Misono

Why r/BuyItForLife recommends Misono

3 mentions from real owners

• #1Jun 2, 2025

  What are your favorite niche BIFL items that are currently available?

  Misono Chef Knives.

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• #2Apr 2, 2025

  Non US Brands | Trade War

  Ah, so I can't speak to kikuichi personally (have heard good things). But there are reasons why I don't recommend Global/Shun/Henckels knives. * Shun used to have a serious problem with over-hardening the steel in their knives, leaving it quite brittle and prone to chipping and shattering. There was an infamous story where someone threw a Doritos chip in the air and took a swing at it with their Shun (silly, but sure, should be fine) and the chip knocked a chunk out of the blade. This makes me uncomfortable to suggest them as BIFL although some people love theirs. * I also think Shun is rather over-priced/over-marketed in terms of Japanese style chef knifes. MAC, Misono/Korin and the many smaller brands are probably better buys. * Global it's partly a matter of opinion. When I worked in restaurants (some years ago) a chef had a set of Global, and liked to let people try them. The stainless steel handles are *incredibly* slippery if you get anything on your hands to the point where I think it's dangerous. Their CROMOVA steel also doesn't seem to perform as well as the VG10, SG2 or other more premium steels in Japanese-style knives (or the alloy used in MAC knives). Some people love this brand as well, but I don't feel comfortable recommending it. * Henckels would be the direct competitor to Wusthof in German knives, but Wusthof tends to harden their steel more and takes a keener edge (without sacrificing durability). Some people like their Henckels knives, but I would tend to recommend Wusthof over them. There's a bunch of other knife brands out there which are probably good (and I just don't have enough to go on to recommend them). The ones I suggested are ones I've used personally for many years with good results, both at home and in professional kitchens. They're also quite popular picks in professional kitchens, especially Victorinox and Wusthof.

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• #3Feb 5, 2025

  A list of BIFL not made in the USA

  I can only comment on things made in Japan, but here goes: Mac Knives - Very good quality yet reasonably-priced (if price is no object, then there is an endless supply of other makers, including famous ones like Misono as well as small-volume shops that only sell locally) Makita - Power tools Miyazaki Seisakusho - Their "Geo" line of stainless steel pots and pans is very high quality, similar to All Clad Mont-bell - Outdoor gear and clothing Zojirushi - Rice cookers, hot water dispensors, insulated bottles, etc. And of course, Nikon, Canon, Sony, etc. all make great quality camera gear (though they all make cheap stuff too). Stationery isn't exactly BIFL, but Japan is known to have high-quality pens, pencils, paper, etc. Similarly, towels don't last a lifetime, but Imabari towels are really high quality. There's even a Towel Museum in Imabari.

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