SHAN ZUJapanese Chef Knife 8 Inch Hand-Forged Kitchen Knife 7 Layers High Carbon Professional Utility Knives 9Cr18Mov Stainless Steel Sharp Cooking Gyuto Knife with Maple Wood Handle

I bought this as a Christmas present for my husband, he had been wanting one for a while put wouldn’t buy it for himself so I treated him and he loves it, it’s now his favourite and he uses every time he cooks. It looks even better in person than the pictures and the quality is fantastic the amount it has been used means it’s actually been value for money, it’s sharp cuts better than any knife we’ve owned previously and is comfortable to hold and use, he loves it so much so he wants more!

Bought for my husband as a gift. He loves it, says it’s sharp, looks great. He stores it in the box hidden away so no one else can use it! Ha ha. Happy with the purchase, makes a great gift and it’s functional too.

This knife has multiple uses and is very sharp I have mainly used it for cooked and barbecued meat but also for slicing tomatoes

If like me you like to cook regularly, then having the correct types of knives for cutting each type of food is essential! Some people get by using the same knife for everything, of course, but that is always going to make it more difficult and give poor results. Hence, when I saw this Japanese style knife I was keen to check it outFirst impressions are good, the knife comes in a nice presentation box with soft padding inside to cushion it. The knife itself measure 34cm end to end, and has a 20cm blade. This makes it most suitable for cutting meat and fish primarily, and as the advert suggest sushi is another use.It should be noted this is a Japanese 'style' knife, it is manufactured in China. That's not to say it's a big downside, but it is not an authentic knife made in JapanThe blade itself is made of 9CR18MOV steel, and this is generally quite well regarded in lower end knives, and has a good balance of hardness to keen an edge over repeated usage and not deform. That said, you should still steel it regularly to keen the edge free of burs and defects.For a real Japanese knife I would expect to see AUS-10 steel, for exampleThe advert however suggests the blade has a hardness rating of 62 HRC, however 9Cr18MoV obtains a score of 58 to 60 HRC, which is good, but not up to the hardness of real Japanese knives. It can also be prone to chipping.It is said to be composed of 7 layers that have been hand forged, which given its country of origin I'm not 100% convinced is true, but it does feel like a quality blade, and the edge on it is very sharp without defects, and it passes the paper cutting test of being able to cut a sheet without ripping or catching.The handle however on the product does not look anywhere near as nice as the image in the advert with its intricate maple wood detail, and the detailing around the black boarder is somewhat untidy, which is not what I would expect for a £100 knife.Overall I don't believe this knife is worth the £100 asked, it's not a genuine Japanese knife, and it uses a grade of steel, that whilst good, is not top of the link you'd you'd see in an authentic Japan made chef knife, and there are not too dissimilar Japanese style knives like this in the £35-50 mark, so in my opinion this is overpriced for what it is

This looks and feels the part. Sharp out of the box and has a nice weight to it. at its current price (with the 50%) voucher id say its good value, but possibly not worthy of its full price... in comparison to my other knives from ProCook, id still say this isnt quite as good as them, but it certainly looks better.