KYOKU Damascus Kiritsuke Chef Knife 8.5" with Sheath & Case - Japanese VG10 Steel - 67 Layer Handcrafted Hammered Finish - DAIYAMONDO Series

sharp and feels good in the hand

As a preface, this isn't my first knife I've bought from Kyoku, previously I bought their Shogun series boning knife to use at work, and it was fantastic.For this particular knife, the design is excellent for most things you'd need a chef's knife for. The edge has slightly less curve than a santoku knife, but the clipped point tip has significantly more utility.Based on previous experience with the quality of the steel that Kyoku uses, I can tell that there will be no problem holding an edge, and the edge it comes with is sharp enough that I'd have no difficulty butchering meat with it despite it not being designed for that.The price is fantastic for the quality; I wouldn't see a world-class chef using this, but I could imagine one of these floating around in the kitchen of a moderately upscale restaurant in New York City or Vegas as the head chef's personal knife.The only thing I'd worry about is if you're used to cheap kitchen knives like a Kitchenaid knife you bought at Walmart, you might cut yourself because the sharpness is on a completely different level. This WILL cut into bone, let alone the fleshy part of you hand.

A superlative full tang knife. The damascus patterning is not etched, but visible. Wonderfully sharp. Well pleased. Heavy knife, but adheres well to a magnetic knife rack. Good feel in hands. Like it was made for them. If you buy this knife, know you are buying a quality product.

Makes a great Chef knife. May very well be the sharpest knife I have ever held. It was a bit intimidating at first but once I got use to it, it became my first grab. Love this Knife. Thank you!

First, let me clear up some misconceptions about this product. It is made by a Chinese company, in China, as is clearly stated in the description ("Country of origin") and Q&A. But they use Japanese metal, so it might be more accurate to say that the knife was assembled in China from Japanese parts. If you want a knife completely manufactured in Japan, it will cost 2-3 times more; Japanese blades seem to start at about $300, so just bear in mind, you're getting what you paid for.I'm no knife expert; I just like to cook, increasingly doing Asian style cuisine in recent years. A knife like this Santoku is absolutely fantastic for precision slicing, such as cutting slivers of ginger and garlic for stir-fry. It's also great for slicing chicken and beef. Just be careful; it is extremely sharp.The knife comes with a sleeve and a box, which are nice for presentation but useless for day-to-day use. You are going to want to keep it in a block or similar holder where you can easily pull it out and use it, then replace it when dry. I ended up 3D-printing a little knife holder, very inadequate of course but enough for now, until I can get a decent block or figure out another way to keep the knife in my smallish kitchen.Let me just say, this is an absolutely gorgeous knife, beautiful design and comfortable handle. It is a good starter chef's knife for someone seriously interested in cooking but not yet at a professional level.