MAC Knife Professional series 8" Chef's knife w/dimples MTH-80

I received this knife about 30 minutes ago and I am still marveling at how nice it is, how wonderful it feels in the hand and how gorgeous it looks. It's also by far the sharpest knife I have ever held, but like the title states I am not an knife expert. I never attach pictures to a review, but wanted to share the balance point of the knife....literally exactly at the bolster (which impresses me although I don't know how difficult this is to achieve.) A picture says it all. It was balanced on my index finger and there were no other fingers supporting the knife. I sliced a carrot to test the blade and the control thru a relatively tough vegetable was like the proverbial "knife thru butter". The blade is light and obviously well balanced, which allowed for perfectly controlled "see thru" carrot slices with minimal effort. The blade angle is fantastic for mincing and although I have neve been great at mincing with other knives I own, this one had me mincing like a pro in absolutely no time. I wouldn't want to put this knife thru heavy duty cutting chores, but for preparing veggies (which I what I do mostly) this is ideal IMHO. I have a Wusthof CLassic coming in a few days. It will be interesting to see the contrast. BTW, did I mention this knife is absolutely beautiful as well? I also like the fact this knife has a real wood handle, unlike the Whuthof. The handle feels wonderful in my hand, although I am wondering how large hands would fit. Highly, highly recommended. PS--After reading some other reviews, there IS a slip of paper with care instructions included with the knife. I plan to wash and dry immediately after use per the instructions. My hunch is it's user error on the people with rust issues and edge issues (the instructions warn about hard squash, so that tells you it's not for heavy duty use), however I will update this review if I feel there is a long term quality issue. My intent is to use on veggie prep, slicing meat & cutting up whole chicken thru the joints (not cutting thru the breastbone or ribs--a cleaver and kitchen shears are the proper tools anyway IMHO).

I have the MTH-80 Mighty Chef Knife with Dimples. It came extremely sharp out of the box and stays that way. I have only honed it lightly a few times with a borosilicate glass steel after smacking the cutting block with my poor style. This thing rocks. With my Chicago Cutlery knives the same abuse would put very slight dents in the edge barely visible as a glint of light under a bright light and I could feel the loss of sharpness after a few cuts. The edge on the MAC is so acute and fine that I didn't want to take a change and loose anything with a steel (which is not recommended) or even a 1200 grit ceramic steel (which is recommended) so I went with the borosilicate glass rod which is finer. It still cut fine and I didn't notice a difference but I could feel a slight change in the razor edge. The rod brought the edge back to new or better every time. This thing is tougher and holds an edge better then good non-stainless carbon steel knives I have used. It may be a little harder to sharpen. This knife is thinner, lighter, the steel is harder, it holds a edge better, and is more nimble then a comparable Western knife like a Wusthof or Henckel. Some may not like that. I do, although you don't want to use it like a clever and you probably could get away with that with Wusthof or Henckel. They both have their place but I like the MAC for my style of use. Some have recommended the Forschners from Victorinox . I tried the paring set for $10 and the serrated parer or sandwich knife. They are sharp but not as sharp as the MAC's and don't hold an edge as well. Also, the Fibrox handle, at least on the paring knives, is so small it gets lost in my hand. I cut a hard crusty French bread with the serrated knife and the points were showing signs of blunting or rolling over. A little steeling brought that back but I don't think the Forchners are all they are cracked up to be. I would agree they are probably the best knives for the money (for example those 3 knives for $10). They are pretty amazing for the price but the MAC's are about the best cutting experience you can buy. I do really like the little Forschner serrated knife and go for it when cutting an English muffin or corn bread, etc. You can pay more for something to look at but the MAC's perform up there with some of the best. They should probably be considered an entry level into Japanese knifes along with Shun, Global. Shuns seem a little more frilly for the home cook with fake Damascus, etc. for the average consumer and MAC's are more of a commercial work horse. I do like the Shun Wa handles. I am looking forward to getting the MAC PK-30 paring knife and the SB-105 bread knife to replace some of my other inferior knives. Those 3 are really all I need. The MAC's are not real fancy with silver inlays or high polish or anything but it cuts like a razor and stays that way better then any of my other knives. The fit and finish is good too. The steel is very similar to the Globals and Shun's but I don't like the feel of the Globals handles and Shuns are more expensive. Also, the MAC came very sharp out of the box. They say Globals do too, but some I looked at in the store had a burr on the edge and need some attention before use. To keep it sharp, I would recommend anyone with a knife like this, the Shun's or the Global's either get the MAC or Idahone ceramic steel or a Idahone 2 or 4 stick sharpener. Amazon has them listed a "not available" but you can get one at Sonoma Cutlery. These are easy to use and you get the correct angle just by holding the knife vertical and stroking. the 4 stick model also has a 15 and 20 degree angle for the sticks. I would use the 15 degree slots. I don't usually come back and rate something I bought but I did a lot of research and after using the knife through Thanksgiving I have become passionate about it and MAC knives in general and want to share them with everyone else. They are kind of a secret and fairly hard to come buy. Also MAC's are not sold in sets and you may not even be able to build a set from one style of MAC (like Classic, Professional, Superior, etc). You may have to mix styles. This is apparently in Japanese tradition even though these are Japanese made western style knives. What you get with most Japanese western knives is Japanese steel and Japanese style sharpening and profile. To make a knife this thin work with such a fine edge you have to have harder steel then western manufactures generally use or the blade would quickly dull from use. For other references check out Cooking for Engineering Chef knife test. (do a Google search on it) and also see Knife Forums. For KF do a Google search with the knife you want to explore with the KF in the search. For example search " best chef knife site: and put knifeforum. com ". Leave off the quotes and spaces. Sorry if that was a little cryptic. It looks like Amazon won't let me put the URL's here. Also for knife sharpening see: Chad Wards directions in knife forums. Update: 3/19/14. I have sharpened it a couple of times now with great results. I use a belt grinder with micro grit belts. This leaves a convex edge like it comes from the factory. I have also sharpened it on Japanese water stones and an Edge Pro. All work well. It is still holding up and cutting great. I might add the only weakness I see, and it applies to all the knives in this class mentioned above. When using a knife with a more acute and hard edge like this the edge can chip if dropped in the sink, using poor cutting block technique (twisting on the board). My wife does that. So, a knife like this may not be good for everyone. If you want to abuse it and throw it in the dish washer, etc. you would probably be better off with a heavy German Knife (Wusthof or Hencke). In that case you loose the razor like cutting you get out of one of the Japanese knives.

Was looking for a true chef's knife for my wife. Did a lot of research and liked the MAC knife. Then saw this being used on the series 'The Bear' - that was NOT why I bought it. Great knife! Super sharp and very good ergonomics - my wife loves the size and feel of the handle, Easy to control. Sharpens well. Very thin blade steel but of very good quality. Have used it for a couple of years - it remains a favorite in our kitchen. Would recommend!

Just a brilliant chef knife. A beautiful piece of steel. Very sharp--stays sharp. Feels good in the hand. A good weight. Just make sure to invest in an end-grain chopping board to keep that edge sharper for longer.

Good buy

Nice balance and comfortable to hold. I am a Mac fan, however it is expensive generally speaking, for a work horse knife albeit recommended by Bon Appetite (September 20015). One has to remember that with a Japanese edge rather than European edge it will go dull much faster so is higher maintenance and unless one already has a Japanese 15 degree knife sharpener this blade adds another cost requirement. Also should not use on extremely dense frozen items, bones, etc. or the blade could be damaged. For a general workhorse blade I would side with the Cooks Illustrated recommendation of the Victorinox 8" Chef knife at a quarter of the cost. One could also lean towards the recommendation by Serious Eats that a cheap 10 dollar carbon blade is the best for a work horse blade as the carbon steel is easy to keep sharp and when it is damaged or worn out it is easily replaced every few years. I have cheap blades that are over 40 years old and expense Japanese and European blades in the same age group. They are all good, depending on the application and the skill level. Just another perspective.

Expensive but exceptionally good knife. Too wide a blade to fit in our knife block so needs to be kept in its box.

Bought this for Hubby for his birthday - he absolutely loves it! Amazing looking knife, really sharp and beautifully weighted. Really quick trouble free delivery from France as well. Can't fault it.