HOSHANHO Chef's Santoku Knife 7 Inch, Professional Japanese High Carbon Steel Chef Knife, Ultra Sharp Kitchen Knife with Octagonal Rosewood Handle

Baddass sharp and quality for the price

I've been using this knife for about a month and I can say this thing is solid. The edge is clean and sharp. Very well balanced knife. I see a lot of negative reviews about this knife not being Japanese made. This knife is a Chinese made. It says it very clear in the description. It's a Japanese style knife. Overall this thing cuts with ease, yucca, potatoes, lemongrass, and so on. This thing is a solid buy for the price.

the knife quality was amazing and it is very comfortable to use.. looks just as expected

This knife is very sharp so sharp it made me cut off my finger 5/5 on sharpness

Straight basic design not to fancy, wood handle crafted wellBlade and sharpness on initial use fantastic compared to other Japanese knife companies

Knife blade is nice and cuts. Handle is not well made. Ridges between materials on the handle make uncomfortable to hold.

The media could not be loaded. I have been using a Zwilling J.A. Henckels TWIN Four Star 6" Sandwich Knife, which was purchased years ago. It has served me well and still takes an incredibly sharp edge. It has a very comfortable grip and the blade comes to a point that is handy for spearing the occasional runaway disk of sliced carrot. This, and a smaller Zwilling J.A. Henckels TWIN Four Star 4" Paring Knife are the two main items in my culinary arsenal.OK. If the Henckels knives are so good, why even bother with this Hoshanho 7 Inch Chef's Santoku Knife?Good question. Several answers...1. I wanted to try a santoku style knife.2. I like the look of the handle and am a sucker for traditional Japanese craftsmanship.3. The blade -- incredible! It's not true Damascus, but a triple layer of hammered steel on both sides over a central core of VG-10 steel. An interesting concept and outstanding visual.VG-10 is a high-end Japanese stainless steel, high in carbon and Vanadium, and is one of the most popular steels in Japan. It has excellent corrosion resistance and high hardness (60 on the Rockwell hardness scale). The central core of VG-10 steel is the most important consideration in this blade. The hammered, progressively thinner outer layers are (I believe) mainly decorative, but could function as stiffeners to keep the central blade from flexing.There are many instances in the Amazon advertising that tend to suggest that this knife is of Japanese manufacture. A trademark search reveals that HOSHANHO is owned by Shenzhen Yanzhen Technology Co., Ltd., a Chinese company. Further, the box has a sticker that says "New Made in China". Finally, the trademark is three stylized Chinese characters that represent 'HOSHANHO'.There is no indication in the advertising as to how far the knife's tang extends into the handle, but it obviously does not run the whole length. Also, on the one I received, there is a small gap between the end of the blade and the beginning of the handle, which indicates that the tang was not fully driven into the handle.'Rosewood' is kind of a catchall name for a large number of hardwoods. The actual source species for the handle of this knife is unknown, but neither the lighter brown central part nor the black ends have any noticeable aroma. It's possible that a drop or two of a rosewood essential oil was added to the packaging. True rosewood is a protected species and is no longer commonly used, especially at the price point of this knife.In any case, all of the wooden parts of the handle on this knife are finely cut, fitted, and polished. There is a tiny crack in the butt end of the handle of the knife I got. Also there are some chips in the edge of the blade. Tiny imperfections, but indications of mass manufacturing or of poor quality control. My fantasy about Japanese craftsmanship is dashed upon the (admittedly fine) mass production of a modern Chinese factory.Using this knife is a genuine pleasure. The weight combined with the super sharpness of the blade makes slicing veggies effortlessly easy. Slicing fleshy things like beef or fish takes slightly more effort due to the connective tissue, but is still easier than my Henckels.

This is a wonderful knife, with a wickedly sharp blade and a comfortable handle. I am not a knife connoisseur, and while this seems pretty pricey for a knife, it may well be a great value for those professional chefs who truly know their knives. It works beautifully, and is absolutely my favorite go-to knife at present. It chops like a dream, and goes through tough meat like it was butter. I highly recommend.