KikuichiElite Carbon Steel Gyuto Chefs Knife, 9.5 inch

Knife came in impeccable condition The craftsmanship is top-tier Great working knife for the professional... This is not a showpiece

I purchased this knife as a "baby" step into Japanese knives. By this I mean I wanted to try out a quality gyuto without spending an arm and a leg. I did a fair amount of research and landed on this one by Kikuichi. Mainly this was based on the Amazon reviews, but I did some searches outside of Amazon to see if the feelings were mainly positive, and they were.I really like the fact that this knife uses carbon steel for the blade, and it's actually made in Japan. You get a very thin blade (cutting/chopping only, don't try to go through bone, etc.), that is very sharp. And because of the carbon steel you don't have to do much to keep it sharp. I've been using my ceramic hone, and that's been great so far. I will use my sharpener in the near future, luckily the angle of the blade will work with the belt sharpener I have (also purchased from Amazon -- love it!; Work Sharp E5). There is not much I don't like, I guess the only thing holding me back is that I now kind of wish I'd gone all on on a gyuto. Paid maybe $300 and gotten a really handmade knife (although I can't really say this isn't handmade). I'm probably cutting hairs with this. Overall it's a good knife, sharp and retains the sharpness. Lightweight and easy to work with. Enjoy!!

This is an amazing tool to have in your kitchen. I use it daily.

Great knife, but it needs a lot of maintanence.