Sakai Takayuki 33-Layer Damascus Chef's Knife, Zelkova Handle, 240mm / 9.5"

A beautiful and high performance chef's knife at a great price! This size is perfect for home users who already have a smaller knife and know they want something bigger, or for pros who are used to handling a longer knife. These knives really are very sharp, with excellent construction quality and they just look spectacular with the layered steel, hammered finish and gorgeous Zelkova (a species of elm) wooden handle. The wooden handle feels great in your hand and makes for a very light knife for easy and comfortable handling. If you like the damascus layered steel look but don't like the artificially high prices by domestic knives and kitchen stores, this is a truly excellent choice. You get a super sharp and long-lasting VG-10 steel cutting core (this is a very hard steel and high quality knife steel, with a Rockwell hardness of approximately 60), with a 33-layer hammered stainless steel surface and a beautifully finished handle. This makes an excellent choice as an all-around knife.

I'd recommend the fine ceramic hone (see below) for regular/daily maintenance of the edge. As with any knife, use the hone regularly and you'll keep the edge in good shape for a LONG time before you need to think about doing any serious "re-sharpening" or real grinding and refinishing of the edge.

NOTE: This knife is sharpened 50/50 (equally on the right and left side), so it's easy to maintain and fine for right or left hand use. If you look carefully at the edge, you'll see a slight right-side bias, this is just because the final edge is so tiny and because of the way they finish the edge; it has no bearing on right- or left-hand use, sharpening or maintenance and can be ignored, so you should treat the edge just like any standard 50/50 edge.

Please keep in mind that the handle is made of natural wood and so small imperfections at to be expected and are not considered defects.