Japanese VG10 Damascus Chef Knife | High-End Premium Gyuto Katana Series - 67 Layers of High Carbon Stainless Steel | Rare Natural Rosewood Handle with Pinch Grip by ZhuChef

I have been buying stuff from Amazon since not long after its conception and this is the first time I’m compelled to write a review of a product. This knife is that good.Another reason for writing this review is because I’m someone from Japan who grew up in a DIY household where you get to see a whole fish/bird/beef parts etc., before they get filleted and served. We had Japanese artistry knives such as Aritsugu and Tsukiji Masamoto, we also had Henckels and Zyliss. When it comes to knives, I think I know the difference and I can hopefully contribute to the Amazon community by writing my first review.WeightThe first thing I love about this knife is its comfortable weight. I still have a Henckels and a Zyliss that I pinched from my mum more than a decade ago, and my main complaint about these knives was that they were too light when held in my hand. This means that no matter how well made the knife part might be, you still need to apply an extra initial pressure for the knife to go in. Good knives sink in and slice off effortlessly when a gentle forward-to-backward drawing motion is applied to them. This knife just does that.Shape and LengthThe type of the knife is called Gyuto (beef knife) in Japan. I think it’s called a chef’s knife over here? Despite what its name suggests, this shape is multi-utility. For example, for filleting a larger fish such as salmon and yellow tail, you want the cutting edge of your knife thin so that it stays closer to the bones, and its length relatively long so that it parts the whole fillet in just several drawing motions. Smoothness of the cut is, again, crucial here because sawing any meat and fish will ruin fat and muscle fibers and compromise their freshness. 20 to 21 cm Length of the Zhu Chef knife is sufficient for the above task, and the edge’s thinness is just right.The thin edge does not mean that the knife cannot handle heavy-duty cutting. Because the slope from the thicker end of the knife towards the cutting edge is not forced thus making the knife robust, I can see myself cutting through pork ribs, oxtails, chopping big fishes’ heads off, tackling tough squashes using this knife. The only thing I wouldn’t do is splitting marrow bones – For that, you probably need a good Deba or butcher’s knife.Lastly, the shape of the tip is also important. Some types of knives such as Santoku are drop-point knives where the tip of the knife is curved. This might be great for cutting vegs, but I personally find the Gyuto knife shape better at treating fiddly items such as herbs and sardines due to its slimmer tip. And because the length is sufficiently long, it can handle larger vegs such as cabbages with no problem. If you are considering purchasing a block of knives, well, my advice is don’t waste your money! A good multi-utility knife such as this one and maybe a Deba (butcher’s) if you are into curving will look after 99.99% of your cutting and carving.MaintenanceWith 67 layers, I expect that this knife will respond very well to proper sharpening and stays sharp for years and decades to come. My mum’s knives still cut like razors after decades of periodical sharpening and handle changes. I highly recommend investing in a whet stone (the larger, the handier) and learning how to sharpen your knife properly if you want to keep your good knives sharp. Many Youtube videos show circle sharpening methods, but I personally prefer up and down sharpening methods. The trick is to keep the angle at 15 degrees (try wedging a 1 pound coin between the knife and the stone), count the numbers and apply the same number to all the parts you are sharpening, and maintaining the whet stone itself from now and then, so that it is always flat.Overall, this was one of the best buys in my long Amazon history. As I said, if you are even thinking about getting a block of knives, get this knife instead and you will see that this one knife sees you through most tasks save for bread slicing and taking a whole cow apart.

Great knife..good quality steel by the looks of it..very hefty handle so won't suit anyone with small hands!

Its that good someone stole mine 😂

Very good

a real handful in the kitchen, amazing product with good price range.