Kasumi - 8 inch Chef's Knife

Love this knife. High quality build, feels balanced in your hand, super sharp (be careful the first time or two cutting). Recommend.

I have been using a 10" knife I bought on sale at Mervyns about 8 years ago, for $12.00 and it works beautifully, but I have always wondered about the famous Kasumi, so, I finally broke down and bought one. First of all, I noticed that their "10-inches" means 9.25 only. Since I was used to the true 10-inch length, I was very disappointed. It is definitely lighter than the one I am using. The one I am using looks like a top quality knife but the only thing stamped on it is "Made in China". In the 8 years I have had it, I have only honed it twice, using the steel until I could not get a razor-edge. I test knives by shaving the hair off my arms. I sharpen my own knives on Arkansas stones down to the Arkansas Black, which is pretty much trying to sharpen a knife on a sheet of glass. I was surprised to find that both knives worked equally well but the Kasumi one time, did not slice through a soft tomato whereas the cheap knife did. The Kasumi is beautiful and I really like owning it but I am still using my $12 knife because it works just as well and the little extra weight actually helps slice denser things better. I used the Kasumi straight out of the box and have never even put the steel to it. My old knife has not been honed in about two years, but worked at least as well as the Kasumi. Kasumi is a work of art but by a very small margin, I prefer my old knife. So the major differences are in length and weight. BTW, I am very good at sharpening knives and always finish the edge with leather. I did a lot of fishing on Lake Erie at one time and have cleaned thousands of Perch, Black Bass, and Walleye. Have also cleaned tough-skinned shark and triggerfish. I always favored a razor-sharp knife for filleting fishes.

Why did you pick this product vs others?: Not a good knife.

This knife is perfect in the hand, insanely sharp and cuts even the most dense loaf of sourdough like it's nothing. My only suggestion would be that it should come with a cover because it's sharp as a razor.

I'm in no way a chef, just a husband and father that spends many evenings in the kitchen making dinner. I love this knife. I had been looking for about a year for a new knife. I had another, much cheaper, knife that I thought would be all I needed. I had registered for that one when I got married and didn't know much about cutlery. After a bunch of research reading 100's of reviews, watching Youtube videos, finding out what professional chefs use, feeling different types in my hands, I decided that I wanted a Japanese made knife over a German made. I've had my Kasumi for about a month now and it's amazing. Prepping dinner is so much quicker than it was with my $50 knife. It cuts through tomatoes like butter. Even though it's quite long, it's not heavy. I love using it. The box that it came in was nice enough that I use it to store the knife when not in use. I haven't had to sharpen it yet, but when that time comes I'll be buying a high quality whet stone as recommended.

Didn't hold an edge at all.

Honestly, I bought this knife to bone Costco rotisserie chickens. I add some of the chicken to white rice for my dogs. And, although I really like my Global knives and still do, I have ended up using this knife almost all the time. I use it as a steak knife half the time. Heck, I used it to cut off some Turkey for sandwiches last night. I am not a knife connoisseur like my son. He and my daughter got me into my first Global chef knives. He got me a great sharpener for my Globals. I am set. But, I couldn’t get into the rotisserie chickens, which I bone every week, well. So,… I love the feel of this knife and how it cuts. Perfection. Dishwasher doesn’t hurt it. (Yes, I sin. I put all my knives in the dishwasher.). Sharpened well-so far twice in 2 months. I love using it— it’s my first knife grab out of the block. I don’t do reviews often. But, I just wanted to say this knife is special.

It is very heavy. I had to return it because my wrist hurt when holding it.