Very nice, handles well and is SHARP! (great price too)
Bought this as I've been on the fence about getting a new paring knife for a while. I have both Japanese and German knives in my kitchen, both used for different needs (I have a Shun and a Henckels santoku and love both- it depends on what I am cutting as to which I use). My Henckels paring knife has bothered me for over 25 years as I just can't seem to get a razor edge on it - but I can with all my Henckels long knives. (it is probably just me.) That's where this knife comes in. After reading reviews and comparing prices- I bought it and it arrived today. It was packaged beautifully in grand Japanese fashion (I LOVE Japanese design and presentation). I opened the magnetic sealed box to stare at one beautiful knife. I took it out of the form-fit cut foam and removed the plastic tip-protector (nice touch, by the way) and gave it the first 2 tests of sharpness I learned as a youth in Boy Scouts and as an adult in the military - I held up a piece of paper in one hand and sliced it cleanly in half, starting from the tip of the blade and ending with the heel. Zero snags a super-clean cut-great sign. next was the 'shave test'- I moistened a portion of my forearm and used the knife as a straight razor-I now have a bare patch on my left arm. Awesomeness right out of the box.As for feel- it is light and fights very nicely in the hand- handle has a firm heft and great balance- sooo nice. I think I picked a winner on the less-expensive yet high quality knife market. Beats some $50 paring knives I've worked with.Comes in a plastic-sealed presentation box. Inside it has a microfiber cloth, tip protector (on knife) on a basic plastic sheath.
✔ Verified Purchase
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Prison Guard Eric
August 17, 2018
Great Knives For All Levels of Culinary Experience
I Received both the 7" Santoku and the 8" Chef knives as gifts from my family via my amazon list. Couldn't be more pleased!! I have owned, loved and hated many a knife in my life but these knives are great for the price. Both a work of art and a highly ergonomic tool. Etched and embossed with a high carbon mirror finish. Gorgeous and useful.They came beautifully packaged, you can tell there is pride put into the construction of the blades. They are extremely well balanced light and easy to get a feel for. Good luck not wanting to cut dice and mince every food item in your fridge the minute you get them.First off VERY SHARP!!HIGH CARBON STEEL!!!!! Should have switched to this years ago.Great Knuckle clearance... I have big HandsSmooth ricasso (where the blade and the handle meet) for comfortable pinch gripHand wash only. That beautiful, comfortable Paka wood handle wont last long in the dishwasher.Get a good cutting board.I highly recommend this product to the beginner branching out. Or the experienced home chef wanting to more enjoy the command of the culinary chop block! From a professional stand point in commercial kitchen not sure how the samurai series might hold up or if it can stand the rigors of the line (you might want to check out the dynasty series for that application) but for my home kitchen they are a beautiful and welcomed piece of functional art. Thank you Kessaku, this is a great product!!
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ROSALIND SHAFFER
February 03, 2025
Beautiful and high quality knife.
Home kitchen use, very versatile, very sharp serrated edged knife. It’s great for vegetables, fruit and really any food prep. The design is very impressive, with a polished wood handle and a blade that is engraved in a wood grain pattern reflecting the grain of the handle. The beautiful packaging adds to the specialness of this product. I recommend it highly.
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A good alternative to a Dalstrong
This is a good knife for the weekend kitchen chef. It's got good balance, a nice edge as well as a good looking flat with all those swirls that imitate a Damascus blade. It's well reasonably priced at $29.99 compared to the Dalstrong which comes in at around $80.Now for the cons...There aren't really that many take-a-ways which bring it down and to be honest a little tweaking on Kessaku's part will make this ever so more worth it, even if they had to charge an extra $3-5.Really it's just one issue in reality: The blade guard/sheath - It really needs to be a sheath with all sides closed in, except for the insertion point, to prevent any possible cutting of your hands. The blade should not be able to slide out the sheath in any form or fashion other than being pulled backward. The current sheath is as though they took plastic and folded it in half, leaving the end where the point of the knife as well as the side where the back of the knife blade sits essentially open. This only gives more opportunity for the knife to slide past and well, there goes a finger.Other than that, this knife seems sturdy enough for the job.
✔ Verified Purchase
