# experience on Mizuno Tanrenjo knife



## freedom188 (Feb 19, 2017)

hi guys am planning to purchase a mizuno tanrenjo knife do u guys hae any feedback on his knifes


----------



## khashy (Feb 19, 2017)

I know @Nemo has a Miz Hontanren, he loves his is every imaginable way. I'm sure he can shine light on performance etc.


----------



## supersayan3 (Feb 19, 2017)

There is one 24cm blue 2, Kasumi, 225$ by Iceman91 on B/S/T


----------



## guari (Feb 19, 2017)

I have a petty for what it's worth. Cuts very well but quite reactive for my liking.


----------



## Nemo (Feb 19, 2017)

khashy said:


> I know @Nemo has a Miz Hontanren, he loves his is every imaginable way. I'm sure he can shine light on performance etc.



I indeed have the wide bevel Akitada Hontanren in aogami 2. You can also get a standard bevel version which I've never used and I don't know if it performs the same. I wouldn't say I love it in EVERY imaginible way but it is a very good knife. Mine has quite a workhorse grind, with generous convexity on the right side. From reading other members' reports, the thickness of the grind seems a little variable. Fit & finish was ok. Spine & choil were eased but I eased them a bit more. Mine came with a nice ebony handle. The finish seems to be about 600 to 800 grit. OOTB sharpness was... not very. Reactivity is very managable. It has very good food release, but you do need to experiment with the finish to achieve this (I found a Chosera 3k finish is better than 1K for the wide bevel). It is fairly thin behind the edge considering its thickness. But it's certainly not a laser. I notice some wedging when compating it to my thinner knives. I named it "Zucchini Slayer" during our recent zucchini excess because it deals really well with wet produce (like zucchini and potato). It's easy to get sharp and stays that way for many weeks of home use, with the occasional strop. Note thst the wide bevel version seems to like a sort of two sided hamguriba sharpening, which was actually pretty easy to learn.

I'm sure it's not the best workhorse out there but IMO it's a pretty good one at a fairly reasonable price.

Hope this helps.


----------



## freedom188 (Feb 19, 2017)

hi nemo is miz hontanren knife that can handle most tasks without a problem knife that can handle any task without being afraid of chipping it or breaking the tip if I am not careful. anzd how is the profile of the knife i try using kato workhorse it doesnt suit me well


----------



## Nemo (Feb 20, 2017)

I don't baby mine. I'd call it a workhorse. Having said that of course you can chip it if you bang it on something hard.

The tip is in proportion to the knife: thinner than the spine at the heel but thicker than my thinner knives' tips.

Mine is sharpened hamguriba with an inclusive angle of I guess somewhere around 15 degrees, so it has a microbevel. Good edge rerention and no microchipping with this configuration.

The profile IIRC (not at home so can't see it right now) is fairly flat for the first half, then a shallow curve up to a low tip.

What was the problem with the Kato?


----------



## panda (Feb 20, 2017)

just buy the one thats available for sale right now, it's a bargain i can't believe it's still available.


----------



## Nemo (Feb 20, 2017)

Yeah looks like a good buy. Note that this is not the wide bevel so I don't know how similar its geometry and performance is to mine. Still, I suspect it's a very good knife though.


----------



## freedom188 (Feb 20, 2017)

kato workhorse its profile does not suit me well and i notice minor chipping on it sometime after using it to cut hard vege


----------



## OneS (Feb 21, 2017)

I have a non-wide bevel blue 2 Miz in 270 length. It's one of my go-to knives. It sharpens very easily, and holds it very well. It doesn't feel as fragile on the edge as some of my other knives sharpened to the same primary bevel angle (my Shiro Kamo R2 or my Heiji carbon, for instance). I think it walks a fine line between a laser and a workhorse (comparing it to my considerably heavier Watanabe Pro 270). I don't like using it on harder things like carrots, beetroot - that's Watanabe territory, and maybe matches Nemo's findings regarding mild wedging. But it flies through softer stuff and chiffonades are effortless. The stiction is quite good and reactivity is middle-of-the-road, as far as I know within my limited experience. 
I can't see anyone being disappointed with this - but it may not be 'the knife to rule them all'.


----------



## jonnachang (Feb 21, 2017)

I love my 270 mm non-wide Mizuno! You should grab the 240 on BST. It's still there! Cheers!


----------



## Nemo (Feb 21, 2017)

Just to be clear, the subtle wedging is very subtle. Really only detectable when comparing directly (sie by side) to a very thin knife. Nothing like the wedging you get with a Wustie or similar. You will get this minor level of wedging in pretty much any knife that's not very thin IME.


----------



## osakajoe (Feb 22, 2017)

Depends on who makes it for them.


----------



## supersayan3 (Feb 22, 2017)

What do you mean Osakajoe, can you please explain?


----------



## freedom188 (Feb 22, 2017)

Hi jonnachang can i know 270mm how long is the blade size..


----------



## jonnachang (Feb 22, 2017)

270 from handle,about 260 cutting surface.


----------



## jonnachang (Feb 22, 2017)




----------



## freedom188 (Feb 23, 2017)

thanks jonnachang for the pic


----------



## jonnachang (Feb 23, 2017)




----------



## jonnachang (Feb 23, 2017)

White ferrule is Mizuno 219 grams vs 185 grams for Ikkanshi. My workhorse, but not a Kato by any means!


----------



## inzite (Feb 23, 2017)

supersayan3 said:


> What do you mean Osakajoe, can you please explain?



I think for some of their lines they have different people forging different lines. Some family thing i recall?


----------



## freedom188 (Feb 23, 2017)

thanks jonnachang for ur pic


----------



## freedom188 (Feb 23, 2017)

Just want to check with you guys what do u think abt mizuno honyakis are they worth the money


----------



## bkultra (Feb 23, 2017)

freedom188 said:


> Just want to check with you guys what do u think abt mizuno honyakis are they worth the money



Yes but they do run short, so keep that in mind.


----------



## freedom188 (Feb 24, 2017)

thank bkultra fo ur info


----------



## Customfan (Feb 24, 2017)

Nemo said:


> I indeed have the wide bevel Akitada Hontanren in aogami 2. You can also get a standard bevel version which I've never used and I don't know if it performs the same. I wouldn't say I love it in EVERY imaginible way but it is a very good knife. Mine has quite a workhorse grind, with generous convexity on the right side. From reading other members' reports, the thickness of the grind seems a little variable. Fit & finish was ok. Spine & choil were eased but I eased them a bit more. Mine came with a nice ebony handle. The finish seems to be about 600 to 800 grit. OOTB sharpness was... not very. Reactivity is very managable. It has very good food release, but you do need to experiment with the finish to achieve this (I found a Chosera 3k finish is better than 1K for the wide bevel). It is fairly thin behind the edge considering its thickness. But it's certainly not a laser. I notice some wedging when compating it to my thinner knives. I named it "Zucchini Slayer" during our recent zucchini excess because it deals really well with wet produce (like zucchini and potato). It's easy to get sharp and stays that way for many weeks of home use, with the occasional strop. Note thst the wide bevel version seems to like a sort of two sided hamguriba sharpening, which was actually pretty easy to learn.
> 
> I'm sure it's not the best workhorse out there but IMO it's a pretty good one at a fairly reasonable price.
> 
> Hope this helps.



Thanks for the review, was wondering the same thing, very helpful!

:doublethumbsup:


----------



## freedom188 (Feb 25, 2017)

Customfan u also looking for mizuno knifes


----------



## Nemo (Feb 25, 2017)

Customfan said:


> Thanks for the review, was wondering the same thing, very helpful!
> 
> :doublethumbsup:



No problems.

I should point out that when I say it has good food release, this is in relation to my other (mostly thinner) knives. I haven't used a Kato or similar style workhorse to compare.


----------



## QCDawg (Mar 3, 2017)

My hontanren 270 "shinogi" took a great version of "mustard patina" and has been fairly nonreactive. But the iron cladding def does it's own thing vs the blue steel


----------



## Customfan (Mar 4, 2017)

freedom188 said:


> Customfan u also looking for mizuno knifes



I've thought about it, but there is always something that comes up.... still on my short list... :wink:


----------



## osakajoe (Mar 5, 2017)

supersayan3 said:


> What do you mean Osakajoe, can you please explain?



Rarely make knives anymore . Mostly OEM


----------



## Twister (Jan 13, 2018)

I'm looking for non-laser gyuto for left handed. Don't want to order left hand specific, looking for roughly ambidextrous convex & other geometry on both sides.
One option is Mizuno Hontanren Blue Steel No.2 with Shinogi 240 or 270 mm.

Any opinions how this would work for lefty? Especially food release is of concern.


----------



## Nemo (Jan 13, 2018)

Twister said:


> I'm looking for non-laser gyuto for left handed. Don't want to order left hand specific, looking for roughly ambidextrous convex & other geometry on both sides.
> One option is Mizuno Hontanren Blue Steel No.2 with Shinogi 240 or 270 mm.
> 
> Any opinions how this would work for lefty? Especially food release is of concern.


Mine (a wide bevel) has quite an assymetric grind, with a lot more convexity on the right blade face. I imagine that it would have much better food release for a righty than a lefty (although I have never used it left handed). I assume that this will be true of many Japanese knives (and more prominent the thicker the knife).


----------

