Like most Xioami products outside of electronics, they name their kitchen appliances, Mijia, and choose a manufacturer to make a knife under their name. I found the manufacturer and got it confirmed that they were indeed making the knives for Mijia. The brand is called or also known as , and they are a direct manufacturer.
Knife Rockwell Hardness and Edge retention
The knife’s Rockwell hardness is specified with a Rockwell of 58 to 60. But it feels more like 58. Usually, you can get away with 3 to 4 months before needing a whetstone touch-up if you regularly hone your knife with a honing rod. However, the heavier cleaver-styled knife with a delicate thin edge and low factory angle of 14 to 15 degrees has an impact on the knife-edge retention. Therefore the edge retention out of the box is closer to 2 to 3 months. In return, you get a sharper out-of-the-box performance. You can easily add a new angle once the knife needs whetstone maintenance. My advice is 20 degrees.
Core Material
The manufacturer Deng Jia is making their knives with three different steel types. In short, they are reducing manufacturing costs without sacrificing quality. The 9Cr18Mov has excellent rust and corrosion-resistant properties and the added cladding adds durability. It is inadvisable to slice through frozen food, bones, cheese, hard bread, or force your way through other through food like chocolate or nuts since that can cause chipping.
Blade aesthetic and food release
Despite the three different steel, the knife itself is nicely welded together, and you won’t be able to tell the steel apart. The top part has a mirror finish and a different finish at the bottom so that food will stick less on your blade. If you look closely, you can even see the cladding line.
Blade profile
The blade profile is what you would expect from a cleaver-style knife. The blade has a gently curved belly in the middle.
Weight and Spine tapering
The knife’s weight is around 390 grams. The knife comes with a spine taper with 3.1mm at the heel, 2.9mm at the middle, and 2.7mm at the front. The knife is very stiff, and there is no noticeable flex during use.
Knife balance point
The balance point of this knife is at the front. If you pinch grip at the blade, or the curved cap, the knife will be front-heavy, which you want for a cleaver-style knife.
Knife handle
The handle is made with red sandalwood with a hidden wired full tang handle. It means that the handle is nicely secured in its place. The handle’s curves are very comfortable, and it won’t be slippery since the wooden handle adds enough grip. They have added a rounded neck area, so you can shift your gripping style without discomfort if you want more control and precise cutting work.
Fit and Finish
The knife has a unique manufacturing process to reduce costs. Despite the unique manufacturing process, they did not reduce the quality, in fact, the fit and finish on this knife are very nicely done, and the handle is of good quality. They have thought about polishing the spine and the heel area, so there are no sharp edges.
Final Conclusion and my Recommendation
Despite the questionable factory angle of around 14 to 15 degrees, the knife itself is of excellent quality. Dengjia, as a knife manufacturer, has my recommendation. The weight of 390grams is heavy on paper, but it feels lighter because of the excellent ergonomics of the handle and blade design. The profile tapering is also very nicely done and very thin.
N O T E S:
Mijia is no longer in production and Xioami rebranded their new kitchen knife line with the name ”HuoHuo”. (a different manufacturer) Dengjia was the manufacturer of the knife in this review called Mijia Cleaver. Dengjia is also knowns as Deng.
Manufacturers Name:
🛒S H O P:
Dengjia Official AliExpress Store
Reseller with better pricing (not all versions are offered):
Rice Cooker from Xiaomi Mijia
