DALSTRONGParing Knife Set-Shogun Series 3pc-Damascus Japanese Super Steel Knife-3.5" Paring,3" Bird's Beak,3.5" Serrated-Razor Sharp Kitchen Set-w/Sheaths

I purchased this knife as an anniversary gift for my wife. While hard to shop for, I got the idea that giving her a decent all-around kitchen knife would be a good move, since she does a considerable amount of cooking, and moreover does a tremendous amount of produce preparation for canning/pickling during the harvest season. Our former kitchen knives were of average quality, wedding gifts from Target, that did not have very good edge retention. Plus, after a decade of pounding they are beginning to rust, despite reasonable care.I’m not a fully-apprenticed French sous-chef or anything, so I neither demand nor expect premier quality in my kitchen tools; functionally average tools did the job for a decade. However, in conjuring a gift idea, I decided to make the move to “buy it for life” kitchen wares, as eating things will likely figure largely into the remainder of my lifespan, and I’m a sucker for well-made things that exude the fineness in craftsmanship missing from most mass-produced, discardable, latter-day wares.In researching kitchen knives, I quickly discovered that fetish and professional preference figure largely into one’s “choice” for brand. Moreover, the idiosyncrasies of blade geometry, steel composition, and intended use needed to be accounted for. Figuring this all out became somewhat time consuming, albeit interesting. Several videos on Japanese knife manufacture caught my attention, and I went from there. Through Amazon, I narrowed down a list of reasonable choices by brand. Major criteria were reputation, price, and edge retention.Admittedly, I didn’t buy 5 knives and return 4 once I had found “the one”. Based on an amalgam of Amazon reviews, and reviews culled form elsewhere on the internet, I felt very comfortable giving Dalstrong a try. I chose to go with the paring knife first, as I felt it would be the most useful based on my wife’s kitchen knifing habits.It was delivered quickly, packaged well, and contained many “bonus” goodies in the box, which was neat. As for the knife itself, I found it to appear well made, and was balanced well. I slaughtered some cucumbers with it, and spent some time chopping them in various ways to get a feel for it. No question, extremely sharp! The balance felt good. Overall aesthetic is appealing. Sitting on the counter, it looks like a well-made thing. Since most of my other kitchen stuff is crap, it was a stunning contrast.I was contacted by the company to write this review, and I am happy to do so. 99% of the other stuff I buy will likely not last a decade, especially with regular use. I anticipate this knife will, if well maintained, and sharpened occasionally.My intention is to continue with Dalstrong for “buy it for life” kitchen knives. I’m convinced of their quality, and I believe I got my money’s worth.

When this knife first arrived, I was impressed by the look and feel of it. It is a hefty knife with a well balanced feel and the handle material had a good feel to it, not like it was going to slip out of your hand. The edge was sharp, and I looked forward to using it.Then came the disappointment. My first use was to core and cut up about four medium tomatoes. Things started well, but halfway thru the job, it wasn't cutting nearly as well as when I started. A quick check revealed that it had already lost its edge. I cut on a bamboo block cutting board, and was not pushing the knife into the board. I touched up the edge with a steel, and it cut like new again, but it should not have needed sharpening that quickly. Subsequent use revealed that this was not a one off happening, it lost its edge quicklyno matter what task it put to. Even after sharpening on japanese whetstones, the problem remained. I've been using and sharpening knives for a lot of years, with both 10 degree and 30 degree edges, and I purchased this knife to replace one that after many, many years of use had finally worn out.I cannot recommend this knife to anyone looking for a quality knife for daily use.REVISIT: I was contacted by this company, and was offered a replacement knife free of charge. It was shipped out and arrived within 2 days. After having used the new knife for several months, I have found it to be superior to the first knife I was shipped. The knife holds an edge, and only requires an occasional touchup with a steel. I'm not sure what happened with the first knife, but I am very satisfied the the new one. That a company would respond so quickly and do what they did, speaks highly of their commitment to customer service and belief in the quality of their products, something that is becoming rarer and rarer in today's mass consumer market.. Hats off to Dalstrong.

I have been using this knife since August. and I am more than happy with this knife from Dalstrong. It is a great gift for those who love to cook and real chefs. Excellent quality, excellent sharpening, excellent weight balance, beautiful design. I am very happy