Nenohi Nenox S-1 Honyaki Gyuto 270mm(10.6")
Japanese Kitchen Knife Review

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Nenohi Nenox S-1 Honyaki Gyuto 270mm(10.6")

Usage, out of the box Edge, ~20° per side

- The edge was just stropped on 0.25µ leather strop and plain leather. In short, both cutting performance and edge holding were well below pathetic for a high end Japanese kitchen knife. Lack of cutting performance was easily explained with really obtuse out of the box edge on the knife, but that doesn't explain the lack of the edge holding ability, which I discovered later on. I've used the Nenox S1 gyuto to cut the usual salad mix, about 20 different vegetables, total weight about 4 lbs. The job what as usual takes about 2 or 2.5 hours took over 3 hours. I was not running an experiment, so no time was lost on logging the results, steeling, or stropping the edge and examinations. Still, I was slower than usual, because of the thick edge, which required considerably more force to make the cuts. When I have to make precision cuts, e.g. batonnet or chiffonade, using excessive force is really undesirable, cuts are mare close from fingertips, 1mm or so apart... Cutting harder vegetables like carrots and broccoli stems was also difficult, even though the edge still felt sharp, and could shave. That was quite a good proof that the thick edges, even when they can shave are not really good performers compared to thin ones. And the difference between 20° and 15° per side sharpening angle is easily noticeable by hand. Like I said, I wasn't logging results or making any comparisons, just trying to cut and get the feel for the knife and its performance. After I decided it was a miserable experience, I gave up. Very disappointing results, for a knife worth almost 600$ and reputation of being a top end kitchen knife. Ok, the factory edge was bad, moving on...

Usage, ~20° per side, high polish

- After first time use I knew I had to sharpen the knife. Decided to keep the original edge, just polish and refine it. Hence the use only of the high grit stones 5K and 10K, followed by stropping with microabrasive loaded strops, that's the #1 in sharpening section. The minute I started cutting, which happened the next weekend, I realized the cutting performance still sucked. The edge was very sharp at that moment, but I simply took Aritsugu A-Type gyuto and Watanabe Honyaki Gyuto and cut the same ingredients, both gyutos went through with considerably less effort. Obviously the later two had thinner edges, I knew that much, since I sharpened both, Aritsugu and Watanabe myself. Aritsugu gyuto has asymmetrical edge, about 14° on one side, and ~3° on back side, and Watanabe edge is around 5°-8° per side. I still proceeded with the test, since it was a good opportunity to test durability of the thick edge, and since I already decided to thin down the edge and test the knife again, it was also a good chance to see the difference between the thick and thin edge performance on the same knife. Overall, I can't say my sharpening improved things considerably. First 45 minutes or so, things went better compared to first time, however, after that the edge degradation was significant, especially on the belly of the knife, which is in constant contact with the board during rocking motion, and also a subject to greater lateral loads. 60-61HRC steel doesn't resist deformation as good as 65HRC steel, that's simple. After the cutting was over, I was disappointed even more. I've decided to discuss the problem with other knife dudes on the knife forums. All the Nenox owners participating in that conversation confirmed that they had to thin down the edge considerably on their Nenox knives to achieve good cutting performance. At that point, I was already very doubtful about the edge holding ability of the Nenox S1 knife. Thinner edge may cut better, but as far as edge retention goes, that doesn't really help much. Although, interestingly enough 18° per side edge held up better than 20° per side, as you will see. That was one of the theories I wanted to test, as mentioned above.

Usage, ~18° per side

- This time the edge was 18° per side, details in the sharpening section - #2. I didn't keep very detailed log, I simply forgot to keep track of the cutting ability in the beginning. Before starting the test the knife was sharp enough to cut the cherry tomato using just its own weight with just about 1" long slice. That's the same control tomatoes used in the Miyabi 600D Fusion Gyuto tests. The sequence and amount of the vegetables cut was the same. After chopping green onions, which corresponds to the #6 in the Miyabi 600D gyuto test log, I remembered I had to test the edge, control slice on the tomato showed significant edge degradation, the blade needed about 7"-8" long slice to break the skin. Next was the broccoli, minced greens and stems. Step #7 in the Miyabi 600D test log. After that the edge failed to pass the tomato test on its entire length. Still could shave, obviously it was much worse than in the beginning, but still doable. Push cutting ability through the paper was also lost, but it could still slice through it cleanly. During and after broccoli testing, even without tomato test, I could clearly tell the difference in cutting ability from the start, the decline of it to be exact. During the whole process, I've steeled the knife two times using the borosilicate rod. First steeling was after broccoli, when the whole edge failed the control test. 10 strokes per side restored some of the edge, but the belly still was failing the test. After cutting the rest of the veggies, I cut the remaining control tomatoes in half. The edge was really dull, I was unable to cut the tomato without squishing them. That was the end of the test #2. For comparison, Miyabi Fusion gyuto did cut the same tomatoes without damage. I'll skip other details here, since there was one more test and I don't want to overload this review with test numbers.

Usage, ~15° per side

- Sharpening #3, the edge now was at 15° per side. This is a typical factory edge for Japanese gyuto knives, at least most of them. The ingredients, amounts and sequence were the same as in the previous tests. Except at this time, I've performed sharpness control test cuts after each ingredient was processed, and kept detailed log of the experiment. That was done for head to head comparison with Miyabi 600D Fusion gyuto, which was tested a week before, and at that time I have already decided I wanted to compare those two knives as close as I could. VG-10 steel used in the Miyabi is as close as it could get from all the other knives I have. Well, there is also a Tojiro Flash series santoku, but it's a santoku, not a gyuto, plus Tojiro hardens his knives to the max, 62HRC, while Miyabi Fusion line has an average hardness of 60HRC, with the range of 59-61HRC, which is pretty close with Nenox S1 line, 60-61HRC. As with the Miyabi gyuto testing, and for comparison I'll provide more detailed test log below, so if you do not want to sift through those numbers, skip that paragraph and jump to the next paragraph. But overall, Nenox S1 gyuto still couldn't outperform Miyabi 600D Fusion gyuto. Considering that Nenox is ~580$ and Miyabi is 140$, you can guess how "happy" I was with the results.

Complete log of the experiment - cutting ~10lbs total processed mass of vegetables:
  • Start - slices through tomato with any part of the blade, less than 1" long slice;
  • 2.3lbs Misc veg. leaves mix chopped - No degradation detectable;
  • 0.85lbs Green Collard chiffonade, ~1mm thick, then cut in 3 perpendicularly - Belly needs about 3" slice back and forth to cut(2x3"), (Miyabi needed about 3-4" either back or forth, but not two motions), heel same as start;
  • 1lbs It. Parsley, chopped - belly now needs 3 movements(back, forward, back) of the same 3" section to make a cut, i.e. 9", heel about the same level of sharpness as above;
  • 0.6lbs Radish 1mm thick matchsticks - belly about the same as above, heel 1.5"~2" distance to make the cut (used mostly heel part to chop the matchsticks);
  • Green Onions 1lbs, minced - belly no longer passes the test, heel at same level as before, ~2" slice to make the control cut;
  • 2lbs Broccoli, minced greens and stems - Belly doesn't pass the test, the heel still does, needs about ~3" move. After 10 strokes per side on a borosilicate rod, 3" of the belly still can't pass the test, but the rest of the edge was restored, and can pass the test again, ~3" of the blade heel doesn't need steeling, still passing the test. 10 more strokes per side restored an extra inch of the belly, but ~2" section on it still can't pass the test;
  • 1.2lbs Asparagus, sliced - the same 3" on the belly fails the test, that 1" restored with extra 10 strokes on the borosilicate rod went dull again, the heel same as on previous step;
  • Misc soft vegetables, no change from the above;
  • 1.2lbs Brussels sprouts, minced - the whole blade fails the test again. Proceeded without steeling;
  • Leftover cherry tomatoes, cuts in half. The knife can't cut without squishing them, consistent with previous test results. 5 strokes per side on borosilicate rod, didn't restore the edge, 5 more strokes per side restored the heel so it can pass the test, but not the belly.

Thin vs. Thick edges

- As you can see in the last test results, thinner edge considerably improved overall cutting performance, in terms of decreasing the force I had to apply to the knife to make a cut, and slightly improved edge holding ability. I could feel it without any control substances and instruments. The interesting fact in the third and final test was the increased edge holding compared to the previous test. 15° edge per side lasted longer than the 18° per side edge. Generally speaking, thick edges stay sharp longer, but for certain angles that is not entirely true. I had to apply considerably greater force to 18° edge and that caused it to deform sooner and to greater extent compared to 15° edge. The same will hold true for softer western knives too, at least you can grind double bevel edge, with primary bevel at 15° per side, and secondary bevel at 20° per side, and that will still improve both, cutting ability and edge longevity, since you have to use less force. One way or another, human beings are not perfect cutting machines, so we do apply lateral loads to the blade, and the greater the force you apply to the knife, the greater those lateral loads become. They are the ones deforming the edge and primary reason for dulling, even in the kitchen knives, even with the vegetables. Obviously, if you compare very thin edges with thick ones, let's say 7° per side vs. 20° per side, given the same alloy and hardness, then the thicker one will stay sharp longer, but then again, 7° per side is too thin for 60HRC steel. However, at least to me, the cutting performance of the 20° edge was very low to seriously considering using it.

Conclusions

- In short, my opinion of the Nenox S1 honyaki gyuto is very negative. Part of it has to do with the expectations I have had set for the knife, based on its reputation, and price. That was my own fault. As the discussion on the knifeforums revealed, had I asked the proper questions upfront, I'd know that Nenox S1 honyaki wasn't really honyaki, and its performance couldn't match neither Watanabe honyaki gyuto, nor Aritsugu A-Type gyuto, which by the way has similar hardness, 60-61HRC, but much better steel, nor Sanetsu ZDP-189 Gyuto, or even Tadatsuna Shirogami gyuto, which is the weakest performer out of all my gyuto knives. I liked the knife before I bought it, and then, when the group buy was initiated, I just jumped on it, without researching much. Well, as much as I hate it, honestly, I screwed up. It's very frustrating, given my experience with knives in general, and the availability of the information on knifeforums at least to avoid several sharpening and prolonged tests trying to make this knife perform. Besides, I got a new, expensive toy, and it wasn't what I expected it to be, of course I am frustrated. This negative review won't help me to resell that knife either. Well, I'll be more cautious in the future.
If you are into high performance knives, with high edge holding ability, then Nenox S1 honyaki series is not your knife. Performance-wise it can barely match knives 3 times cheaper. Miyabi Fusion line, Shun Classic and Tojiro Flash series are all made from a better VG-10 steel and perform slightly better too. Tojiros are more expensive than Miyabi Fusion and Shun classic, but still more than twice as cheap compared to Nenox.

In my opinion, the only reason to buy Nenox S1 is if you like its design and the edge holding is not critical. To me, edge holding and cutting performance come first and then the design features and eye candy. There are plenty of folks who will be happy with Nenox knives I guess, for various reasons, including ease of sharpening, but personally, I don't buy that argument. Yes, it is easy to sharpen, but just as easy to dull. I'd have to spend time steeling and stropping during prolonged use, and why would I do that if I have over half a dozen gyutos that can go through the same test described above 3-4 times without sharpening and still being able to pass the same sharpness control. Plus, those knives are either cheaper than Nenox S1 gyuto, e.g. Aritsugu A-Type, or they are real honyaki like Watanabe, a lot better steel like ZDP-189 at comparable prices. Yes, those knives are harder to sharpen compared to Nenox S1, but the reality is that you have to sharpen them a lot less. Either one of those knives(Watanabe, Aritsugu, Sanetsu, Moritaka, etc) will not need any serious sharpening for much longer time compared to Nenox S1. In my use, those knives got over a year without anything coarser than 10 000 grit whetstone. Nenox on the other hand will need much more work every few months or so and a lot more maintenance to keep the sharp edge on it. Your choice is up to you, for me that level of edge holding doesn't make much sense, especially at that price, no matter how cool the knife looks and how fancy the handle is. A kitchen knife(or any other for that matter) has to cut first and foremost, and keep the edge sharp. One more thing people often forget about those easy to sharpen knives is that besides dulling easy, frequent sharpening means only one thing, more metal is removed from the blade. Which only means one thing - the knife will have shorter lifespan.

Build quality of my own knife was very good, but that's not always the case. You can check knifeforums for that. The initial edge on my knife was simply bad. For the knife praised for its design and superb quality none of that is acceptable, not at ~600$ price on it. The fact that you will have to thin down the edge if you are a knife or at least kitchen aficionado, makes it worse. So much for ease of sharpening...
In the end, I'd advise to save your money and spend somewhere else. If you are ok with the level of performance this knife had, then Miyabi Fusion is just as well made, I like it's handle better and costs just 140$. If you like Japanese handles and more German style chef's knives, then check the Shun Classic Chef's Knife review, or Tojiro kitchen knives. They all perform slightly better in terms of edge holding, and all of them has way better out of the box edges on them to begin with. I've seen and used more than fair share of kitchen knives, I am pretty good with knives and sharpening, and still, no matter how hard I have tried, I couldn't make this knife perform any better than much lower and reasonably priced kitchen knives. I really wanted it to work, waited for it long time after all, but no, it's what it is, VG-1 steel knife, at 60-61HRC and there is no magic in its heat treatment, that can make it perform even at the level of VG-10 steel. It's just the looks and design. That's not enough for me, and you have to decide for yourself ;)

Specifications:

  • Blade - 270.00mm(10.63")
  • Thickness - 2.30mm
  • Width - 50.10mm
  • OAL - 410.00mm(16.14")
  • Steel - VG1 steel at 60-61HRC
  • Handle - Wood
  • Weight - 256.60g(8.68oz)
  • Acquired - 04/2010 Price - 517.00$

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Last updated - 05/19/19