Cangshan YARI Series 12-inch Sashimi Knife with Sheath, X-7 Damascus Steel, 501301

Very nice knife and the sheath is magnetic

Excellent quality and versatile

A quality knife. I do wish I'd bought the 10" instead of the 12". I do like that it's double bevel; it's easier to keep sharp and more versatile than a single bevel.

I ordered this Cangshan YARI Series 501301 X-7 Damascus Steel 12-inch Sashimi Knife with Sheath to skin fish. I love salmon but I just can't deal with skin. Even when recipes call for searing the skin until it crisps up, just the thought of eating fish skin makes me queasy. Once the salmon is cooked and sitting on my plate, it's not that easy to get the salmon onto a fork without also getting some skin, and I often end up wasting a lot of salmon that stays stuck to the skin. This knife makes it simple to remove the skin before cooking the salmon, and I'm sure that it would work equally well on other types of fish. I've also used this knife to slice beef and dice chicken. The blade is very, very sharp. That, plus the fact that it is very long, means that you need to be careful when using this knife unless you want blood. I would not suggest this knife if you've got poor knife skills. The knife looks beautiful. Considering how long it is, it is very well balanced. It's very easy to wash as few things stick to it; a quick dip in soapy water followed by a rinse is all I've needed to do to get it clean, even after it sat on the counter for a while after use. The included sheath is a nice addition because this knife will not fit into typical knife holders because of its length. I don't know how well this knife will take to being resharpened because it's just as sharp after 10 uses as it was the day I received it. Based on the overall quality, though, I'm not expecting any issues.

I kind of display this knife as a threat sometimes! Hahaha...... It's a beautiful work of art. The damascus is real and not some etched pattern. It's the sharpest, thinnest knife I own. The length is perfect for processing an entire half salmon for sashimi. This one is very interesting, most sashimi knives (yanagibas) are single bevel but this is double beveled. It saves me the trouble of going to find a left-handed knife as I am ambidextrous but usually favor left for fine-tuned work. The main differences from a traditional single bevel are that it does not steer the opposite direction of the level (e.g. in your right hand, with a right-sided bevel, the knife steers towards your left), and there is obviously no hollow edge on the non-cutting side. It is extremely easy for me to skin fish using a single bevel knife (watch a youtube video, but basically you put the fish skin side down, make a cut on the tail end, and slip your knife between the skin and flesh and just run it all the way down). This is because I just lay the non-cutting edge against the skin side and run the knife down, and I am guaranteed pretty much to get all the meat off without even a tiny bit of skin on there. But with a double bevel knife like this one I just pay a little more attention to the angle of my knife. Overall I am extremely happy with this knife. What I described above is simply just me telling you about how this knife behaves, it's up to the owner to know their knife and work with it. This knife filled a functional gap in my kitchen and I am very happy to have it home.

The knife is designed for slicing meats very thin, I will be using it to slice fish, we eat a lot of fish and vegetables. This knife is the sharpest knife I have and care must be taken when using. They say that a dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp knife and in most cases that's true, however when I use this knife I will be wearing my cut resistant gloves. I've had inexpensive Damascus steel knives and it was obvious that the pattern was stamped on the steel, however this looks like the real thing as stated in their listing and I tried to show that in my pictures. I highly recommend using to sheath that comes with the knife to protect yourself and the knife edge when storing. It's very cool when inserting the knife and the magnet in the sheath grabs the knife for you to guide it in properly. This knife makes a nice gift.

I have a large collection of knifes and other bladed tools. Early on I mostly collected folding blade and hunting knives. I also collect reproduction swords from different movies. Then I started watching the "Forged in Fire" TV show. I am fascinated by layered Damascus blades and what it takes to make one. Now I have a collection devoted to Damascus blades. This knife is the newest addition to that collection. The knife is absolutely beautiful! The blade is 12" of very sharp 64 layered Damascus steel, acid etched to show the pattern. The knife has an integrel bolster in the blade and a mosaic pin in the handle. All of these features require skill and time to create which makes a really special knife.