8" Japanese Chef Knife (Gyuto) — 66-Layer Damascus AUS-10V Steel, Hand-Sharpened 8–12° Edge — For Meal Prep, Sushi, Home Butchering — Shogun ELITE - Full-Tang G-10 Handle, Customer Support

This chef knife is solid! Super sharp out the box! Has a nice weight to it, I was skeptical about the handle but it feels good in my hand. And is extremely sharp. Expensive, yes, but worth it. It’s my first Dalstrong knife. It has an elegance about it. Even with the hammered Damascus which isn’t laser etched so each knife in this series is different. It cuts and slices like a dream. This isn’t for cutting bone, even tho I’m sure it can, a cleaver would be better suited for that. Plus I like it has a full tang. Unlike some of their other knives that have a partial tang. If you are going to pay a decent amount of money for a knife it should have a full tang. IMO. And be sharp out the box. Honestly it needs to be seen in person to appreciate the craftsmanship.

So to start this off, this is my day 1 review. I'm gonna update this after about a month of constant use. I'll see what edge retention is like, how the handle holds up, and if the blade continues to be as beautiful as it is after being repeatedly washed. I was NOT given a discount or free product to write a review, I just did my research and decided to give Dalstrong a shot based off reviews and my knowledge of knives and steel forging. Out of the box, this thing is sharper than any other kitchen knife I've ever bought. It's insanely sharp. I could cut paper thin slices out of a tomato that was just sitting on a cutting board without having to hold the tomato. It glides through most everything. I did have 2 small complaints out of the box, which I've reached out to Dalstrong about to see if there's a way I can fix them, which are a 1-2" scuff on the handle that feels somewhat abrasive, and a very small rust spot on the front of the knife in one of the Damascus layers (these two issues are why I gave it 4 stars, for a cheap knife I wouldn't care, but for something over $100 I feel it has slightly more weight). I'll update once they get back to me as well. As for feel, the opinions differ here based on hand size and what people are used to. I like a quality forged blade, and I have very large hands. I think the knife feels absolutely perfect in the hand. Weight, grip, rivets, handle material, all of it. To me it couldn't have a better handle. My wife on the other hand, has tiny hands. She thinks that the handle is too large. Not too large to use, just not comfortable. She is fond of Cutco handles, which are thermal resin and very high quality... though their blades are just cheap stamped steel that has no heft to it. I own both and strongly prefer forged blades with weight behind them. Also I don't like the cutco handles. They feel narrow and uncomfortable to me. The general appearance of the knife is beautiful. It has a beautiful center rivet made from 3 copper rings and a bunch of brass rings. The Damascus is far less pronounced than the photos lead me to believe, which is sad, but not something worth knocking a star off for. The hammered look is fantastic. I love the lion head logo stamped in the blade, though I am concerned that a health department employee may be less than fond of it because I could imagine meat particles getting trapped in it. I bought this because I'm starting a food truck and I want to find the knives I'll be using in my food truck, this will just be one of many as I do BBQ and I'm particular about the blades I use for various cuts of meat. Lastly I'll mention the packaging since people seem to care about such things. In a word, it's excellent. More accurately it's over the top. It keeps the blade very stable and provides a very satisfying unboxing experience. Overall I'd say excellent. If I can fix the little scuff and the rust spot I'm gonna change it to 5 star. In the price range, unbeatable. Shuns and real Wusthoff forged blades are the only ones I've used that I would say can match the quality, and frankly the Wusthoffs actually fall below, especially on workmanship. UPDATE 1-6-2018 I talked to their customer service the day after I received the knife because of the tiny scuff/spot on the blade and they sent me a new knife and told me to keep the first. Unbelievable service. I just wanted to know if there was a treatment or product to use that would get it out. Both have continued to perform flawlessly over the last several months, even without sharpening (I was letting them go to see when I'd notice a decline in performance). Still about 98% of what they were out of the box. I'm gonna be buying a full set both for my truck and my home in the next few months. I've used just about all the knife brands they make, I'd put my Dalstrong Shogun against any $500 knife you can find, happily. I'm even planning to purchase their $400 gladiator set for my mom when she graduates with her doctorate. If I had one complaint, it would be that they don't seem to offer a full set of their Shogun series blades. I'd love one with a nice modern, high quality block. Not that I particularly mind ordering each one individually. Would just make it easier.

Excellent quality for the price. I am not an outright expert, but I own a-lot of higher end knives (benchmade balisongs, Sog etc.) and only buy good quality tools. Most people do not usually buy higher end kitchen knives without trying them out in my hand first, but the reviews of these knives and my need for a new Santoku led me to taking the leap. I was highly impressed right out of the box with every aspect of these knives. I bought 3 (8" chef, 7" santoku and 5" santoku). I am writing this generic review for all 3 because I'm lazy and I type slow. These knives feel great in the hand, they promote a natural pinch grip, are weighted very well, are extremely sharp, were a great value for the steel quality and overall build quality and are truly beautiful. They are heavy enough to provide plenty of chopping power, but not so heavy to fatigue your hand or wrist after a long prep. They zipped through everything I wanted to cut and provide clean small cuts with ease. The first time I used the 7" santoku I was cleaning it with a sponge and was applying almost no pressure but I moved the sponge across the blade accidentally and the end of the sponge fell off. Eventually I got overconfident with the 7" santoku and inevitably cut myself, I didn't even notice the cut until I was a couple inches down the vegetable I was cutting, it is that sharp out of the box. Great product and I intend to stay with this company in the future as I upgrade the rest of my knife block.

I own a fair amount of knives. I started with some pretty cheap ones and as the time goes by, I am moving towards the upper scale. So now I own a few good kitchen knives: J.A. Henkels (some made in Germany and others made in China), some French made knives : Sabatier and Laguilole and also a wonderful MAC Japanese knife (my favorite). All of that to explain that I will be comparing the Dalstrong chef knife to them. Here is what I love about it: + Beautiful. I love this wonderful mix of hammered pattern and Damascus waves. The picture does not show well enough how beautiful it is. + Extremely sharp out of the box. That would be fairly close to razor sharp. It went through everything as butter. + Quality of construction. Nothing rattles, no weakness visible. Full tang blade. Very nice handle. + Grip. It is excellent. It is designed to be well handed. + Weight. As compared to my MAC, for a Japanese kitchen knife, it is pretty heavy. + Customer support. Dalstrong wants the experience to be as good as possible for their knives. So they offer a lifetime guarantee. They also make the opening of the box a very pleasant experience. What I do not like about it: - I do not know really if I should put it as a minus but the knowledge of the knife is made in China could diminish the impression of quality. I am sure that Dalstrong will disagree 100% with me on this as they have established the production line in a city famous for its metal work since 1500 years. Overall observations: The German made blades are usually on the heavy side while the Japanese blades are on the very light side. It can be unsettling for some to go from one to the next. Dalstrong knives are kind of a mix of both. It is using Japanese steel (VG10) and German type of manufacturing. This knife should be used for cutting/slicing vegetables and meats but not to cut bones or frozen products. It always has to be hand washed and should be kept in its sheath if you want to put it in a drawer. If you take a good care of it, it should last you a lifetime. Now, I a considering buying the same shogun serie steak knives...

I've been using this as my "daily driver" in the kitchen for a couple months now and I must say it is excellent. It is very sharp out of the box (not beard shaving razor sharp but more than sharp enough for the average kitchen chef like me). It is as sharp out of the box as the previous knife that I've sharpened with a whetstone by hand, which is impressive. It can chop any regular meats, vegetables, and fruits with ease and passes my "magazine paper" test with flying colors. 10/10 appearance - Don't have to elaborate on this too much, the appearance is great. It comes with a cool looking box and a sheath which is great for displaying, but that's not too important to me. 10/10 durability - After frequent use (average 10 minutes of chopping, etc. per day for a couple months) of meats, vegetables, fruits, and fish (through bone and everything), there has not been any visible damage to the cutting edge. All I do for maintenance is use a honing rod every couple days to keep the fine edge alignment good. With proper honing with a steel rod, I have not noticed any dulling of the blade after couple months of use. I don't plan on actually sharpening this blade for a very long time with a whetstone due to how good it performs and how well it retains its edge. 10/10 functionality - It is sharpened all the way to the base and has a sharp tip and slightly rounded cutting edge. For "push" cutting style (which is how I chop 90% of the time) it feels amazing especially ending the cut in the middle to base of the knife. For "draw" cutting or slicing (meats and tomatoes mostly) it feels great as well both at the tip and towards the base. For the "rocking" chop I don't have too much information on since I don't often chop using that style, but I reason it would work quite well. If price is not an issue, then based upon my experiences I would recommend this product to any home kitchen enthusiast or anyone who cooks at home frequently. It makes chopping food way more enjoyable than with a dull knife that's for sure!

See updated review below the initial one: Ok, overall I must say that it seems of high quality and came out of the box extremely sharp. The single complaint I will share may seem petty but it matters to me and I offer it primarily as feedback for the company. I am typically concerned about purchasing Chinese products, not only because of my intense determination to support US made products but also because of the reputation they have for producing “cheap” products with less focus on quality and more on mass, cheap production. Despite that concern, I bought it after reading a bunch of stellar reviews ( no doubt this company has a fantastic marketing team and strategy also). I bought it with the hope the quality ( considering the lower price) would be well beyond the $130 price tag. I can not say that the quality is lacking as I just received. I will follow up with later review after I have used it for a while. What prompted the early review? I read another review about the quantum1 series sheath being cheap and glued rather than laced as it appeared and it reminded me of my immediate feeling when I opened the pin that was included with my shogun series knife. The pin is very poorly/cheaply made and from cheap materials. The clasp or pin is something so flimsy and cheap, that is something you would typically expect to see with a “made in China” sticker on the back. This may seem trivial ( and perhaps it is) but my first thought was “if they are obviously combatting the “inferior quality” reputation of other Chinese companies, and they talk so much of details, quality materials and meticulous packaging, why would they potentially undermine it all with a gum ball machine pin? They would have been better off not including a pin at all ( which no one expects anyway and they only included as a way of “wowing” the customer.” I can assure you that it did not wow me. That comment about the poorly glued sheath seemed consistent with that to me. Packaging is so very important with emotionally impressing the customer. Having said that, poor and short-cut packaging could be worse than sending the knife in a shrink wrapped cover with a simple thank you letter for purchasing. I promise to follow up with a meaningful review on performance. As I said, so far, it is a beautiful looking knife ( the Damascus design seems to have been done for decorative purposes after forge process but still attractive. It just further tickles that suspicion in me I guess.). Out of the box, it was the sharpest knife I have ever seen. It cut through paper without slicing at all. I just pushed it through the paper like I have never seen ( not even with a scalpel as they are too light)—very impressive. The next day I went to make a video for my son showing how razor sharp it was after using it once on broccoli prep for dinner. I deleted the video because it did not press through the same. Half of the strokes bent the paper. I still like the knife but wanted to offer my honest opinion so far. I bought this rather than a Wusthof or Shun because of the price. I will keep you posted. I was NOT paid by the company or given discounted product for leaving this review ( duhhhh—lol) Updated review: I have had this knife ( and now have bought others in the line) for well over a year now and have also bought other high end ( very well reputed brand—Wustof, for one) knives, expecting the reputation and much higher price tag, would translate into superior product. I can honestly say that the big name brands have NOT come close to topping my Dahlstrong chefs knife. I found myself at a crossroads where I needed to decide whether I would go all in for one brand or the other in order to collect full collection. Logically, it would seem that I would choose the Wustof ( especially considering I plan to leave the set as heirloom), but I honestly find myself reaching for the Dahlstrong about 95% of the time because I simply like it better from an aesthetic, balance. sharpness and edge retention standpoint ( just more enjoyable). Accordingly, I have chosen Dahlstrong. They are beautiful, sharp, very comfortable and just plain enjoyable to use

I purchased this knife four years ago and will review it based on my experiences with it. Arrival/packaging: The knife arrived in a beautiful white rectangular box inside of a sleeve with the companies insignia printed on the front of it along with the 'Shogun series' logo. Upon opening the box itself on the top the box you're greeted with summary of the knife specs and materials used, and nestled in a fitted felt mould is your new 8" knife inside of an awesome looking sheath, along with a FAQ booklet, a polishing cloth, and a lapel pin which looks really nice, I would definitely present it on my chef coat if I wasn't so concerned with it becoming weathered and dirty, it just looks so great in its packaging that for the time being I prefer to preserve it. Overall, the presentation of opening the box, really gives you the feeling like you purchased a high-end item that you're going to enjoy for a long time. The knife itself: From the stainless steel, engraved end cap, that supplies a perfect counter balance, through the ergonomic full tang G-10 Garolite handle with a unique copper pin that adorns the center rivet, all the way to the tip of the 8-inch Japanese AUS-10V super steel blade, with amazing hammered finish, I can't say enough good things about this knife. When I pick up and use coworkers knives, I scoff at the inferiority of the build quality of these supposed 'high-end' knives. There's just no competition in this category of knife, you get exactly what you pay for, a sharp, precise instrument that wont let you down. Overall: This is a 5 star knife, from the packaging presentation, to the craftsmanship, to the performance, it is just second to none, I have recommended this knife to many people, and actually had a co-worker purchase a Dalstrong knife from their gladiator series, and he loves it. I would buy every knife from the Shogun series if I had the spare funds to do so, but this knife is so versatile that if its the only one I ever own from the series, I'm okay with that, because it does everything I ask it to.

I used this daily from 2018 until 2022 and then gave it to my girlfriend when I upgraded. I'm not a knife snob but am more experienced with knives than most. This has been one of my favorite knives I've had. It was a bit big for my girlfriend who is smaller and less comfortable chopping but she still used it without issue. It's a very hard steel and keeps its edge well despite not taking the best care of it. Don't throw it in the dishwasher by any means, but I definitely left it out over night without cleaning it more than my fair share. It never rusted and required minimal sharpening. It's a full tang so it was very sturdy and the weight felt good in my hand. The curve on the blade is bigger than most chefs knives though. it wasn't an issue but after I switched to my new knife, when I went back to this one, it felt very funny. But that is all a matter of preference.. I've owned 3 Dalstrong knives over the years and this one has definitely been the best. There are a ton of knives out there and lots of information coming from people more knowledgeable than myself. But, if you're looking for a higher end entry level knife, this one is great. It's definitely on the pricier side for what it is but I would rather have this than several of the other cheaper knives I've gotten.