No politics here today. Just a “good news-bad news-good news” consumer note from our kitchen.
Back in February, I ordered a new chef’s knife from a relatively new company, Misen.
At that time, I was still wearing the new off of a pair of Wisen stainless steel skillets, 12″ and 10″. Previously, I cooked exclusively with cast iron, but some foods, those high in acid, aren’t recommended for cast iron. So after seeing Misen’s ads, I took the plunge. And I have to say that I love those pans. They heat evenly, balanced, and very easy to clean. They now compete on an even footing with my collection of vintage cast iron.
So when Misen started offering a chef’s knife at a very reasonable price, I was ready to order. I’ve used my previous knife for at least 30 years. It’s been a work horse, but–and a big but–I have a very hard time keeping a sharp edge on it. I had ignored the problem for years, but finally decided that I should look for a better knife. So I plunked down my credit card for a new Misen knife.
The good news is that it’s really an incredible knife. It’s beautiful, well made, feels rather delicate in your hand. It is scary sharp. It cuts like magic. I quickly fell for it.
Then the bad news happened. After cleaning it yesterday, I noticed what I thought was a cat hair stuck to the side of the blade. When I tried to clean it off, I realized that it was not a cat hair. It was a hairline crack in the blade. I was, of course, pretty upset.
So I took a couple of photos and sent them off to Misen, which says their knife comes with a lifetime warranty.
Now we’re hopefully back to good news. By the time I got up early this morning, there were two emails from Misen. The first letting me know they have already authorized a replacement, the second delivering a return mail postage-paid label to send the damaged knife back. I’ve got it printed, and will be taking the box up to the post office later this morning. That’s really good customer service, and I’m impressed.
Now I have to hope that this was an unusual flaw in this specific knife, and not a sign of a problem in the beautifully streamlined design.
In any case, I’m looking forward to putting the replacement chef’s knife back to work in our kitchen ASAP.
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Japanese, or German hand made knifes only! Henkel’s or Seki MAC knifes expensive, but last 50+ years and easy sharpen with cheap little yellow two step…few light strokes always sharp! insist on Stainless Steel, costly yes, no crack or chip difficult. Got mine Shirokiya Ala Moana 30 years ago! Still producing…probably $145.00 bucks + today. Get what you pay for! Handle a bit faded from heavy use that’s it a little shoe polish on real hard wood handle and good sharpening like new.
Saw this brand on Instagram which I consider the new purveyor of off-the-stagecoach snake oil. Too much marketing for too little in substance. You will be the reviewer for this product so keep us up-to-date.
Knife thinness might limit its use for side pressure, like smashing garlic.
Ian – Re: knife sharpening – Over a year ago, I got a bunch of knives sharpened as a gift for my wife. I used Cutting Edge Sharpening (277-2738). It’s a one-person operation and you have to make an appointment but it was an excellent job and very reasonable.