DALSTRONGUtility Knife - 6 inch - Shogun Series ELITE - Damascus - Japanese AUS-10V Super Steel Kitchen Knife - Vacuum Heat Treated - Gift Cooking Knife Vegetables Meat - w/Sheath

Great alternative to a ceramic knife.For some off reason, Dalstrong treats this as a Japanese style knife. It's not. It's the finest quality german steel. They actually make a separate series of knives explicitly of german steel. If anything, these are more in that tradition, not less. This is what Dalstrong makes...very sharp knives out of very hard materials.What's the difference? In Japanese culture, sharpening knives is common, especially among chefs. Taking ones knife to a professional to be sharpened is also common. In the western world, (the US at least), these things are not common. A Japanese would want a soft steel knife, easily sharpened and repeatedly honed to a fine edge. Most finer knives are sold without an edge at all. Americans want a razor sharp edge, right out of the box and for it to last for years. Tool hardened steel and beyond. Ceramic is best for this but will damage easily. God forbid you drop one on the floor, it will shatter. Dalstrong makes a mighty fine ceramic knife, only a chef knife, which is not the shape I need it forAnd this is better in my opinion. The handle.....,military grade....cough. Military anything means the cheapest contractor made it. This is a nice handle with a comfortable no slip grip. The sheath is simple and effective.And you will need one. Do NOT leave this in a drawer without a sheath. If you do, when you go to get it, you might leave a finger behind. It is much sharper than a typical kitchen knife.Also...do not sharpen this knife unless you know something about edges. A typical kitchen knife is 25 degrees and most standard sharpeners are set at this. They will destroy this knife, especially the electric ones. Without at least basic special sharpening tools (Lansky), you will never get the edge back and might as well throw it out.Instead, buy a leather strop and some jewelers rouge. Or you could use an old pair of jeans. Strop every couple of weeks and that edge will last forever.Or, if you are a fanatic and are wondering what those shiny films are for from the Wicked Edge add ons, you could possibly get this knife even sharper. Why? Why not. Maybe I have a garage electron microscope I bought on ebay and need to slice specimens for it.That;s....not really a joke, But this knife is rubbing up against maximum functional sharpness.

This was my third purchase from Dalstrong. I liked the other products I purchased recently, but I absolutely love this 6" utility knife. If I have any regret, it is that I didn't buy it sooner. .I previously bought the ceramic-coated honing rod, and the Omega series paring knife. I liked both, but had minor issues with the design and functionality of both items. By contrast, this knife was just amazing. I do sharpen my knives with a whetstone, and then use a steel/hone to finish them. I thought my knives were pretty sharp, but this one was wickedly sharp, and raised the bar for my own sharpening activities. It is a real joy to cut things because the knife does the majority of the work for you. It just glides through whatever you put in its path. I was cutting a piece of beef into chunks for a soup. The knife just went through this meat as if it weren't even there. It was simply effortless. I have used it for multiple other tasks, and the general experience was the same. It's just an absolutely beautifully crafted blade. Needless to say, of the knives that I have bought recently, this one is my favorite, and has very quickly become my "go to" utility knife. I own Sabatier, Henckels/Zwilling, Bob Kramer, Miyabi, as well as other knives. This one is a gem. Considering what you get, I think it is a very good value.For what it is worth, and it is more a suggestion than a complaint, the handle is not as "beefy" as on the Omega Series paring knife. Although I found that handle very comfortable it made the paring knife a bit less nimble than I think a paring knife should be. If that handle were put on this somewhat larger knife, it might be an interesting alternative for people with larger hands or who want a more substantial handle. I don't know whether it would make me love the knife even more than I already do, but if it isn't obvious, I am delighted with this 6" utility knife just as it is, and may now consider adding the Shogun paring knife, which is said to have the same handle, as a supplement to the Omega Series paring knife I already own.