Anyone still uses/buys nenox?

Shop Knives and stones on ebay
Miura knives
Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
karloevaristo

karloevaristo

Banned
Joined
May 19, 2011
Messages
209
Reaction score
11
Correct me if I'm wrong, wasn't nenox super popular a couple of years ago? I remember when I started to get into knives, I was really considering in buying one…

But lately haven't really heard anyone getting one, posting one on BST, or even just talking about it… not even on "what knife to buy" threads...

Also one of my co-workers staged at a very high end michelin starred restaurant in SF and he said he wasn't kidding when he said that "everybody" had a nenox and sworn they were the best knives out there…

What do you guys think?

It is pretty expensive, haven't really used one, is it worth the money?

Karlo
 
To the best of my knowledge they are not officially considered part of the Nenox line by Nenohi, but my main knives are a 270mm K-Gyuto and a 180mm Petty from the Wa-Ryouba series.

I purchased them as a second choice since Knife System Co. was making me run in circles on an order for over six months. While I would have preferred to get the Suisins which I wanted for the steel and HT, I am very happy with these knives — nice fit and finish, thin geometry (specific to the Wa-Ryouba line; the Nenox are thicker), holds a nice edge and pleasant and easy to sharpen on the stones I use, reminiscent of "carbon" steel, I find.

The Nenox however are much more expensive than the Wa-Ryouba knives, it seems mostly due to them having fancy handles. If you are not looking for something specific they offer, depending on your location and options, you most probably will be able to find something that will perform just as good or even better for less moulah.
 
I've handled many and sharpened them all for friends and I would never buy one.
 
The 270 corian gyuto I have now is probably one of my favorite knifes I've had. It's comfortable, holds a good edge. I bought it used so I thinned it a little, cleaned it up and just love using it. Still overpriced. They are crazy expensive new. I have a 285 corian suji that I love too.
 
I picked up a Nenox Brown Bone Handle Gyuto recently. Was expensive (I sold some knives to fund the purchase and Korin industry discount helped) but so are a lot of knives on here and I feel it performs better than some of them. F&F is top notch, sharpens up easily and holds it well. I know folks sh*t on its edge holding but it holds one better that some knives I have purchased in the price range from touted makers on here. Handle is killer and real comfortable, damn thin grind on them so even when losing an edge still performs well.

Is it worth the price? That's in the eye of the buyer. Is a hand forged Japanese knife in that price range that comes with a mediocre handle that you have to thin on the regular worth it? Is a semi custom knife in that price range with a tricked out handle made of ancient spalted oaks and secret metals that has a cut out blade with a mediocre grind that you have to wait 3 years to get worth it either? The later two aren't to me but I have no qualms with the Nenox, maybe if I paid cash out pocket instead of money off selling other knives I would have a different tone but doubt it.
 
My two cents....
A lot of chefs/cooks who don't really know much about great Japanese knives buy them to show off...also top chef contestants. A vg10 knife is worth about $200 tops in my mind, so you're paying like a $300 premium for a flashy handle...
 
TheDispossessed said:
A lot of chefs/cooks who don't really know much about great Japanese knives buy them to show off...also top chef contestants. A vg10 knife is worth about $200 tops in my mind, so you're paying like a $300 premium for a flashy handle...
Click to expand...

That's what I thought and why I didn't buy a Nenox till now. Seems like a good decision so far...
 
if you're anecdotally judging the popularity of a brand or model based on postings here, the only japanese made knives people bother to buy anymore are kato and shig ;)
 
I've held one, didn't get to use it though. But from what the owner said, not worth the money.
Not a bad knife, like shun, but it is way overpriced.

People pay it because you see famous chefs using it. Same with shun.
 
Shun. C'mon man. I'm sure there some better than others but the shuns I've used were poorly designed, thick behind the edge with questionable heat treat. Never used a nenox like that. Nenox in my opinion take a beating, preform great and hold an edge all day and feel awesome in hand. Overpriced sure it's hard to think of a knife that's not.
 
i usually like to use a knife for about a week before writing about it. i seem to form an extreme opinion right away and then really figure out what's going on over the next few days.
 
i thought nenohi made pretty good knives. I've never seen a negative review. I had assumed the bump in price was for the sake of QC which many people seem to complain about with japanese knives in general but especially production knives.
 
Didn't originally post this, but I have a 240 yo-deba from the old Karin production days.
Used to use it once in a while, and then mothballed it. In light of all the 'mighty' gyuto popularity, I might tune it up and start using it again.
 
For stainless, I think these good knives; generally very thin behind the edge but seriously overpriced as stated above. I would not buy any more because of the price but I quite like their knives. Nehoni is also overpriced imho.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top