KAN Core Professional Chef Knife 8-inch VG-10 67 layers Damascus Ambidextrous (Hammered Japanese VG-10 Blade, Ebony wood handle-upgraded version)

We have enjoyed this knife for a couple of years now. We liked it so much that this is actually the 2nd Chef's knife I purchased. This one as a gift for my brother & his wife. Besides that, it is a beautiful instrument, it is comfortable to handle and has a great balance. We use ours several times daily, so I sharpen it about once every 3-4 weeks to keep it tomato skinning sharp. You can extend that time if you leather strop it before each use which would keep it razor sharp longer. We are not that disciplined. We sharpen with one of those Ruixin sharpening systems you see advertised. We use the diamond whetstones up to a 3000 grit and finish off with a polishing compound on a leather strop. Some will say that is unnecessary, but I find that is truly refines the edge and helps it last longer. This is a professional grade knife and if you expect to perform it needs to be treated like one. Do not put this in your washing machine, simply hand wash, rinse, and wipe the knife off before you store it. Takes all of 30 seconds if you are slow. The knife is packaged in a beautiful case which makes it a great gift presentation. We have since purchased several of the other knives that KAN offers. They have great customer service which is a huge bonus. The only thing negative thing I can think of is the handle discolored slightly after a year but meh, hasn't changed my opinion of it. All in all, this is a great buy.

This knife is fabulous- foodies, you’ll love it- holds an edge so well- better than my shun- shockingly durable for all the abuse it takes in my house- The knife is well balanced, maneuvers well, and is easily sharpened on my diamond steel. I have it on a magnet like Kenji, and interestingly it gets tons of compliments! (It is gorgeous!). It’s made by a guy who is easy to contact regarding his knives- which is nice. And comes in a gorgeous box perfect for gifting! I’ve got several co-workers who are foodies, and have given them as gifts. The 8 inch chefs knife is perfect- I just ordered a paring knife and santoku-

I purchased this knife after hearing about it in one of J Kenji Lopez-Alt's YouTube videos. This is my first rather expensive (for a home cook) chef knife so I was skeptical as to whether I could tell the difference and/or take advantage of a "good" knife. After using the knife to cook a few meals, it is 100% worth it. This knife makes cooking fun. The support materials on KAN's website are top notch and made me feel comfortable about getting started and taking care of my knife. I've been cooking a lot of Hello Fresh meals and, if you're not aware, these involve a lot of cutting and prep work. Before I had a good knife, this was a chore - one that almost had me cancelling the service. But now I LOVE the prep work. I look forward to chopping vegetables all day. One tip if you do end up buying this knife - sign up for the mailing list on KAN's website. You'll get a free knife holder and you get to speak with the CEO Barney who is so kind and caring. We ended up having a lovely chat about the knife and you can tell how much effort he puts into every customer having an amazing experience with his products. The customer service alone makes this knife a worthwhile purchase but once you start using it, you'll understand why it's worth the cost.

I bought this knife a couple weeks ago, and haven't used any of my other knives since. It's razor sharp right out of the box and I haven't needed to sharpen yet. Feels great in my hand and is very well-balanced. It looks great too, although the indentations from the hammering were not quite as deep and noticeable as it seems in the picture. All in all, this is an awesome workhorse knife that can handle pretty much every task in the kitchen.

You've cooked through a couple cookbooks, enjoy food YouTube and friends love your dinner parties. What's next? Invest in cast iron, some nice spatulas and get yourself a legit knife. This Kan is that knife. Weighted perfectly for the chef's pinch (A big improvement from lighter cheaper knives) and beautiful to look at, it effortlessly glides through all your prep needs and makes working in the kitchen a joy. Been putting time in on it and imagine if I treat it nicely (I will I promise!) it'll last me for quite some time. Great customer support too!

Amazing knife!! My husband bought this for me as a gift because he knows how much I love cooking! I spend so much time in the kitchen prepping and cooking meals. I have two knives that I use for prep work, but they were getting dull and worn out. I used this knife the very next day. I was cutting potatoes into small cubes and it cut them like butter! I couldn’t believe it. I yelled for my husband to come down and try it! I sliced a baguette next. This was the most shocking! The bread did not smush or crumble like it normally would. The slice was so clean and perfect. I’ve never been able to slice bread like this even with a bread knife. (I saw the video for this and did not believe it until I did it myself.) I also thinly sliced filet with my knife. (I had a busy day!) I was able to slice the filet into thin pieces to top my crostini! I can’t wait to use this knife to make carpaccio at home. I can tell this knife will be perfect for it. I would recommend this knife to anyone who is cutting anything!! I will use this knife for all of my kitchen prep going forward.

The KAN knife in the pictures is well loved, and has been used around 5 days a week, for the past 3 months. I've wanted a nice Japanese chef knife for years, and always ended-up with cheaper "Knife set's" as a gift, that looked real nice, but under preformed. This KAN was on my Amazon Wish List for several months, and I finally pulled the trigger. The KAN Core Chef Knife is beautiful and functional in one package. From the Damascus Steel to the Ebony handle, I just love this knife. Balance is spot on, and food prep never felt so smooth. The VG-10 blade is extremely sharp, and holds it's edge. This is by far the most used knife in my kitchen, but mostly by my wife these days. My wife recently started cooking after me doing it the first 30 years of marriage. She used to complain when I bought "tools" for cooking, and now she's doing it! For this knife, she actually said, "Why didn't you get this when you saw it?" ... I can't win for losing... At least we're slowly getting the "tools" I really wanted years ago. As a bonus you get the blade guard (in pictures) for free. Thanks Barney!

This knife has changed my life in the kitchen! I cook a lot for a large family and it feels great in the hand; it is light and well-balanced and cuts through everything with so little effort because it is so sharp. I was using a Global chef's knife before, and have not reached for it once. The Kan knife is also gorgeous; I have purchased 3 more to give as gifts since I find that a great knife is a daily pleasure.