Hammered Damascus Chef Knife, 8" Pakka Wood Handle 67-layer Full Tang Damascus Kitchen Knife with Professional Japanese VG10 Super Steel Core

Ok, first, you have to do your own research on understanding Why this isn't "a Damascus" blade. That mine has been extinct hundreds of years. Now, Damascus is a marketing concept, a design style (hence the etchings, etc), an exotic sounding appeal, and if adhered to (NOT by many, as it is) Profusely labor intensive, involving repeated hand forgings, foldings, twistings for rain pattern, hammering, etc. that were necessary in olden days to yield a good knife that modern processes can create far quicker and more simply today.That kind of knife could be custom made, but it would cost custom made prices for it. The ones at shows are a grab bag of who knows what metals, honestly.Much of what passes for "Damascus" now is etched into a nice pattern for appearances sake.This knife is Clad in a metal "taco or two" that is folded over a Japanese steel core - the part you cut with - from the top. You can see where the two layers are pressed onto the VG10 core, as the Clad layers have a fine glittery finish. This is the part that is Hammered! The reason the hammering may not extend to the blade edge is because it is only an effect hammered into the cladding. Billets may be getting ordered from Japan and then Clad and hammered in China, with the water effects between hammering and blade edge suspected to be etching. Either way, those 33 layers of Cladding are folded in half and Clad on, becoming 66 layers over the VG10 quality steel core.The important question I suggest you ask yourself is: WHY do you want a (alleged) Damascus knife?If you want a truly hand folded piece of false history (nobody has recreated Damascus steel; the Damascus process now refers to a blade that should be hand forged, bent, twisted/rain effect, hammered - most do this with a big machine hammer nowadays anyway), you can probably source one up for a good sum. Still, you may not want to cook with it, as these things come to sellers in a bit of a "get what you get" grab bag made of questionable metals and can be prone to rust, dullness, etc.If you want the authentic (but never Actually authentic, but hand folded, etc.) Damascus process knife to say you have one or to appease some sense of Damascus emptiness within, you can find them, but do your due diligence Very carefully and thoroughly. There is a Ton of deceptions around these items and many are still being made in China, or coming from completely unregulated metal "melting pots." You want that touching your food?Since modern abilities give us high-quality steels with the desirable qualities sought, if you are really just wanting a beautiful knife with great kitchen processing abilities that can hold an edge and do its job without rusting up a storm, you might want to file your Damascus cravings and buy one of these modern powerhouses that look great and perform great.This is a high-quality VG10 Japanese steel core - a good core for cutting - with nice accents that are etched for a watery effect and hammered.Yes, they are technically forged, since heat is used to adhere the Cladding. Even Henckels cuts up a sheet of steel into a stack of flat rods and presses them in the forge, but they aren't Damascussed, where that refers to the painstaking process of hand folding, forging, hammering, repeated numerous times. If you inspect a Henckels Friodur, you can clearly see All of those sheets pressed vertically comprising the blade and giving it it's excellent edging (a micro-fine serration) and the cryo-quench (friodur) giving the steel it toughness. Henckels uses robots to press and process; they aren't hand-forging samurai swords for the kitchen. Do you really want to soil yourself every time you use your kitchen knife because it is so sharp it cuts the vegetables Before you set the blade to them out of sheer terror?! No, you don't! If you do, get a Shun...and some chainmaille gloves!If you decide that you want a great knife that looks nice too, you might want to take a chance on this one. Ignore the Damascus marketing and choose based in it's features as a piece of high performance equipment.This knife Does have a full tang. Everyone has different preferences, but I find it comfortable to hold and use. The knife is Plenty sharp and capable in action.The knife arrived sharp, as I agree all new knives should.Looks nice and performs well, so the Damascus, for me, can stay in the history books and this knife stays in use in the kitchen.After washing, I do like to buff it with a bit of a damp cloth and then a soft, dry towel. Carbon steel is a bit different than regular stainless, so a bit of extra care to avoid stains or hardwater spots can be adopted, if you so choose.Good value and checks all the boxes of what I was looking for in a performance prep-work kitchen tool...and it looks nice in action, too.What more can you need? You're not a samurai in a Kurosawa flick. You're trying to efficiently feed a table of hungry mouths!Be honest with yourself and then make the right choice.This is a good choice and would make a great gift, wedding gift or intro knife. It has a great presentation factor and is as attractive as it is effective.Keep your fingers out of the way and/or get some cutting gloves. This knife means business.

You can get better knives for more money, but at this price point this is very nice.It comes nicely sharpened out of the box, and it comes with a handy plastic edge protector for storage or transportation.The balance is a tad handle heavy, and the blade is somewhat heavy also, so it's not a very nimble blade.The feel of the handle is very comfortable to my somewhat large hand working well with a pinch grip.The one minor flaw in the manufacturing of mine was the rivets were not polished flush to the wooden handle. Not uncomfortably raised, but a noticeable edge instead of a smooth surface.One of my frequent peeves with knives is a sharp back edge which is uncomfortable with a pinch grip. I have a couple knives that I used abrasives on to smooth that edge. This knife is nicely rounded and polished.One thing I noticed was the damascus pattern gets very close to, and in some places reaches the edge, so I'm wondering how thick the core steel is.Bottom line, it's sharp, it's comfortable, it's pretty, and it's at a price that's hard to beat.

Very nice looking knife. The rivets on the handle were a tiny bit proud but not enough to really notice. I chose to strop the edge right away as it wasn't very sharp out of the box as stated in the description. It wouldn't shave any hair on my arm at first but now it does after a 5 minute stopping. The plastic sheath is adequate but just ok. The sharpening instructions on the box conflicts with their description. This is the question I asked and their reply.My question:"Why does the description state a 12° edge angle but the sharpening instructions say to maintain a 20° angle?"The Reply:"Our factory standard is 12 degrees. It is recommended to sharpen the knife at 20 degrees. Normally, there is no conflict. This does not affect the sharpness of the blade."No conflict? What does that even mean? Odd reply in my opinion and not very satisfactory. Wouldn't you want to maintain the original blade angle instead of trying to create a new one? I'm not a knife expert but 15 degrees seems to be the current standard for most higher end Chef's knives not 20 degrees. Anyway, they get only 3 stars from me for the reasons above.

I have used this product two or three times so far, I'm pretty happy with it. I only see Damascus Steel patterns on the bottom half-inch or so of the blade, and they don't continue up through all of it... which looks weird, but doesn't effect the functionality. Only functional complaint is that the rivets in the handle aren't flush with the wood, they stick out a little bit (which doesn't bother me very much).The knife is/was very sharp out of the box, comfortable to hold/use, and has done what I need. I'm happy with it, only taking off a star for the fit of the rivets.

Feels great in your hand. Super smooth edge on blade.