Yoshihiro VG10 16 Layer Hammered Damascus Gyuto Japanese Chefs Knife (8.25'' (210mm))

The media could not be loaded. This knife has been great to work with. I am not a professional chef, but I do a lot of cooking at home. I prep all of my meals and cook pretty much everyday--so this knife gets a good amount of use. I have prepared everything with this knife from sushi, to meats, to vegetables. It handles everything. I do not have to worry about the knife rusting during a 4-5 hour prep session. I simply dry it off really well before putting it away and I have never had a problem. I have also not had a problem with food building up on the handle like some other reviewers have reported. My knife had a quite flush finish where the handle meets the tang.The knife came to me quite sharp. I was able to wash the knife and use it right away with great results. I have a LINK KING STONE that I will be using to sharpen it soon. I'm sure I will get good results. If I get anything but good results I will update this part of the review.One thing that kind of surprised me though is that my knife was single bevelled on the right(luckily for a righty like me). I had read a question on here asking about the knife being double bevelled. So I have to wonder if this knife is designed to be double bevelled or single bevelled? Either way, sharpening will be easier and I have seen other sushi knives that are single bevelled. It is possible that this is a purposeful design.The handle is great and is real mahogany. As a woodworker, I love to see mahogany finished the way it has been on this knife. The knife is full tang exactly as shown and has a very solid feel when handled.This knife does not come with a saya(scabbard) so I definitely recommend picking one up. It will help protect the knife for decades to come. I personally got the 8.25inch version of this knife and so I picked up a Yoshihiro Lacquered Magnolia Wooden Blade Protector Saya Cover for Gyuto Chef Knife (210mm) to properly cover it while it is being stored.Dimensions of the knife can be seen in the photos I have attached.The box the knife comes in is very nice and decorative. This would make a great gift box.Pros:*Excellent metal composition*Takes a great edge*Great feel in the handle*Very solid constructionCons:*NoneAdditional Considerations:You can spend many hundreds of dollars on a great Gyuto. This knife definitely hangs with the pros for a superior price. It is still a bit steep compared to the average knife sets you see in North American kitchens, but I wouldn't look anywhere else unless you have a very specific requirement of the knife (like being able to cut bone or something like that).This knife will do most everything you need--even if you are a professional chef.Overall: 5/5 stars (>=.5 rounds up, <.5 rounds down) => 5 starsIf you have any further questions regarding the product in my review please leave a comment below and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

---UPDDATE to 5 stars--- since purchasing this knife years ago. It was my first Japansese knife and they are different. I gave to my daughter who begged me for it. Since I bought Shun's and some directly from Japan, so I have learned how to use them. I bought Chosera water stones - 600 -1000 - 3000 - 8000 - and now that I learned how to use these with much practice, I re-sharpened this knife. It was scary sharp and so much better than when I bought it. This performs like a beast if you understand how to get the blade sharp, and how what cutting motions work with this style blade.My first Japanese knife and it is a very nice knife. I have used German style knives and it took some getting used to for me. The thing with Japanese knives, this one certainly in that category - is you cannot use too much force. Let the knife do the work, you guide it, don't manhandle the blade through the food or use too much pressure -relax. So my technique has suffered using heavy maybe not sharp enough knives. :)My daughter who is 20, credits this specific knife for her learning to cook and cook well. She just loves this thing and told me she would cook and prep meals just so she could use this knife. I am going to gift if to her soon as I am opting in for a set of Shun's.I sharpen this with a Japanese wet stone - which you soak in water, and well, youtube the 'how to'--- part to hard to explain here. I think this needs sharpening every month at least - I use it almost daily for basically everything including meat. It is not what I would call a meat knife but designed obviously for expert vegetable cutting. Don't misunderstand me when I say it beats the daylights out of any western heavy knife on meats that is bought from Target or a supermarket. I cut steak, chicken, fish and it does very well.The blade can chip some if you don't use fir for purpose cutting boards that have some give to them, and of course, I abused this knife quite badly learning not to use so much pressure. Really nice knife overall.