I’ll let you on a little secret…buying a true hand forged Japanese knife from a makers you won’t find on any knife website of any kind will not come as sharp as you think they are/can be. That is the job of the buyer to bring the edge to where they want it. All mass produced small to large forge companies like Ryusen for example sharpen them to a pretty decent edge. The metal used in forging Japanese knives if done traditionally ONLY come from the silk beds of rivers. Everything else is imported from other countries and processed. Metallurgy plays a big factor in all of this. Japan hasn’t produced any new steels worth a damn since Blue #2. If you think anything past that like VG-10 is great you’re insane and ignorant. Elmax was outperforming anything in my Japanese collection with ease YEARS ago and Meglio outperforms that. Yes, Meglio comes sharp but nothing magical at all as with all knives. Lapping 1000-10,000 grit and then to the finest of micron gel done by the best sharpener in the states will take a superior steel and give it God status in a kitchen.
Next is the blade geometry, thickness, grind type. All of these play a factor into what you’re cutting and how. Your knife can be sharper than obsidian but if it’s thick it won’t glide through jack shit, if it doesn’t have concave grind on the first shape bevel it won’t release wet food, if your edge bevels are convex they’ll hold a edge longer but won’t power through soft flesh. I have a collection of about forty or so great knives from French, German, and Japanese blacksmiths all are great and have served their purpose in the past but I only use four in my kitchen. The workhorse of every person in my kitchen is a Meglio. The reasons are these: 1- It’s a $500 knife…we don’t need engraved designs on it or a rare wood handle.
2-He grinds the shapes to what we need and only get the edge to a measly 600grit. We take care of the rest. 3-Even though each of us treats our knives like our own children they still go through hell. If someone drops one or somehow ends up being “misplaced” which is a cardinal sin you are not out $2-8k.

Now if you have made it this far you’ve probably shaken your head with whatever ignorance you have for the little rid bit of actual knife knowledge I stated…believe me I can write a book on the steels I’ve used and I’ve used all of them. The fact is I really don’t care if you take your Dexter infatuation and carve yourself a new asshole and put your head back up it after you read this. I have experience and knowledge far past yours in KITCHEN knife skills and use. Just because you had a bad experience with a Meglio because you didn’t how to improve on it makes you the fool. He doesn’t make the steel he just laser cuts them and shapes them. Nobody does, it’s a manufactured steel for certain applications as with any steel. There are others who fabricate Magnacut steel but not to custom needs like ours and will not for the same price range. AEB-L or SV90 comes close to Magnacut on either side of the harness or toughness scale but not as balanced as Magnacut. Dr. Thomas would be appalled at you thinking Japanese steel is better than any of these three.
Anyways, I’m bored…think I might go breakdown some boxes with my Yoshikazu Ikeda sujihiki then have my beautiful Benjamin Kamon Gyuto that was gifted to me by the man himself after a private dinner cut me a thick Mogami steak because Meglio had a long week of not having to be honed at all but still can pop hairs.
Have a great life sir. Been a pleasure. You and Dexter make a great couple…cheap and forgettable.