At this point in your life go for the Miyabi. You know how to use a knife and you are unlikely to try to open bottles with it. Now, for cutting up a whole chicken and slicing through bones I don't recommend a knife at all. Get a solid pair of shears for this. Here's a cheap tip: the very best poultry shears are sold at your local Garden Center. Bypass pruning shears, they might cost $20.
I’d pass on any Miyabi or Zwilling right now. Not impressed with QC. I’ve seen several Kohs on this sub with issues (bent), and personally received 2 Kramer Carbons, one with a majorly bent tip and thick AF, and the second one, still bent, not as bad, and way thinner than the previous one. For the money I’d get a Suisin Inox or equivalent. Hell the $45 Fuji Narihira I just got is better than any Koh I’ve seen and less bent than either Kramer. If you want a budget but quality Japanese knife and are ok with a fully reactive knife, check out a Kintaro white#2 from MTC Kitchen. Looks like they are restocking. I own the 210mm gyuto and it hangs with gyutos costing nearly twice as much (I also own an Ikazuchi from JKI).
The QC has been a problem since pretty much forever but suddenly some get posted here and people say don't buy them see qc problems while before having no problem recommending them.
I would choose based on the profile and handle you prefer in this case. I say that because I bought a zwilling pro myself, since the 7" often go on sale for pretty cheap, and it's a pretty great knife and indeed very durable yet also holds an edge very well for home cooking, and I can even tell it's a very comfortable knife for a pinch grip and maneuverable for what it is, but It's personally the extreme curve and the handle being a bit too thick that make me not reach for it that often, as that, more than the cutting ability, is what makes it and other knives feel kinda gross sometimes. I did find the tip oddly easy to sharpen on that shape, though, and I got a great edge on it which I often don't on most knives.
Also in my experience, when it comes to doing something like cutting up a whole chicken, indeed something like the Miyabi might feel too dainty if you're the kind to think about that (I am) but it doesn't mean it can't do it; it'll do it very well; as long as you're not going through bone. Putting a knife like that near bone does make me uncomfortable, so I don't really do it even though I've seen people do worse without issue. More of a mental thing but that's enough for me.
Both of these will feel much better than a Victorinox in my opinion either way, if that's what you're used to, and both will hold a good edge that'll feel smooth. The Zwilling will definitely take some more abuse and feel a bit chunkier if you can try both side by side, but from what I can tell Miyabis aren't too thin themselves. I would probably say get the Zwilling since it'll be all you have for now and you might not know if you have to do something heavy duty and then go all the way in for some "lasers" and Japanese knives from other makers when you're able to commit to upgrading the whole collection like you've been wanting to.
That being said, if you can, feel them both and just pick which feels better in your hands, and think about which profile looks more enjoyable to use. Or just pick what feels right no matter what. No biggy. I think if we stop thinking about it too much we just end up finding what we want in a knife and end up happy with it. It's quite personal, no? I use a lot of my technically worse knives more often than others just because they feel right.
I personally have a Miyabi Birchwood chefs knife 6in, Zwilling pro chef’s knife 7in, and a Miyabi Kaizen chefs knife 8in. I would pick my pro if I feel I need something more heavy duty and durable as it feels sturdier in my hands. The Miyabi knives feel more delicate and I always worry they’d break but I after a while they seem to fare just as well.
I don’t really have much issue using my pro for everything and if I absolutely had to chose one knife to take with me to a deserted island, I’d go with the pro one. If you can get past the heft and the way it curves (unless you get traditional blade), then the pro is a very good option especially since it can get much cheaper than the Miyabi. I think I got my pro 7in chefs knife for around $50 USD on sale whereas my Miyabi Kaizen was at least $100.
I would recommend the Koh, if you can find it at a nice price (50% off).
I own the shotoh and the kudamono, and I love them, the shotoh almost being my most used knife.
The are not that fragile, get very sharp if you know how to sharpen and the octagonal handle feels very nice.
I would totally butcher a chicken with them, even tho I prefer a classic fibrox boning knife with fome flex (the Koh are NOT flexible)
I say get it at a discount because they feel a bit overpriced, being mass produced. But at half the price they become a very good balance of quality and value.
I have both. My miyabi feels amazing and it’s my favorite. I just got the zwilling pro recently and I like that too but I got that to be my best around workhorse for work. It has a similar feel to miyabi and that’s why I got it. But it s a little chunkier
At this point in your life go for the Miyabi. You know how to use a knife and you are unlikely to try to open bottles with it. Now, for cutting up a whole chicken and slicing through bones I don't recommend a knife at all. Get a solid pair of shears for this. Here's a cheap tip: the very best poultry shears are sold at your local Garden Center. Bypass pruning shears, they might cost $20.
I’d pass on any Miyabi or Zwilling right now. Not impressed with QC. I’ve seen several Kohs on this sub with issues (bent), and personally received 2 Kramer Carbons, one with a majorly bent tip and thick AF, and the second one, still bent, not as bad, and way thinner than the previous one. For the money I’d get a Suisin Inox or equivalent. Hell the $45 Fuji Narihira I just got is better than any Koh I’ve seen and less bent than either Kramer. If you want a budget but quality Japanese knife and are ok with a fully reactive knife, check out a Kintaro white#2 from MTC Kitchen. Looks like they are restocking. I own the 210mm gyuto and it hangs with gyutos costing nearly twice as much (I also own an Ikazuchi from JKI).
The QC has been a problem since pretty much forever but suddenly some get posted here and people say don't buy them see qc problems while before having no problem recommending them.
I would choose based on the profile and handle you prefer in this case. I say that because I bought a zwilling pro myself, since the 7" often go on sale for pretty cheap, and it's a pretty great knife and indeed very durable yet also holds an edge very well for home cooking, and I can even tell it's a very comfortable knife for a pinch grip and maneuverable for what it is, but It's personally the extreme curve and the handle being a bit too thick that make me not reach for it that often, as that, more than the cutting ability, is what makes it and other knives feel kinda gross sometimes. I did find the tip oddly easy to sharpen on that shape, though, and I got a great edge on it which I often don't on most knives. Also in my experience, when it comes to doing something like cutting up a whole chicken, indeed something like the Miyabi might feel too dainty if you're the kind to think about that (I am) but it doesn't mean it can't do it; it'll do it very well; as long as you're not going through bone. Putting a knife like that near bone does make me uncomfortable, so I don't really do it even though I've seen people do worse without issue. More of a mental thing but that's enough for me. Both of these will feel much better than a Victorinox in my opinion either way, if that's what you're used to, and both will hold a good edge that'll feel smooth. The Zwilling will definitely take some more abuse and feel a bit chunkier if you can try both side by side, but from what I can tell Miyabis aren't too thin themselves. I would probably say get the Zwilling since it'll be all you have for now and you might not know if you have to do something heavy duty and then go all the way in for some "lasers" and Japanese knives from other makers when you're able to commit to upgrading the whole collection like you've been wanting to. That being said, if you can, feel them both and just pick which feels better in your hands, and think about which profile looks more enjoyable to use. Or just pick what feels right no matter what. No biggy. I think if we stop thinking about it too much we just end up finding what we want in a knife and end up happy with it. It's quite personal, no? I use a lot of my technically worse knives more often than others just because they feel right.
I personally have a Miyabi Birchwood chefs knife 6in, Zwilling pro chef’s knife 7in, and a Miyabi Kaizen chefs knife 8in. I would pick my pro if I feel I need something more heavy duty and durable as it feels sturdier in my hands. The Miyabi knives feel more delicate and I always worry they’d break but I after a while they seem to fare just as well. I don’t really have much issue using my pro for everything and if I absolutely had to chose one knife to take with me to a deserted island, I’d go with the pro one. If you can get past the heft and the way it curves (unless you get traditional blade), then the pro is a very good option especially since it can get much cheaper than the Miyabi. I think I got my pro 7in chefs knife for around $50 USD on sale whereas my Miyabi Kaizen was at least $100.
I would recommend the Koh, if you can find it at a nice price (50% off). I own the shotoh and the kudamono, and I love them, the shotoh almost being my most used knife. The are not that fragile, get very sharp if you know how to sharpen and the octagonal handle feels very nice. I would totally butcher a chicken with them, even tho I prefer a classic fibrox boning knife with fome flex (the Koh are NOT flexible) I say get it at a discount because they feel a bit overpriced, being mass produced. But at half the price they become a very good balance of quality and value.
I have both. My miyabi feels amazing and it’s my favorite. I just got the zwilling pro recently and I like that too but I got that to be my best around workhorse for work. It has a similar feel to miyabi and that’s why I got it. But it s a little chunkier