TUO Santoku Knife, 7 inch Japanese Chef Knife for Vegetable Chopping & Meat Dicing, High Carbon German Steel, Ergonomic Handle - Fiery Phoenix Series

I bought this for my wife. She has increasing joint pain and had mentioned that a couple of her knives were hurting her hands when she had to use them for more than a few minutes. We are not knife snobs (most of our knives are Victorinox, Global, etc.) but we *do* care about them. I was leery about buying a cheap Chinese knife, but I took a chance on this knife, mainly because of the handle shape and the decent reviews. She has been very pleased. We've only had it for a few weeks so I can't say about long-term durability or edge-holding, but they came out of the box sharp enough (again, not snob sharp, but as sharp as our Chef's Choice sharpened knives), and they've held up for a few weeks now. The thicker, rounder handle feels better in her hand, and she appreciates the balance, with the center of gravity a bit more toward the handle. The handle is attractive enough, but know that it's not really what a normal person would call "wood" (that is, cut from a tree and put on a knife). I'm not *exactly* certain what "pakkawood" is, but if you told me it's really a composite material (you know, sawdust and plastic binder), I'd believe it in a second. The color and "grain" are printed on, which is not what I expected, but it *should* have been what I expected when you consider the (very low) price. Frankly, we're both fine with it: you can't expect more for this price, and it's probably a lot less fussy this way anyway. Besides, fit, balance, sharpness and durability mean a lot more than handle material. For what we've been able to experience in a few weeks, this knife is certainly good enough, even before you consider the very reasonable price.

I've had this knife for 7 years and it's my favorite knife in the kitchen. I have fancy knives that cost hundred of dollars, and other less-expensive knives that I use from time to time, too. This knife is so good that I felt compelled to share my experience with others. It's sharp, easy to keep sharp, feels well balanced, good grip and no slip, not too large to be cumbersome, designed really well. It has no business being this affordable. Go for it!

Wasn't expecting much from this very inexpensive $20 knife. We have many visiting chefs and need to have multiple knives. This was an emergency buy to have enough backups for a big night of cooking. Very sharp as received, but we do our blade prep on every knife. Surprisingly, this knife was not only the first picked, but actually shared among the chefs! Many positive comments and is still picked over the comparable Henckels and Shun knives in the block. Blows me away! Of course, like any quality knife, you will imediately destroy it by putting it in the dishwasher and by not storing and caring for it properly. It is lightweight, well balanced, feels like a quality knife, comfortable to hold and has the perfect handle angle. Highly reccommended.

This knife is versatile and razor sharp

Excellent knife. Super sharp and well balanced for my liking.

Excellent feel and balance, takes a very sharp edge. Have 3 knives from this maker and rarely pick up the much more expensive knives in the block. One caveat - these are forged from steel that is softer than their German made counterparts. The edge will dull more easily, but is quickly restored by a couple of stokes on the steel. If you can use a steel, these are a steal

Third in this series I’ve bought Love the overall quality and “feel” NO regrets and I’ve only used Wusthoff knives for over 25 years to date.

Love this knife