Get a Misen knife on Kickstarter (Photo courtesy of Misen)
I like to be a part of special things. And I like to support people following their creative and entrepreneurial dreams. I also love to eat, and I like to cook occasionally too, if only to give James a break in the kitchen. For these reasons and more, I am helping spread the word about an awesome Kickstarter Campaign: Misen: Cook Sharp to launch a brilliant and innovative knife business.
Misen Knife design in progress
The Misen knife is special. I will simply refer you to the stellar review it received from J. Kenji López-Alt, Managing Culinary Director at Serious Eats.
You may noticed that the Misen Kickstarter campaign has been wildly successful, which is all the more reason to support their endeavors. The Misen knife is designed to be accessible for people who can’t or don’t want to invest well over $100 for a top quality knife. At $65, it is already a great price. The KickStarter campaign gives us the chance to get a knife at a significant discount for being early supporters. Misen can support their price point because they will be selling online only, thus eliminating the retail markup, much like Warby Parker has done for eyeglasses.
One thing I always try to do is buy as many things locally made as possible. So if I buy something made in China, I need to know that it is being made by people who are earning a fair wage and who are treated well in their jobs. The Misen team spent months visiting at least a dozen manufacturers in four different countries. The one they chose works with skilled artisans to make world-class knives with the high quality materials required, including the specific Japanese AUS-8 high carbon stainless steel with 60% higher carbon above other top knife brands. The Rockwell hardness rating is 58-59 versus other knives registering between 54-56. This manufacturer produced the best samples by far and was able to meet Misen’s stringent requirements. It happens to be in China. I trust that the Misen team will maintain a focus on ethical business practices at their core no matter where they work and with whom they partner.
Knifes can be very personal possessions. I am partial to my 6″ carbon steel knife, not in small part because of the experience picking it out at one of my all-time favorite shops in the world, E. Dehillerin in Paris. Julia Child shopped there for her kitchen gadgets too. So I look forward to having another favorite knife from Misen for many years to come.
There are fewer than 5 days left to support the Misen: Cook Sharp Kickstarter campaign, so don’t miss out! But first, go like Misen on Facebook to unlock their new Stretch Reward Tier when they reach 2000 likes!
~Karen Seiger, Markets of New York City