Japanese Chef Knives

I was looking for a good chef knife as mine seemed to become dull more quickly then ever recently. But that said, I also found that three of my (seven) main knives were also not responding as well as they once did. I concluded that my extremely old honing steel rod was probably worn out. I found the Kimura site by chance and my eye was drawn to the Gyuto chef knives but before investing in them I noticed their honing rod and thought I might try one of those before investing further in knives. The Kimura ceramic rod arrived with me 2 days ago. I used the rod to sharpen all seven knives of my knives and was astonished at the amount of material that was taken off them as the torn and damaged edges were slowly returned to something resembling sharp and even. I always use a sheet of 80 gsm paper to slice through to test each blade. One of them (my chef knife) had a small imperfection near the tip which always snagged the test paper after sharpening. So I focused a minute or so on that area with the Kimura rod and it swiftly removed the snagging problem. The blade slices cleanly through the paper along the entire length now which is the first time in as long as I can remember. I was delighted. By the time I had finished though, the sparkling white ceramic rod was extremely dark and smothered in the dirty dark grey swarf that it had removed. A little Google research suggested that using Barkeepers Friend (Oxalic acid I think) was a good solution but, after I popped a couple of these in my Amazon bag, I found that baking soda (not baking powder) was also a good cleaner agent. So using a damp sponge and ½ teaspoon of baking soda from the cupboard, I drew the rod through the soda in my clenched fist, and it removed almost the entire amount of swarf on the first try. A few moments later, with only a tiny amount of TLC, the ceramic surface was back looking almost good as new (sheer white) and as smooth as silk to the touch. My sponge was a mess though! I have never used ceramic rod before but I am a convert. Fast and with minimal effort it is a pleasure to use. It has a 1200 level grit which is enough to reshape the edge but without being too aggressive and not require any significant effort to achieve despite the poor state of some of my blades. Yesterday as I was prepping some meat, I was extremely pleased at how well my three main knives now perform. I may still buy some of the Kimura knives simply because they look great (and because I fancy one!) but the NEED to do so has largely been usurped by the effectiveness of the ceramic rod. It is also worth mentioning that now I have an edge on the knives, the ability to maintain them with even less effort next time means the rod will not get as dirty in future. If your honing rod is old, trust me, ceramic is a very effective option to replace it. I attach a couple of images showing how the rod looks after simply wiping it clean with the cloth (almost completely unmarked) Finally, while registering the item on the Kimura website for their lifetime warranty I noticed something on their site that confused me a little. I pinged an email advising them (on a Sunday) and got an almost immediate reply. Not only that, but the reply was extremely helpful, dealt with my issue and inspired confidence. It appears they have real people, who actually care about their products, and that is great news! Thanks all.

Definitely a hard wearing knife, still pristine from when I bought it, been used every day for dinner time cooking, looks brilliant on display in the kitchen along with my other knives, good craftsmanship, true to size, definitely easy to use, functional, and sharp, just watch those fingers.

I thought this would be a cheap knife that I wouldn't mind chipping while processing meat, but honestly, the quality has blown my mind. It's quite lightweight but also perfectly balanced for a pinch grip. The design is simple and elegant and wouldn't look out of place in any kitchen, from a family-run cafe to a Michelin-starred restaurant. The spine isn't rounded, but it has clearly been sanded to create soft edges that don't dig into your fingers. The knife is razor-sharp right out of the box. The only thing I can see that isn't perfect is that the handle bolster isn't completely symmetrical; however, that certainly isn't something you can feel when holding it. I would take this over the flimsy feeling Victorinox budget chef knives and day of the week. Quite honestly, I think I'm going to order the entire set. Thank you, Kimura, for surprising me with a very nice knife.

First impressions Very sharp out of the box. Good balance. Nice and slim on like zone of the knives you can get from amazon Will try and review again after some time.

For context I'm a professional chef, with 10 years experience in high volume catering. I purchased the 3.5" pairing knife. Pros: Very sharp out of the box. Full tang construction feels heavy and good quality. Inexpensive compared to other Japanese made budget brands (Tojiro basic have similar specs and start at around £40-£80) Cons: Some Quality control issues, alot of rough edges, especially along the tang and handle. This definitely feels mass manufactured and without a human hand to finish off imperfections. Overall this is a really good value knife. You won't find Japanese made, full tang at this price point from any other manufacturers.

bought this honing steel to replace my very worn one. It arrived quickly and is well packaged and works brilliantly. I must say I didn't realise there would be all this palaver ordering a knife sharpener as if paying by debit card there are all these age verification tings to do. I cold understand that were I buying a knife rather than a sharpener but hey-ho, this is how life is I guess. Brilliant product though! Definitely recommend.

What an amazing knife, out of the box it is ready to use and sharp the size is good and cutting is easy. overall its well built and worth the price.

Love this knife. It's ultra sharp. Slices beautifully. Not too heavy or too big. Comfortable grip. Quality good. Used it to slice veggies, meat, and bread. Cut warm homemade bread better than the bread knife.

excelente cuchillo con relación valor precio insuperable .Estéticamente es elegante, muy bien terminado y pulido. esta bien afilado. y sobre todo original japonés, ya que buena parte de los promovidos como tal ,son en realidad de origen chino. en otras palabras, altamente recomendable

I bought this as an upgrade to my junky old pot-steel paring knife that would barely take an edge, so admittedly the bar was low. In any case, for the price I'm quite happy. It came shaving-sharp, slices paper cleanly (if a little noisily) and it's smooth as glass across a thumbnail (which means no significant burr). Quite respectable for a factory edge on an affordable knife, and likely better than most people are used to. I'm obsessive, so of course I'm going to take it to the stones to squeeze more out...but it doesn't need work. It feels nice in the hand. Balance is personal preference and it's somewhat academic in a knife this size and weight, for my purposes anyway, unless it's *really* off. That said, it balances right around the first rivet, maybe 1"/2.5cm behind the bolster. I really like the extra blade length, over the ~3"/7.6cm paring knives I'm used to. It turns it from a knife I only use for very specific jobs (cutting the top out of a bell pepper, say) to a more general-purpose "light duty" knife. The only thing that somewhat limits it in this capacity, is the lack of knuckle clearance due to the slender (spine-to-edge) profile. But you can't have it all. Fit-and-finish is adequate at this price point. It all looks nice enough. They didn't quite sand the scales and tang flush on the butt end of the handle, but you'd never normally feel that, and the rest is smooth. Overall, I'm happy. I very much doubt anyone would call this a bad knife. I don't think a paring knife is worth spending big bucks on, unless you already have a lot of very nice knives and money isn't an issue. You just need a serviceable one that isn't awful to use, and this certainly fits the bill.

This Kimura gyuto knife is superb, well manufactured and sharp. It's balance is just right and the handle has been nicely crafted. I would recommend this knife to anyone.

I was in need of a sharpening steel, and after doing extensive research on knife sharpeners, I found this one, which is truly extremely effective and good. I've sharpened all my knives, and now I'll have to be very careful if anyone in my house (let's say some of my children) uses them because they're extremely sharp. I'll have to let them know that they better not touch them, because they could have an accident and end up in an emergency room. So what I'll do is give you a warning that these knives should never be used by any of them. I have teenage children, and for that reason, they sometimes want to do things themselves, and for that reason, I wouldn't want anything to happen to them. But regarding this knife sharpener, it's extremely good and gives excellent results. You just have to know how to use it to ensure that all your knives are sharpened properly. Highly recommended, you won't regret it. Very good material and will last for many years. Like everything, it needs care and to keep it in good condition so that it performs well and is always sharp.

Nice