YaxellMon 6.5" Santoku Knife - VG10 - Made in Japan

I never even heard of this brand before until I came across Burrfection's factory tour. I was blown away by how much attention to detail each worker put into each knife. I had to get my hands on one after watching his video. Long story short, this is a great entry to the world of Japanese knives at a very competitive price. Way better than the Tojiro DP! Very simplistic, but has a beautiful sandblasted satin finish. Knife is razor sharp out of the box and can cut through thin paper with ease. This is fantastic knife that will meet the needs of most home chefs out there. Unfortunately, however, this knife just wasn't for me. If you are accustomed to Wa (straight) handles, the curved handle shape is a tad awkward to use. My particular knife were also some minor unfortunate QC issues that I did not expect such as uneven sandblasting on the blade, and a random splotch of satin finish on one side of the blade right by the cutting edge. While the Micarta Canvas handle had an excellent polish and finish to it, the canvas did not fully wrap around the handle, leaving a small gap at the top. However, these are things that most people can overlook at this price point. My main issue was simply the handle and balance. If you're looking for a relatively cheap but well-made, handcrafted Japanese knife, this is a fantastic knife that beats any knife in the price point and rivals more expensive Japanese VG10 knives twice the price.

I want to start off by saying that I actually ended up returning this knife. The reason is because I was hitting my knuckles on the cutting board. If you plan on using this for cutting into the cutting board with a rocking type cut or even chopping, you might find that the heel isn't tall enough. That's a deal breaker for me but you might not care. If you don't mind a short heel than I would highly recommend these, they are great knives.The reason I didn't dock a star is because the heel height really doesn't take anything away from this knife (or series of knives) in general. In fact, I think the Yaxell Mon range might be the best bang for the buck kitchen knives on the market right now. The only other competitor imo is the Tojiro DP range, of which I own a paring knife. To be honest I would say the Yaxell is slightly nicer overall than the DPs. In particular these knives have absolutely amazing handles. The handles are unique and extremely well made, typical of a handle you would find on a much more expensive knife. The blade is beautifully finished and ootb sharpness was really good. I am considering buying the petty/utility knife. Once again, as long as you don't mind a shorter heel than go for it!

I am a sushi chef. Santoku and Yanagiba are two knifes I use the most. Comparing to other Japanese luxury knife, it is medium-level. I have one Deba knife from Kai, an entry-level knife brand, but it is so good too. My first impression is that it is so sharp, comfortable and balance, it is very important when you cut sushi rolls. I usually love light knife such as Santoku 7 inches to cut sushi rolls and Yaxell knife santoku is wonderful. The knife is sand-like decoration and the edge is glossy. Really I don't want to sharp it because you cannot recover the glossy edge like new (but you can do it if you have a 30,000 knit wet stone, but it'll take a lot of time). Yaxell VG-10 HRC 61 impressed me because I had one VG-10 8 inches chef knife from Chinese brand, but it's not as good as this Japanese knife. I will buy more knifes from Yaxell, it is far good as its price.

We had one wushof and shun hikari knife at home. Both were expensive, but this one Yaxell Mon Santoku is not so expensive like them, but works equally good. Handling easy, esp 6.5 inch, and sharp cutting blade. Since this was new, we felt it cuts better than both wushof and shun hikari knife. It may be they are used one year and we can rank in equal standard. They are Made in Japan (not china).Before deciding to buy, I noticed all the previous 8 reviews were verified reviews and mine 9th verified as I bought from amazon. Hereafter, we may stick to this brand as much as possible.

Very sharp, great weight, nice craftsmanship, perfect balance. Easier to use than my Shun chef knife.

I mostly use this for prepping vegetables for dishes, and occasionally slicing meat. I got this on sale which made the knife an even greater deal with its quality. Very sharp out of the box. It works well in my larger hands. I have bought a couple of other knives from this line and have no regrets. Find them on sale and buy.

First look.Beautiful knife. RAZOR sharp. Super comfy handle. All edges rounded and have a smooth satin finish, with except to the choil which is a little uneven and doesn't have the edges rounded off, but does the satin finish so it's not much of a bother, I wont mark it down for that at this price point.. knife is on the heavier side with the balance right where the micarda handle and bolster meet, but still nimble enough. Can't wait to have some fun with it in the kitchen.

This was my first japanese knife and it didn't disappoint. I did way too much research before making this purchase. I bought 4 more of the same brand since this one. The features i like are the thinness of the blades, sharpness and the edge retention, compared to european steel knives that I own. Just don't use to cut bones.

Superscharfes Messer, fast wie ein Skalpell. Liegt gut in der Hand. Pflegeleichter Griff.Tolle Qualität.

One of the best knife I ever purchase.