said:


> watch the BST


 What is BST?


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## Midsummer (Dec 28, 2019)

TBS19106 said:


> What is BST?



BST = Buy Sell Trade forum


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## TBS19106 (Dec 28, 2019)

Midsummer said:


> BST = Buy Sell Trade forum


Grazie


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## Eloh (Dec 28, 2019)

I would keep them for that price. Maybe sell the santoku, nakiri and the small chef,.these are mostly redundant if you keep the 8".


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## Michi (Dec 28, 2019)

You didn't pay too much, and they are decent knives. Like other people suggested, I'd let go of the Santoku and the 6" chef's knife. The Nakiri might be worth hanging onto, if you enjoy using it. But your 8" chef's knife can do the job almost as well, so the Nakiri is optional.


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## bahamaroot (Dec 28, 2019)

Good prices if you like the knives.


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## Itsjun (Dec 30, 2019)

They sell Miyabi at double the price over here....
Those price seems quite reasonable to me.


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