Kitchen Knife, 8 inch Professional Chef's Knives Japanese 7Cr17 Stainless Steel Vegetable Cleaver with pakkawood Wood, Sharpest Cooking Knives Best Choice for Home Kitchen and Restaurant

Knives are a hobby of mine. Or, maybe you should say that SHARP knives are a hobby of mine. I am fascinated by the whole process of what makes a good knife, and I have a dozen or more 8 inch to 10 inch Chef's Knives just like this one in my kitchen, not counting the knives that I am constantly giving away. Obviously, I don't need so many Chef's knives, plus the many other types and brands of food preparation knives, cleavers, and other cutting utensils in my kitchen. I have drawers full of them, and my wife gets mad. Oh well.I wasn't sure what to expect from this knife. Clearly it is 'decorated' in a Damascus pattern, and yet there was no way it was truly a Damascus knife, so why make it look that? Were they trying to fool somebody? I decided to take a chance on it, and I'm glad I did. No, it is not a Damascus knife. The decoration is just a decoration, but the decoration is kind of cool. On the other hand, this knife surpases the 'legendary' Damascus blades from medieval times. I know this because I have written a half dozen articles on Damascus steel and Damascus blades. So, don't expect it to be true Damascus with a true Damascus pattern, but do expect it to be superior. It actually is better than true Damascus ever was.Once it arrived, I was able to read a lot more about it, from the package insert. I don't know why they don't put this stuff in their advertising material, since I think it is important.* It is full tang* It is a Japanese blade* It is made with a high grade, Thyssen Krup High Carbon German Stainless Steel* The steel is 7Cr17MoV steel. An upgrade over 440A, 440B and 440C, and also over 5Cr15MoV steel.* The blade is a Rockwell Hardness of 58 to 60* It is sharpened to a 13 degree angle. This is a very fine, very sharp, Japanese angle.* It feels right in the hand, and you can just see the quality of design and construction.Okay, let me explain what some of this means:Full tang means that the tang goes all the way through the handle. They didn't skimp on that little extra bit of steel, like an awful lot of other manufacturers do. So the handle will not break.Japanese? Well, the Japanese are known for their high quality blades, and for the very sharp angle to which they hone them. This has a 13 degree angle. Most American blades have historically had a 22 to 24 degree angle. 13 degrees is much sharper.Finally, the steel is a very good quality, 7Cr17MoV steel (or, as they write it, 7CRMoV17, which is the same thing). A standard steel in typical kitchen chef's knives starts at 440A or something similar. 440A is known to have 15% Chromium which makes it Stainless, but also to contain carbon. High Carbon steel starts at 0.5% carbon. 440A has 0.7% carbon, which makes it harder and tougher. And which gives 440A a Rockwell Hardness of about 54 to 56. Pretty good, and easy to sharpen. CUTCO knives is one company that uses 440A. But this knife uses a significantly harder, tougher, and more impressive steel. The 7Cr17MoV means it has 0.7% carbon, just like the 440A, but instead of 15% Chromium, it has 17% of an alloy of Chromium, Molybdenum and Vanadium. The Chromium is still 15% for the good stainless quality, but the Molybdenum and Vanadium make up the rest, and those two metals increase the strength, ductility, flexibility and hardness of the steel while also decreasing brittleness. Vanadium in particular combines with the carbon to make Vanadium Carbide, which has a MOHs Hardness rating of 9 to 9.5. Vanadium Carbide is just a bit less hard than diamonds, which have a MOHs Hardness of 10. It is mostly because of the Vanadium that it has a Rockwell Hardness Rating (HRC) of 58 to 60. That is a pretty hard, tough, strong, sharp blade!So, if you like how it looks, buy it. I guarantee it will be the equal of many more expensive knives.One other thing, no knife will stay sharp forever. Even High Carbon Steel knives were never meant to be purchased and then used for years without sharpening. Do buy yourself a good, mechanical sharpener. It won't get them back to their original level of sharpness, but it will do pretty good. Of course, almost all mechanical sharpeners have a sharpening angle of 22 to 24, so you will be losing one of the main benefits of this blade. Even better, would be to buy a good Whetstone and learn how to use it once or twice a year. And get a honing steel (sharpening rod) and learn how to use that. If you do it right, you can put a very fine, very sharp edge back on the blade and do it quite quickly.I hope all of this is helpful.

I reviewed this before but it seems to have been removed. I am serious about knives and this has become one of my three favorites. I am 78, with hands now damaged by arthritis and accidents. As I have aged, the optimum angle between blade and what’s to be cut has changed. Except for special needs for boning, paring, or cleaving etc., I now use a blacksmith-made curved blade suitable for butchering a musk ox, a $300 Wusthof 6” chef’s, and this 8” chef’s. My only criticism is about the frankly silly, pseudo-Damascus decoration on the blade. I have real Damascus in my collection, this is not one, and it does not matter. It is beautifully balanced, with a perfect tapered handle, and it takes and keeps an excellent edge. (I always sharpen with a graduated series of diamond stones, finished with a superior waterstone inherited decades ago from my grandfather.) A surgeon might want a sharper blade, but fe cooks would find the edge on this blade inadequate.

The media could not be loaded. For the money that you're spending, this is a great knife. If you think you're getting Japanese forged German steel, you will be sad. Compared to my high-end set of the like, these have a dull tone when bounced off the countertop. Given that these were pennies on the dollar of my go-to set, I still give it four stars. It still stays sharp, has good balance, and the handle is quite nice and fit well in your hand.

I have it for about two years now...I've taken great care of it.It still holds and amazing edge, although the steel is a bit soft. Which has it's pros and cons.The decorative Damascus is starting to fade, but the blade is still brilliant silver in color.The wood in the handle had handled up very well, still feels mostly like new. Just a tad worn at this point. Overall, this is a great knife. Just take care of it.

Best chefs knife I’ve ever bought I made a rump roast tonight and I could cut it paper thin if I really wanted too. Is there better ones out there ?im sure there is but they will cost you over 100 this will do the same thing they will for about 30 bucks I cut paper hair thin with this knife it’s worth it for the money and I would buy another hope this helps

My husband and I love to have really good knives and we have been known to spend a lot of money on knives. This one was priced right so we thought we'd give it a try. It is beautiful to look at, cuts like a dream and feels wonderful in the hand. Score!

This is next to my preference of five chef knives I bought to test out all at once. Love the design as it fits the hand. Balances nicely at the hilt. Can do it with one finger. It’s attractive and EASY TO SHARPEN.

Knife handle doesn't fit with blade. Advertise as ", handle fit so food won't be trapped". The blade is above the handle, allowing area to trap food. This is true for both top and bottom of handle. Shape of blade and handle is superb. Very sharp. If handle would fit blade (^^) I would give it a 10. Only a 7 because of handle fit.