Kitchen Santoku Knife - Damascus Steel - Japanese Kitchen Knife - Handcrafted Octagonal Wood Handle -Wood Sheath & Gift Box (Santoku Knife)…

I’m sure I will have a lot fun with this beautiful knifes 😍

This knife is simply stunning to look at. I brought it over to my mother's house where her knives are about as old as me, and have probably never been honed or sharpened. The contrast was beyond comparison. This knife not only slices through anything right out of the box, but it is holding its edge very well, and thus far has proven rust/corrosion resistant. The handle is comfortable in my hand and the weight of the blade feels very balanced so I don't get fatigued after a long bout of slicing/chopping. I always hand wash and dry immediately after use as knives of this nature are a bit higher maintenance. A small price to pay.

I have been taking my kitchen knives up a notch this year with the help of my daughter who is a chef who has worked at several five star restaurants. She knows a great deal about knives because she has one in her hands most of the time, and learned a great deal in the process of selecting her own knives. We live in Hawaii, where Asian knives are actually easier to come by than those from the Western hemisphere. I have a set of Wusthof (classic, Wusthof- trident) which I have had for years, and I was not unhappy with them, but started to look again after discussing knives with my daughter. I love Damascus, having worked with metal, and have a good deal of respect for the skill and artistry which goes into making them. This is not my first, and my daughter compared it to hers, a Shun (which Amazon also pulled up for comparison). My daughter told me that while she had not heard of Katso, the knife is a very traditional Japanese knife. However, Neither of us can tell where it is made. It does not say either on the box or in the listing (and she notes that she has never seen a knife which was made in Japan on which it was not prominently, proudly displayed). It is not on this knife, or the box, or the listing. It has the traditional hex handle and flat blade, which I am not as comfortable with as the more ergonomic western handles and a more curved blade (the latter I have seen just once in Damascus). I was personally not as comfortable using this as other Japanese knives I have tried. It feels light to me, and my daughter commented on that as well. That is not necessarily a bad thing but it is a matter of personal style, comfort. My daughter said that it did not arrive as sharp as other knives I have gotten. If I could I would rate it 4.5 stars. I believe it is a very well made knife. The balance is excellent, but I do have others I like better, as does she. I might have rated it 5 stars for the artistry. She rated it 4 stars and felt it did not compare to the Shun.

I received this 7 inch kitchen knife free in exchange for an honest review. I think it is a very serviceable knife. It comes razor sharp, it very attractive and highly giftable. I plan to buy a couple next Christmas for the cooks on my list. It is a nice weight and feels comfortable in my hand while using. I haven't had it long enough to attest to how long it stays sharp or how easy it is to sharpen but so far, it has been a great addition to my kitchen cutlery set. I highly recommend this product.

One of the things unscrupulous knife makers will do is prey on the ignorance of the general public as far as steel goes. To wit, there are MANY different types of steels, each having its own strengths and weaknesses. Unlike most knife reviewers on Amazon, I tend to focus my knife reviews the way a professional knife reviewer (say, for Blade magazine) would. Which is to say, 75% of my focus on any knife review is on the steel, because that's what MATTERS in a knife. The other 25% is fit and finish, ergonomics, ect. But steel is THE foundation of a knife, telling you everything you need to know, such as what you're going to need to sharpen it (will a standard Arkansas stone work, or is it so hard you need to use ceramic or diamond?), how well it might tolerate certain abuses (such as hammering on the spine to cut through bone, or how it might tolerate corrosive environments like if you work with a lot of tomatoes). Unfortunately, all I have to go on here is...Damascus. Which is to say, they're hoping people see that word and go "Oooh, Damascus!", when the steel that the Damascus that the blade is comprised of is FAR more important than the fact it's made with a Damascus technique. And, in fact, this stands out in the Damascus pattern. It's not very bold, at all. When you make a Damascus billet, you will typically use 2 fairly dis-similar steels so when you acid-etch the blade, one steel will stand out more than the other steel. It looks like all that was done here is a single type of blade steel was simply layered. If there is a san mai of a hard steel for the edge and the rest of the blade a softer steel, I don't know. But I certainly can't assume it to be a "wonder steel" or even something as nice as D2 or VG10 or some wonderfully hard steel. Especially since it's billed as "easy to shapen", which suggest a milder, lower-quality steel such as AUS8 or 440A/B/C. But since the blade manufacturer hasn't shared this information with us, choosing instead to simply label it "Damascus", while hoping that's enough to "wow" you, I choose to deduct from the overall score for that. The other star deducted was for the very low-visual impact of the Damascus pattern, something that should be the hallmark of the blade, instead is just another bland expression of a so-so knife maker. Learn to do a TRUE Damascus, with some different steels that will contrast when etched, and your blades will stand above the rest. I included an up-close shot of both the Katsu and my Shun Kaji (which I consider an entry-level ACTUAL Damascus blade). Note the striking definition between the layers of the Shun, vs the way they all kind of just...blend together in the Katsu. So, yeah, it's Damascus. But Damascus what is another question entirely. My suspicion is that it's a rather low quality steel not worth the asking price, or the actual steel used would be plastered all over the place. For instance, I just picked up a Missen chef's knife which, while not Damascus, IS made of AUS10 steel, which is a Japanese-sourced, very decent mid-grade steel which makes a fine kitchen knife blade. This knife is about $65, where this Katsu is over $100. As someone that owns a lot of knives, a lot of sharpening systems, and knows a little bit about steel, my advice is...buy STEEL FIRST, everything else LAST. The steel IS the knife. It tells you the best environment, the best way to sharpen it, how OFTEN you'll have to sharpen it, none of which I know here. Everything about the steel is guesswork, which is unfortunate. Everything else, seems pretty decent. It's a hidden tang design, I would assume epoxied, nothing exceptional but it seems to be well done. A few dozen cutting sessions should reveal more. Ergonomically, it's pretty good. Not uncomfortable by any stretch, but...this is one area that's 90% user, the handle fits my hand pretty good, and the blade indexes well. It doesn't seem to be super-hard to me (not sure how accurate their 60-61 Rockwell hardness is) but I've seen reports of broken tips, which could indicate many things, including questionable heat treat process, cold-forging, ect. I haven't had any problems with mine yet, but I intend to test them robustly over the next few months to see where they stand. I'm not entirely sure I can give this a 2 thumbs up, given the cost and questionable steel content. If the manufacturer were more forthcoming with the steel formula(s) used, it would go a long way, rather than just "Damascus". For now, it's a solid 3 stars, which is to say, if you get it, get it on sale.

Despite a couple of flaws, I really like this knife! First the flaws: The tip came with a burr, you could catch your fingernail on it easily. With the plastic covers over the tip in the shipping box it seems unlikely that it happened during transport. This was an easy fix with a few strokes across a whetstone, but in a brand new knife it shouldn’t be there. The bigger issue for me is the noticeable lip between the black “horn” piece and the red detail spacer (see left hand side of the picture). It’s very noticeable when you’re holding it, and should be completely smooth the whole length of the handle. I’ll probably try to sand this down, or at least round it over. Besides those two issues, I really like this knife! It is super sharp and feels great while cutting. It makes quick work of cucumbers and carrots. It looks sharp too (pun intended)! I also like that it is lighter, 157g vs the 315g of my similar sized Henckels Santoku. It feels more maneuverable. Overall, I wouldn’t have a problem buying this for myself, as I can fix the flaws, but I wouldn’t give it as a gift because those flaws make it seem like a lower quality product than it is.

This knife looks fantastic. The overall build quality is very nice and the addition of a saya for holding the knife is a plus. The saya includes a magnetic element which helps to keep the knife in the sheath. The damascus pattern looks excellent. Getting past looks, this knife was a bit disappointing, particularly given the price. The blade is on the heavy side but it was not particularly sharp out of the box. Trying to slice raw sweet potato the blade did not cut cleanly. This seems to be a common issue among new knife brands on Amazon. Overall, the weight and lack of sharpness work to the detriment of this knife. It isn't quite thick enough for heavy duty work but not nimble enough for delicate work.

Arrived sharp enough, and it's a handsome knife, no doubt. The balance in hand feels good, too and it seems there's been some quality work that's gone into it. It has no issues (for now) dealing with most things I'm slicing, but I'm withholding judgement on extended use, how easy it is to sharpen and so on. For now, 4 stars.

If this review provides the info you need before buying, please consider marking it "Helpful", as that's very helpful for reviewers! I had never heard of Katsu as a brand, and from what I read in other reviews, I wasn't the only person to be a little hesitant regarding the price due to unknown country of manufacture and such things. I did some deep digging, and from everything I've seen, Katsu is indeed a Japan-based manufacturer of knives, more commonly known for high quality but reasonably priced pocket knives, many of which have a Japanese flavor in their styling, which they share with this very traditionally Japanese Santoku. So, you can thankfully put those types of fears to rest, I did the research for you. It does appear that the blade is made of actual folded or pattern welded steel and not just an etched billet. This explains the price to a large degree, as a blade like this takes a lot of effort to create. The handle also appears to be actual ebony wood, and the bolster does appear to be water buffalo horn. This is a standard style for high quality Japanese knives, and octagonal handles are also common, especially with the water buffalo bolsters. The included saya is beautiful and lightweight, and has an internal magnet to keep it attached to the knife when it is stored inside (so the saya doesn't fall off). The materials used in the construction are of higher quality than most run of the mill knives. I do a lot of cooking, so I do a lot of cutting meats and vegetables. I also spent 10 years working in kitchens earlier in my life, and I know a quality knife when I use one, and this is a quality knife. It came sharp enough to shave with out of the box, and the edge has retained its sharpness so far, though I used it for about 4 hours total since receiving it, and it is still as sharp as when I took it out of the box. It seems to hold its edge extremely well. The octagonal handle works for me, it feels very natural in the hand, though I've never used a knife with a handle like this before. A thing to note: As with most high quality knives, this should be washed with soap and water and dried immediately, not run through a dishwasher, or left to drip dry in a drying rack. This is my new daily driver knife. Now here comes the hard part. Is it worth the price? I've gotten chef's knives here on Amazon that are pretty inexpensive when compared with the knives I often used in professional kitchens (Henckels or Global for example), but are essentially just as good. Could you buy a knife that is just as serviceable as this for less money? Almost certainly. But it depends on what you're looking for. From what I can see, this is actually very well priced for the level of craftsmanship you're getting. It seems that Katsu has a niche they fit in, both for kitchen knives and pocket knives; To compete with the boutique quality high end offerings at a lower price, and in my opinion, they deliver.

This knife is all show. 1.5 stars rounded up. Not a good investment. Looks: This is meant to look very high end. Indeed, this is probably meant to look much like my Shun Premier santoku. From a long distance, it gets marks for that. The blade looks very attractive. AND the walnut cover is quite nice. Butttt that is where it runs out. The blade is too thin. Even compared to a quality Japanese knife, which are often thinner than both chinese or western style counterparts, this is just way too thin. There's no balance of the weight for the top to bottom, and no balance through the handle. There's no natural heft to slice food, so all the pressure moves to your hand and wrist to do the job. That is the first sign of a cheap knife. As well as being too thin and unbalanced, the edge is quite small. It came slightly dull. It did sharpen well on a whetstone, but the blade being so thin means the edge wears off with very little use. The metal is not high quality. This won't get old with you. The handle is cheap plastic. It feels awful. I've gotten several other off-brand knives, and even those have pakka-wood handles that, while not as great as a known brand, still are much better for feel, weight, and durability. This handle isn't sealed where the blade inserts, and it's not fitted as tightly as it should be. Moisture could be getting in there, harbouring germs and eating away the blade. This is a really big nope for me. To add insult to injury, the shape is not nice to hold. It's angular, and there is too much space between the end of the blade and where the handle starts. It's a very poor design and very poor material. The wooden blade sheath is the nicest part of this whole knife. But I also wouldn't use a sheath on my good quality knives, as some particle could get stuck inside the sheath and scuff the blade. Appearances aren't everything. For any good design, the beauty has to follow form and function, not the other way around. This knife is a cheap, low quality knife, dressed up to look beautiful. It functions, but so does an Ikea knife, and actually an Ikea knife can be cleaned better and sharpened for a lot longer, and could be purchased five times over before coming into this price range. Absolutely would NOT recommend. At this price range, any knife is an investment that you care for in order to get many years of constant service. This knife will not last that long. Cheap manufacturing, cheap finishes.

I'm going to assume that this is real "damascus" steel, since I'm not an expert and honestly can't tell even though I wonder about a few things like the fact that I can't see any visible folding pattern in the ground edge nor the spine of the blade. Apparently real damascus can still look like this, and that the pattern could just be polished out. The pattern does have an etched look on the faces of the blade, and it looks fairly natural. My rating is going to assume the damascus is genuine. My only real issue with this knife at this price point though is a matter of balance. I can't tell if the blade has a full tang or not because the steel doesn't pass all the way through to the end of the handle nor are there any tell tale rivets or anything like that but I'm starting to suspect it's not full tang because the balance of the knife is pretty poor and very heavily weighted to the front - there is no point off of the blade that even comes close to balancing it. In use, most people probably won't care but a knife at this cost really should be better balanced. The handle itself is nice enough, and appears to be authentic wood as you can see the grain at the butt. The blade itself comes out of the box sharp enough but it's not razor sharp. Time will tell how well it holds the factory edge, but sharpening or changing the factory profile on it is not a big deal if you have any sort of sharpening equipment on hand. The magnetic/wood sheath it comes with is extremely nice, though, and something you'd normally see skimped on. It makes throwing the knife in a drawer something you can actually feel okay about doing and I really appreciate it since my knife block is already totally overloaded with knives that I can't do without. There is no evidence whatsoever about the origin of the knife so assume China and that this is a "Japanese style knife" and not a "Japanese knife" I think the knife would make a good gift as I feel it's more about flash than function, so it's not a knife I would personally put my knife dollars into ahead of more practical blades from established well known knife manufacturers.

◘◘ My daily drivers ◘◘ Are a Wusthof 8" chef's knife and Victorinox. I use them every day, so I have a solid grasp on the Katsu's performance. The Katsu falls somewhere in the middle in terms of sharpness and usability. Aesthetically, it is far superior. There's no beating the attractiveness of folded Damascus steel. ◘◘ Seller question concerns ◘◘ I asked the seller several questions that did not get answered such as, "Is this knife full tang?" -- you can't tell. "How can we confirm that this is truly folded Damascus and not a cheap etching?" -- the onus is on them to verify that this is a legit product. "Do you manufacture out of Japan?" They didn't answer a single question. Not a great look. Doing a bit of research, Katsu's website clearly states that they manufacture Japanese STYLE knives out of CHINA. They go onto say, it's essentially a knife-making factory district or some such that has been in operation in this location for many years. ◘◘ Is the Katsu Sentoku sharp? ◘◘ Factory sharpness wasn't stellar. My Victorinox came ready to razor shred paper. The Katsu? Not so much. After an initial sharpening, it's slicing paper and onions like the dickens. Takeaway is you'll have to sharpen it. It's a knife, and while this is expected, it would be nice to have a sharper out-of-the-box experience. ◘◘ It is single bevel ◘◘ There was a review saying this knife had 2 bevels. It absolutely does NOT. There is a SINGLE bevel clearly visible on the right side of the blade, indicating it's a right handed knife. This is a classic Japanese design. ◘◘ LIGHT weight ◘◘ This knife is light, even compared to the Victorinox. ◘◘ The handle ◘◘ Allegedly buffalo horn. Feels decent to hold. My concerns would be slipperiness, especially with a knife this light. For slippery tasks, I prefer my Victorinox due to the grip of its fibrox handle. ◘◘ Is the Katsu Sentoku worth the price? ◘◘ This is highly questionable. There are many reputable Japanese knife brands out there, Shun being among the better known. I'd go with Katsu if you could get a wicked deal, but I highly recommend performing your own research on price, as fluctuations are constant.

[PROS] 👍 ✔ Ergonomic Grip ✔ Long Term Durability ✔ Quality Material & Design [CONS] 👎 ✘ During my review, I was unable to find any issues with this product. In the event I discover something in the future, I will update this review. [PRODUCT EXPERIENCE] ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 👉 I ended up using the KATSU knife in my kitchen on a daily basis for approximately a week - I meal prep for my entire family on a regular basis, as cooking is a passion of mine and so far, the knife has exceeded my expectations. Firstly, I love the ergonomic grip of the handle, it helps prevent knife-fatigue and increases my cutting stamina in the kitchen. When first opening the package, I stood there for several minutes just to appreciate the unboxing experience and the design of the blade - it looks really, really good in person. 👉 As for the performance of the knife, it performs excellent when chopping most veggies and chopping salmon/chicken breast however, the knife struggle with sweet potatoes, oriental yams and potatoes, which most knives do from my experience. The knife sharpness is balanced - meaning it's not sharp enough to chop your finger off, but not dull enough to struggle - it's balanced in between, which I personally prefer. 👉 I cleaned the knife 7 times so far since owning it and I see no degradation of any kind after cleaning it in the top dishwasher rack. It's definitely a high quality knife and I foresee it lasting decades in the kitchen.