ZHEN 67 Layers Damascus Clever, 7"

If you do not want to read my long winded review of this knife, please know I love it for the money it costs, it holds a strong sharp edge for a reasonable amount of time, touches up very easy, has a nice sized handle, and is one of the most "usable" knives I own. I own and have used knives in all price ranges and I prefer to spend less than $100 per knife. I prefer Japanese style knives for preparing vegetables, fish, and some white meats, for other meats with the exception of a nice boning knife (zelite infinity boning knife is a nice compliment to this zhen nakiri) I am in love with the victorinox line, their breaker knife is a wonderful value, I also use their bread knife and paring knives... So all of that being said, lets get to this knife. Out of the box I always test the knives with a potato, and this nakiri passed with flying colors, with out much effort in pressure or control I could cut transparent strips of potato consistently. Subpar knives could be hard to control due to either not being sharp and needing too much pressure, not having a good "balance", blade design, etc. If a blade is not sharp enough I can easily hone to a razors edge and I have had knives arrive a bit dull out of the box but after a slight tune up preform amazingly (recent shun knifes suffer from this and my wusthofs also). On the other hand balance and blade design can not be fixed. If I take my flexible global g19 fillet knife which is not made for cutting vegetable and try to slice an onion I'm probably going to lose a digit or two because that is not what the blade is made for, easily sharp enough to cut an onion, its is still not the correct tool, great for taking the skin off a salmon fillet though.. The nakiri design is great for vegetable cutting, not a great rocking motion (check our ken onions rain santily for a really nice rocker), but its wide straight blade makes it super stiff and great for scooping your cut product right into the pan. OK, so design, sharpness out of the box, and ergo of this knife are IMO 5 stars... WHATS LEFT? Value, I give this knife 4 stars in value, its under $100 which I love, but for a Damascus look not made in Seki Japan, it is right at its limit. My seto Nakiri was only $100 and has hammered finish made in japan not Taiwan, I will compare this knife to it shortly. SO value loses a star, is it worth its price YES, definitely, but would I like to pay less, lol. ALSO yes.. Compare the zhen line of Damascus knives to the pricing of Bruntmors Tokuso line, they are also great knives and for 30% less cost... Last item I am going to talk about is edge retention. I take great care of my knives, I don't cut on glass, granite, or stone, I only cut on wood boards, I immediately wash them so I have NEVER had stuck on food to scrub off, I also never use straight detergent, I use diluted detergent on a Swissco sponge (they are soft) that I only use for my knives, not a utility sponge and never a scour pad, and when I put them down during use I lay them on a baby face cloth which is also what I use to dry them before storing. I also only store them on a magnetic board, not in a block. So I don't have to touch up my blades often, but this one is at the same level as any of my other high end knives, its easy to sharpen and takes a great edge that it holds for a long time... I compare this knife to the seto hammer forged nakiri, which is just maybe $10-20 more expensive, that units blade "may" be better, I was told its the same metal and similar process, but the reason that knife is in the drawer and this knife is the one I use is ergonomics. This knife feels much better in my hand. The only thing I don't like about Japanese knifes is some of the round dowel style handles they often use, I am not a fan of them. The control an oval shaped handle gives is IMO 100 times better. Dowels are made to roll and I don't want my knife rolling.. It took me having to own a few and over the years of using them to learn my preference, but it is what it is, I like a shaped handle, it effects, safety, speed, and all aspects of cutting... In closing, there are a few similar knives I love, Zelite infinity, Dalstrong SHOGUN, Bruntmor Tokuso, ken onion rain, even the tou damscus line is a great product for the money. But you have to use them to know what you prefer, I have all of the above, and I like them all for different reasons, but the zhen nakir is on my board because it is longer than my shun nakiri and I like the handle more than my seto... Out of all the nakiri style knives I have owned I would say this is my favorite, with the exception of an mcusta I used at a show, it was also very nice, while that was a 6.5" and had a partially rounded handle, it felt nice and its look was second to none, it was also $300+, so I left it at the show, knowing I had my $90 Zhen at home.... I own 2 of these knives, you will not be disappointed with your purchase, good luck and cut safe.