Miyabi

Origin and background

Miyabi is a Japanese kitchen-knife brand founded in 2004 and owned by the German Zwilling J.A. Henckels group. Its blades are hand-forged in Seki, the Japanese city of swordsmithing tradition, marrying Japanese forging techniques with German quality control and engineering.

Specialty

The house specialises in high-hardness steels with a very pronounced edge, often finished by hand with the Honbazuke edge, for precision cuts. Its catalogue runs through Japanese profiles such as the sujihiki, the gyuto and the santoku, aimed at anyone who wants to part the fibre of meat, fish and vegetables cleanly rather than tear it.

Our take

At mikamado we list the Miyabi 5000FCD, a 24 cm sujihiki (slicing knife), for a reason that speaks directly to the grill cook: the long, narrow sujihiki blade is the ideal tool for slicing a picanha, a brisket or a whole fish off the kamado into clean, single-stroke cuts. Based on the specs, the user community and our own experience cooking on our Big Green Egg Large, it is a knife as specialised as it is satisfying to use. An honest caveat: it is not an all-rounder — its length and delicate edge call for a santoku or a chef's knife for daily work — and, like any high-hardness steel, it will not forgive bone or rough handling. It competes with Kai Shun's sujihiki and with Global.