Misen chef's knife redesign

[Michi]

I just saw this. Quite an interesting video. Not just because the new design changes things for the worse, but because it illustrates how incredibly important even minor changes in shape and proportion can be. The ergonomics of a knife matter a lot. And I find myself preferring knives with comfortable handles, even if the sharpness or profile are not as optimal as they could be.

 

[KenHash]

Misen manufactures their knives just outside of Shanghai, which as of a few days ago had 337 COVID-19 cases. I am sure their production is affected negatively right now, just like everyone else who OEMs in China.

 

[Michi]

Misen manufactures their knives just outside of Shanghai, which as of a few days ago had 337 COVID-19 cases. I am sure their production is affected negatively right now, just like everyone else who OEMs in China.

I wouldn't be surprised if that is the case.

But the knife in question was designed long before the outbreak. The issue here isn't that the knife was manufactured poorly, but that the design has changed. The design issues are not an accident caused by a virus.

 

[timos]

thats what..8mm taller at the heel? its a totally different knife!

 

[Cksnffr]

I never took these knives seriously, but I just learned that a friend of mine who is a pro has been using one for a couple of years, and they're not uncommon in real kitchens.

 

[Danzo]

These knives serve the purpose of being better than 99% of kitchen knives out there, in the real world. Not in our little haven of hand crafted cutlery. Interesting they changed the shape after such success. If it ain’t broke...

 

[lemeneid]

I quite like my original Misen I got from Kickstarter. Decent cutter when sharpened well, but a little thick compared to Japanese knives we all have. Is relegated as my beater knife for when I need to crack crab shells or break bones.

 

[Michi]

To me, the interesting part is not so much that the knife is Misen, or that they may (or may not) have made it worse with the redesign. The interesting part is that quite subtle changes can make a big difference to the way the knife works and feels.

Helen is quite explicit about this in her video, particularly about the effect of the distance of the heel from the end of the handle. Explicit insights such as this are rare and valuable. Most people can only tell that something doesn't work for them, but they can't tell why something doesn't work for them.

 

[ma_sha1]

I understand her issue, especially longer knife where I do neck grip. Not a problem on smaller knife where I just handle grip.

My TF has a long neck & it hurts my hand when pressing down. I have metals on order to thicken the neck permanently.

The one thing I liked on my Shig KU was the extreme thick neck, 8 mm wide coming out the handle, very comfortable to press down the neck.

for my long-neck Toyama, I re-handled it & shoved the handle further up over the neck, then created a TF style notch for finger space instead.

 

[DitmasPork]

I just saw this. Quite an interesting video. Not just because the new design changes things for the worse, but because it illustrates how incredibly important even minor changes in shape and proportion can be. The ergonomics of a knife matter a lot. And I find myself preferring knives with comfortable handles, even if the sharpness or profile are not as optimal as they could be.

Thanks for posting! Though I've never used one, since their inception I've felt they are a very good low priced chef knife option for home cooks—decent steel, good design, smart aesthetics. Many home cooks I know have no interest spending much time researching or discussing knives. Though MISEN aren't my cup of tea, I appreciate how they're making an effort to evolve and improve their design. Also, knives made in China aren't inherently of poor quality, there're some good knives coming out of China, well made affordable options for the home cook in search of a bang-for-buck chef knife under $100.