Japanese Damascus Santoku Knife 7 inch- Sharp Chef Knife Damascus VG10 Steel Japan Kitchen Knife for Cutting Meat Vegetable Wood Handle

I recently purchased a Shun for my wonderful brother's BIG birthday and later felt pangs of envy. I graduated from culinary school decades ago, have cooked fervently for most of my life and have accumulated a large collection of knives - fancy German and Swiss down to sturdy professional kitchen type blades.I like this knife for several reasons:1. Packaging is minimalist, attractive and tasteful. The gift box - that I'm going to keep for safe storage - is nicely designed and well fitted to the knife. Careful attention to safe-keeping of the blade and handle are obvious and the overall impression is very positive IMHO. I'd be confident in getting a great first impression if I gifted this to an appropriate cook.2. Sharpness, balance and weight:. No kidding, this is screaming sharp! The paper test, soft tomato test and self-poking test (not intended but yikes!) Yielded scalpel-like edge. I now and then use veterinary scalpels in animal first aide, so know how sharp that standard is. Do not get it if you are new to veggie and meat prep, and do not give as a gift to a novice. Emergency room visit might be necessary. Careful!I have arthritis all over and of course my hands are easily tired and I drop things all the time. I will worry about dropping this blade, be sure. But the light weight is a real advantage for me and since I was trained with french style food prep, the slight arc across the cutting surface is extremely helpful for light rocking movement. Versus a Santoku blade. Also can cut straight down very well. Pointy tip however is crazy sharp so I may have blunt it a smidge.3. Aesthetic of the blade is very good. Does not quite rise to the level of a prestige shun but it is a very pretty tool. Handle is shaped so Ambi dexterous and it seems well put together. Time will be a test for durability of all components. It's a looker and a very efficient tool.After a weekend of kitchen prep at home I may have additional comments Hopefully not including further self damage! LOL.I purchased this for myself at a good Prime deal. My opinions are only given as a help to others looking to head into the v10 japanese style blades at a low risk price. Thanks.

This knife is both beautiful to look at and beautiful to work with. It comes out of the box super sharp with great balance. I enjoy how well it carries weight through large veggies but is easily able to do fine precision cuts on mushrooms, peppers, and onions.

Love the knife Extremely Sharp cut meat and veggies like butter. Only down side is durable maybe because of user error. I coated my knife with cooking oils. Customer Service 10/10!

Good looking knife and arrived very sharp. Just be aware that the knife they show in their ad is not the same that will show up. Knife in ad is black steel with silver Damascus accents across blade. Knife that arrived is shiny Damascus pattern steel.The black blade pictured sold me on the purchase but was kinda disappointed when it arrived all one color. Still a great knife and has not disappointed in it's performance.

I wanted a knife like those I see chefs using on TV. This knife cuts well, looks great, and keeps my fingers safer without the sharper edge I'm used to. I would but this again!!

Great knife well balance

It's hands down the sharpest knife I own. High quality, I use it almost everyday and no signs of rusting at all as I always rinse and wipe it dry after use. Do take caution not to cut yourself if you are not used to handling a kitchen knife

Very sharp, I already cut myself with it twice because I wasn't careful with the handling of it. Chops like a dream, easy to clean and looks stylish