Kotobuki Japanese Kitchen Knife Set

Right now this is just my first impression, but these seem great. The knives are very light and well balanced. They come Very sharp out of the box, with a near razor edge (they will take the hair off your arm, but there is a bit of resistance.) It has a nice pitched ring when the blade is tapped, so they seem to have a good carbon content and well hardened and tempered blades. I will point out, these blades have a very steep angle to the edge, so they are best resharpened with a high grit whet stone (1,000-6,000) instead of with a normal kitchen sharpener, as those do not sharpen at the right angle for this type of blade. I would like to add that when i give these a 5 star rating, it is not because i think they are perfect or without issue, just that for the money, they feel worth every cent. I have not found knives for $15 each that were this quality before.

After one use, a wash and a dry, this knife was set down on the drying rack (already dry) and was completely rusted by the next morning. It is cheaply made. Even though it looks like a wood (to look like bone) handle with the characters burned in, the handle is really plastic, and the characters are a sticker which would probably peel off if the knife itself made it past one hand-wash. I returned this item immediately. Thankfully the seller took it back for a full refund with no issues.

I was a bit hesitant to buy these knives, because I've bought other knives with high reviews on Amazon only to be disappointed. But I'm very impressed with this set. Out of the box these knives cut better than my $150+ Wusthoff set. I can cut paper thin see-through slices with little effort. The handle is a bit rough and unfinished and I wish it was smooth, but I noticed just from the little bit of use I gave it that the natural oils from my hand were beginning to soften the handle. I assume that over time the handle will attain a natural smoothness and patina from use. Update Sept. 2015. These are still the best knives but they WILL rust at the slightest drop of water. Wipe them immediately after cutting and washing. You can remove it easily with Barkeepers Friend. Also treat the handle with some oil. I'm a Japanese knife convert due to these knives.

I bought these knives as my first Japanese style knife set. I like them for what they are. Please note the following points before you make your decision: 1) The knives cost $15 each on average. This is not going to be as pretty as the $100 Shun 2) this is carbon steel. It WILL rust if you let it rust. Wipe the knife dry after use. 3) You probably already have a sharpening stone or two. If not, get them. Buy a diamond two side sharpener atleast (DMT or Smiths is good enough). The knives are sharper than knives I have seen in other people's kitchens, but a little TLC will keep it that way. 4) the knife will NOT handle abuse. It will chip if you try to cut hard things. Use both knives just for vegetables. Look elsewhere for cutting meat with bones. 5) although they are japanese shaped, these are DOUBLE BEVELED. (I wanted to try my hand at a single beveled knife :-( maybe some other day ) So do they belong in your kitchen? If you are willing to care for them a bit, sure. Great value for the price!

Intital impressions out of the box/things you might want to know: - These knives WILL DEFINITELY RUST IF THEY ARE NOT CLEAN AND DRY, PERIOD - These knives WILL DISCOLOR AFTER USE, THIS IS OK. Parts of it will darken and stain, especially if you use it to cut a lot of onions and acidic things. Clean it every time you use it right away, and maybe apply mineral oil to protect the blade from rusting in storage. - Handles are untreated, bone dry wood. They feel like sandpaper, so hit them with some Mineral Oil (several coats)-- they'll need it bad. The logo on the handle is just a sticker, sorry if you liked it. - Super super blade heavy, if that matters to you. - My set was not exactly razor sharp out of the box, but YMMV. Won't cut slices of tomato so thin you can read through. Use these to practice sharpening. I recommend this set to anyone who is interested in owning a carbon steel knife and learning to sharpen knives, but wants to try it out on a cheap knife before they potentially ruin a $180 Masamoto Also, you should probably expect to cut a lot of veggies, because that's what these knives are for. If you're not dicing onions, tomatoes, carrots, and whatnot 3x a week maybe don't bother.

This are the blades I use the most and I cook daily. Easy sharpening. Easy on my hands and most practical. Only issue is that they are not Stainless Steel but I knew that going in. Love them.

The symbols are flimsy clear stickers though, and when I finally took them off display(though the box is not good for this I decided it was not quality) and used them, they rusted in my dish drainer even though it was all that was in there, standing straight up in the plates section with no standing water. It rusts more each time and I use then wash right away. Trash That's where it's going alright 👌

Just because it's Japanese doesn't mean it's of higher quality. These knives are light and don't hold their edge very well. And if you leave slightest moisture on the knife, you'll see it rust within hours.