KYOKU Chef Utility Knife - 6" - Shogun Series - Japanese VG10 Steel Core Forged Damascus Blade - with Sheath & Case

Absolutely gorgeous quality, meticulous details, well balanced and insanely sharp!!! Be extremely careful when using these knives they require very minimal pressure to cut. If your accident prone please have a 1st aide kit with hemostatic powder to stop bleeding on hand. That said the handles are ergonomic and help with control of the blade as well as grip fatigue. These knives make a wonderful gift that will last a lifetime if properly maintained. Might be a little costly to get the entire set all at once but will save you money in the long run and make a wonderful show piece in your kitchen. The packaging they come in is pristine and elegantly artful I almost want to keep them in the packaging!

This is a beautiful and strong knife. My wife had a very cheap version that looked like this. The first thing she did was break off the tip. We still don’t know if it went in the food. Then after a couple of years she broke the whole blade off of the handle. This $50.00 knife is well worth the price. It’s beautifully forged steel. She’s much less likely to break this one. You can see the forged blending of about 60 layers of steel. If you’re mechanical, you can appreciate how well this is made. Because it’s forged, it stays sharp longer. I haven’t had to do a touch up with the sharpening ‘steel’ that comes with good knife sets. It’s that good!

I bough this knife more than a year ago, and even my wife uses it daily still does not need to be sharpened. That is some great knife. I did buy sharpening stones, but still no need to use them on this knife. Grip on it is great, there are no visible wear marks on it and is still sharp as on first day.

I have every one of the Daimyo Series knives. They are great knives for the money. If I were purchasing again, or if you are wanting to build a set, start with the Utility, then Kiritsuke, then Serrated. then maybe the Santoku, and stretching to the Carver. The steak knives are also great if you need those. The rest should be purely purpose based as this basic set can do almost everything. Pros: - Well balanced - Hefty in the hand. I prefer front heavier knives, and these are that - Great feel and very 'holdable'. Grip fit is excellent. I find myself resting my index finger on top of the handle when using for some reason - Crazy sharp out of the box - Look great brand new. Very 'show-able' - Full tang - Handles are excellent and very nice looking. The fancy rivets are a nice touch. - Still my favorites Cons: - I find that they sharpen very easily. Not so bad but a high quality VG10 steel should be difficult to sharpen in my experience. - After a year, the 'Damascus Hammering' marks are largely gone from my Kiritsuke and Utility. Clearly this was etched on and not really hammering marks. A year of cleaning and sharpening has left these looking like regular non-Damascus knives - There is no block that holds any real number of these knives if you want them handy or on display. I had to modify a Zwilling Pro 16 slot block to hold them all perfectly. I am reluctant to throw sharp knives into a drawer, and am not patient enough to keep putting the sleeves back on. All in all I love these knives. I see they have changed some of the verbiage to now represent these as "beautifully laminated' Damascus. That's a change from when I bought them when they were represented as 'Damascus Steel'. That's why I take away a star. Regardless, I do also have a set of Wusthof knives that I rarely ever get out anymore. These are that good. Feel safe that you are still getting great knives at a reasonable cost, just don't really expect Damascus steel hammered in Japan with real hammering marks that will hold up over time. The steel is on the harder side so they hold up very well. Oh and watch for the sale; some of the sales on these are amazing.

I was surprised when I saw item was labeled "Made jn China" since description of knife had Japanese names, i.e. Shogun series. Knife is very well made and a good value so I decided to keep it.

24 hour review. I've got shiny bias. Maybe I'll update later. Really nice handle. So sharp. Started with slicing some ginger and a very squishy lemon. I was slicing under 1mm no problem. Good for zesting, as well. Out of the box it is sharp enough to zest a squishy lemon that has already been sliced in half. Cute little velvet-lined sheath. I think a big part of the appeal in this moment is that this knife is super fresh and fills a niche that was previously empty in my kitchen. This will be the prefect sized knife for breaking down a chicken. Lots of control. Just substantial enough to break tough foods, but not so long that it will feel clumsy. This will be nice to have for small jobs - fruit, most veggies, Give a knife of this size a try. At this time I don't anticipate any issues. I sharpen my own knives, two of which I have had for around a decade. I do anticipate needing to hire professional assistance to manage the dramatically steep angle of this blade. Looking forward to throwing down with this many times over in the near future.

This knife is top quality - both looks and function. The blade is super sharp and is shaped perfectly for a variety of tasks. I’m confident it’ll hold an edge given the steel used - in fact all materials are top shelf and result in a very durable knife. The polish on the steel ensures a quick clean after use.

The handle simply isn’t big enough for the average man’s hand in my opinion. If you look at the two pictures, this knife is the one in the middle. The other two knives are from another manufacturer. All three are about the same length. Yet, when viewed from above the issue becomes clear. The Kyoku knife handle (in the middle) is narrow and short,and difficult to get a confident grip on. Suggestion for the retailer would be to include a view of your knives from the top such as I have in this review. Other than that, the knife is a work of art. The steel, the construction, it is a spectacular tool. I really wish I could keep it.

I use this knife every day. The knife is sharp and has the weight to allow for serious cutting—fine slicing, chopping, and carving. It’s also very beautiful.

Bueno

Good quality, very sharp, fast delivery.

great Knife cuts like butter

Nice weight, balance, size, and handle design. Disappointingly poor edge retention.