Miyabi Birchwood Nakiri Knife Full Review

Miyabi Birchwood Nakiri Knife Features

The Japanese nakiri and usuba knives, also known as the Nakiri bōchō and usuba bōchō are vegetable knives. The main difference between the two is the blade’s edge and weight. The Nakiri knife has both sides ground, while the Usuba has only one side. Basically the nakiri knife has a “V” shaped edge while the Usuba has a chisel like edge. Also the usuba is heavier and mainly used by professionals while the Nakiri is a great home knife. Thus the Miyabi Birchwood Nakiri Knife is a great knife for home users that are passionate about Japanese knives.

Different to the western style knives, the Nakiri has a small cleaver shape with a straight edge best used for cutting vegetables, herbs or fruit. Because of its thin blade the knife is not suited for small bones that might damage the blade. The Miyabi 6.5 inch Nakiri has a slightly curved edge when compared with other nakiri knives. This allows you to do a certain amount of rock chopping on the cutting board.

Miyabi Birchwood Nakiri Knife Blade

The blade of the Miyabi Birchwood Nakiri is made by laminating a MC63 Micro Carbide Powdered Steel core in 101 layers of softer and harder steel. This will ensure you end up with a very hard but still flexible blade. The process of laminating blades comes from the ancient Japanese tradition of sword making. Thus the Miyabi Birchwood line is all made in Seki, Japan. The knife making capital of the country.

The Miyabi brand is owned by the german Zwilling J.A. Henckels knife making company. Thus the western influences on all Miyabi knives. Not only the shape of the knives but also the technological process is a mixture of German high engineering and Japanese tradition. But this is great for western chefs that want to get a personalized knife, drawing out the best qualities of both worlds.

One of the improvements made by Zwilling’s German engineering on to the Birchwood line Japanese knife making technique, is the hardening of the blade The technique uses the unique CRYODUR process in order to create a blade edge at 63 Rockwell that is still flexible. This is done by heating the blade’s steel in vacuum sealed ovens before rapidly cooling it a room temperature then freezing it at -196 Celsius (-321 Fahrenheit). This way the blade will be very hard without being brittle.

Miyabi Birchwood Nakiri Knife Features Handle

The handle of the Birchwood Nakiri knife is a traditional Japanese D-shaped handle made out of Birch. But the brand doesn’t use any common birch wood to for this line of knives. They use the rare Karelian Masur Birchwood which is mostly grown in Finland and Russia. The type of the wood is known as Masur Birch and the region where the wood is mostly found in is called “Karelia”, a region between the two countries. The irregular grain pattern in the wood makes this type rare Thus, It can be found in just a few of hundreds of logs. The material is mostly used in knife handles and artwork.

All Miyabi Nakiri knives in the Birchwood line come with a lifetime manufacturer warranty.

Pros of the Birchwood Nakiri Knife

• MC63 Steel Core
• 63 Rockwell
• 101 Layers Damascus Steel
• CRYODUR Hardening
• Beautiful Masur Birchwood handle
• 3 step Japanese hand Sharpening
• Mosaic Pin, Red Separators and Stainless Steel End Cap

Cons of the Birchwood Nakiri Knife

• It is a expensive line of knives

Didi you like the Birchwood Nakiri knife from Miyabi? If you did, don’t forget to check out the entire Miyabi Birchwood line in order to get a complete view of all knives.