YOTSUBA 7" Damascus Japanese Santoku Chef Knife

I opened the box containing this Yotsuba-brand damascus steel chef's knife, and admired the mirror-polished damascus steel blade, and the sharply contoured rosewood handle. It looked very nice, and seemed quite sharp right out of the box. I decided to hone the blade on my ceramic rod, just as I usually do, and it did seem to improve the edge just a bit. Then I turned the knife over in my hand, and carelessly allowed my thumb to touch the "heel" of the blade edge. Instant cut, followed by a blood flow that showed the wound to be longer and deeper than I would have believed possible. I was amazed.

I am not a knife expert, but I own a couple of dozen cutting tools of differing levels of quality, etc. I prefer working tools to knife jewelry. This is the most finely finished blade I own.

The stainless steel/high carbon steel "Damascus" forged blade is thin, with an amazingly long bevel grind right down to the cutting edge. The tracery in the steel, typical of the damascus process of folding, hammering and forging the layers of steel into a blade blank before the grinding and finishing process, is delicate and quite attractive. According to the manufacturer, the blade is hardened to a grade of 62 on the Rockwell scale, and polished right to a mirror shine. This is one fine knife, I think.

I will say that the long, long tapered bevel grind is remarkable. The edge is perfectly even, end to end. My honing process simply touched up the polish of the blade edge, removing any oxidation that might have occurred since the day of manufacture. This knife may be "made in China", but the craftsmanship is excellent. I LIKE it.

The knife comes in a lovely gift box with a magnetic clasp, giving it a fancy feel right out of the package.
The blade has a cool pattern that looks like real Damascus steel, but it's made from 430C steel. The rosewood handle has an octagonal shape that took a bit to get used to, but it provides a secure grip.

This knife is incredibly sharp. I tested it, and it sliced through effortlessly, creating thin slices without tearing. The dimples on the blade help prevent sticking, and it feels well-balanced and comfortable. Overall, it's a solid knife.

As a long time knife collector, I have knives of all types for all sorts of uses made out of every kind of steel you can imagine. These have a great classic look, and felt like they were worth a try at this price - I was very pleasantly surprised at the overall build quality of this set.

The damascus is very well made and not as "rough" as a lot of pocket knives, which is good in a kitchen knife, less for the things you're cutting to stick to. The fitting of the handles is tight with no wiggle, and they're very solid and well balanced. The cutting edges are wickedly sharp out of the box, and due to the blade profiles (shape), should be very easy to sharpen and hone in the future.

I've also found the range of sizes very useful for kitchen tasks. My wife has a 5 knife set, and I feel this one can do anything hers can do just as well or better. The set is more traditionally inspired by eastern chef knives, and I generally find them to be more versatile, and the minimal construction to last much longer.

Overall, these knives are a 10/10. You won't find a better set at this price.

Both my husband's and my son are knife junkies. They will only use high quality kitchen knives . I got this set for them and hoped they would like them. The knives came in a nice box to store them in and prevent them from getting nicked up. The description said they were made from Damascus steel and were hand forged. Upon opening the package they inspected them very closely. The blades were made ofcarbon steel and they really are hand forged. They even used a magnifying glass to make sure the steel had layers where the steel had ben folded over and forged. Next they gave it the sharpness tests. They passed with flying colors. They were able to slice a tomato paper thin. So thin I could see through it. They also tested it on carrots and on meat. They passed all of thier requirements. I feel comfortable enough to recommend these knifes for everyone who knows the value of quality knifes that stay sharp, are comfortable to use and will make prep time a breeze. They are worth every penny.
.

My husband, who didn't cook at all when I met him, now likes working in the kitchen. Collecting nice knives like this one is something he enjoys. This knife was very nicely packaged (would make a great gift) and was sharp and ready to go. It has a very nice look to it and is comfortable to grip. It feels well balanced and cuts well.