Misono Molybdenum Chef's Knife (Gyutou), 9.5-inch (240mm) - #513

Misono Molybdenum 9.5-inch (240mm) Chef's Knife (Gyutou) Excellent value in a high quality chef's knife. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this knife to home users, pro chefs or culinary school students. It's super sharp, very well made, superbly balanced, and easier to maintain than some other Japanese knives which have overly-hard metals. A fantastic choice for the professional chef or serious home user on a budget! You get Japanese-knife performance at a German-knife price. As with all Misono knives, this is for right-hand use only. Misono chef's knife shape, for everyday all-around use. Preferred by many serious home and professional cooks. Good heft for serious cutting, but still easy to handle. Top-quality blade and construction in a classic shape -- like a good old German or French professional knife, only better. Super choice for people who want a single all-purpose knife.

Please note that Misono knives have a very polished edge. It's very sharp out of the box, but not in the way that many people are used to with European and many other Japanese knives: they have very little "bite" as the edge is polished and so not at all "toothy". So if you take the knife out of the box and try to cut a tomato or bell pepper it might glide over the surface and appear to not cut well... this is why "tomato knives" have serrated edges (the ultimate "toothy" edge!). So while they ARE sharp, you need to adjust your cutting style (think slicing more than chopping) and expectations, and of course you can easily adjust the edge as part of a full re-sharpening (do NOT use a gadget!) or as part of your daily routine... I use a Misono UX10 150mm petty knife at home pretty much daily and I love it, but I have indeed over time removed the polish from the edge for the most part so it's a bit more useful as an all-purpose knife and doesn't have the same tendency to slide over veggie skins.