KISEKI: Santoku Knife, Japanese Oak, 7.1inches(180mm), Made in Seki, Japan, Cemented Carbide Knife

I really like this knife. I'm not a chef but I've worked in the food service equipment industry for over a decade and collect knives. This knife is really nice but you should know what your buying before you invest such a large amount on a single knife. This is an ultra-light Santoku knife that really lends itself well to the extremely fine cutting required for sushi chefs. It is not as much of an all purpose knife as a typical european chefs knife although it does rock a bit. It has a blunt tip and the weight distribution lends itself well to holding the blade since the balance point is a few inches forward of the handle. I think the first thing that stuck out to me is just how incredibly light this knife is. Its so light, that i was concerned that it might be a counterfeit but after doing some research, it appears to be legitimate. I don't know the exact metals used but cemented carbide is a process invented in the 20's by German tool makers that usually involves large amounts of tungsten which gives it its incredibly hard hardness rating. Its only recently been used in knife making due to the difficulty in manufacturing knives like this. My main concern with this knife is chipping so we'll see how long I get with this knife without this issue. I really like the rainbow reflection pattern, it lends itself well to the nickname of "shine" in the literature provided. My one complaint so far is that it's not as sharp as my high-carbon Miyabi chef's knife and I'm not sure I want to run this though my diamond sharpening system since its likely going to take ages to get a good edge from this thing. All in all, this is the type of knife i'll only use a handful of times for fine slicing but I may hand it off to a sushi chef to get their take on this knife. This type of knife is an investment so it's nice to see they offer a sharpening service on the box, just remember to hang on to the box for just this reason. If you're looking for more of an all purpose knife, I'd look at Miyabi's selection although they tend to be a bit more fragile than this knife. This knife is a really nice addition to a custom set of knives for a counter block or a magnetic strip to show off that shine. Wonderful craftsmanship. I highly recommend getting a sheath for this knife.