Chef Knife 8"

I am a fan of high quality kitchen knives, and have a large collection of top-brand and custom-made chef knives, most are of Japanese style (gyuto, santoku) and Chinese style (cleaver). I previously used a 6" Nenox petty knife in kitchen, and it mysteriously disappeared. I came a cross this knife on Amazon, and decided to give it a try, as it costs less than 1/12 of the Nenox and about 1/3 of Shun classic.The knife came with a very nice presentation box and a edge guard. The blade is made of very standard Japanese laminate damascus steel with VG-10 core. Finish of the blade is excellent, and is on par with Shun Kaji series, and better than Shun Classic series. The surface texture feels more like Shun Classic. It is not super smooth and provide good food release. The damascus pattern is beautiful.The blade has a flat ground that creates a smooth transition from thick spine to thin cutting edge. The spine is straight from bolster to tip. The edge profile is excellent, perfectly the standard shape for a 6" petty knife. The out-of-the-box sharpness is not super sharp but sufficient, I do not really care as I sharpened it anyway. The best thing I like of the blade is it's stiffness. It feels rigid, compared to some petty knives that are slightly flexible. However, this is totally up to personal preference.Finish of bolster and handle is of first class, actually better than my Nenox petty, and all my Shun Classic and Kaji. The metal is beautifully polished, with colorful spacer to create artistic feel. The main part of handle is made of pakkawood, which is widely used for Japanese knives. It feels smooth and warm. I initially was afraid that the handle might be slippy in wet hand. It turns out to be completely fine. The metal parts parts are slippy when wet, however, the pakkawood gives secured grip. No problem.The cutting core is made of VG-10, which has been well-proven for kitchen knives. It is not a super steel as SG2, ZDP-189, HAP40 and M390, however, is a excellently balanced mix of sharpness, edge retention, toughness, easiness to re-sharpen, non-stain, material and manufactory cost. Specific of this knife, the edge performance is of standard VG-10, very similar to Shun Classic, and feels tougher than a new Shun Classic, which is reported initially brittle and becomes tougher after a few times of re-sharpening.I have been using this knife for more than 8 months now, from peeling apple to breakdown whole chicken (cut through joints only). It works very well and has never disappointed me.The materials used for this knife, VG-10 steel and pakkawood, are well-proven and every standard nowadays. The value of knife should be determined heavily on design and craftsmanship. And this knife is definitely worth the price.

Espectacular

This is the second Fanteck knife I have purchased through Amazon. I was very pleased with the first purchase, both in terms of its appearance, craftsmanship, ability, and presentation when opening the package. When ordering this knife, I knew if I was equally pleased with this purchase, I would have gotten my money's worth. What I discovered is that I was even more pleased with this knife!For starters, this knife comes in a nicer presentation box than the previous knife (plastic presentation vs cardboard). Secondly, the knife sharpener is of a higher quality than the other knife sharpener. I love the fact that they include sharpeners with their knives. This is not something that they have to do, or that I can think of other companies doing, but this is like a little gift, a little extra something that you weren't expecting.Upon opening the box, you see a beautiful knife in a familiar blade pattern (familiar if you have purchased a Fanteck knife before). The swirling design of the blade gives it a unique look and I image it will help hide rust spots, if you so happen to let you knives get those unfortunate spots. The handle itself is a unique design also, with multicolored wooden handle and acrylic rim. Needless to say, I'm a sucker for knives that have a good look to them, so this was a no-brainer purchase...but how does the knife actually work?If the first knife I purchased from them was the best knife I have ever owned, then this newer knife from them must be at least just as good, right? RIGHT! In fact, I would go so far as to say it's even better. The handle has a bit more ergonomic feel. It also feels a bit more balanced than the other knife. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about the first knife, it's just I feel they took everything I loved about the first one and made it even better. I've done a fair bit of slicing, dicing, and chopping vegetables, fruit, and meat with this knife and each cut is smooth and effortless. I will easily be recommending this knife to all my foodie friends!