Kimura Paring Knife, [Made in Japan], 3.5 inch Professional Chef Knife, Ultra Sharp High Carbon Molybdenum Stainless Steel Kitchen Knives, Chefs Knife with Ergonomic Handle - Japanese Chef's Knife

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.

What an amazing knife! I’ve been looking for a good chef’s knife for a long time. I just returned from a trip to Japan, where I participated in a cooking class. We were using Jikko chefs knives during the class. I was impressed, but the price for a new one was very steep. I got back to the US and found the Kimura on Amazon and thought I’d give it a try. This is an exceptional knife and absolutely RAZOR sharp. Well balanced and is holding its ultra sharp edge with no problems. I treat if with care and only hand wash and dry. A great knife at an exceptional price. I will update in a few months to let everyone know how it’s holding up.

Very sharp knife with a comfortable grip. I just wish it came with a protective sheath, but I found one on Amazon and ordered it separately (another brand).

for $30 , I cant complain. It's sharp and the handle is comfortable and needed nothing. This is a decent start at a Japanese knife for anyone interested. It was suggested to me to buy a Tojiro. If you look up Tojiro Classic 8.25" Chef's Knife you will see that it is a very , very similar knife to this but the Tojiro is a lot more money. I really do want to try one of those and partly because then I could compare. I suspect the Tojiro would be more refined , maybe be slightly lighter and thinner? Truth is that this knife is a decent knife that works well and looks nice.

Workmanship is excellent. Handle has no lip or edges - ground super smooth all around. Blase finish is perfect. Sharpness is super sharp. This is a chrome molybdenum stainless steel with a Rc of 58. If you want a blade with VG-10 you can expect to pay 4 times more and even higher. I debated weather to go for VG-10 but my intended use for this Nakiri knife was for a general purpose knife that more than likely others would end up using in the kitchen. My better knives are stored out of sight of others who would not use care as I would. So, I decided to get this excellent knife. I needed to be able to grab it for immediate kitchen use and not have to worry about it.

The media could not be loaded. This knife I bought because my old knife was broken, trust me I made the right choice by choosing this knife, it’s really sharp and high quality, easy to clean and comfortable in the hand, not so heavy so u can is it all day.

Knife feels great.Positives:Well balanced, don't notice any heavinessVery sharp, cutting vegetables, meat, kept sharp on a ceramic honing rodHandle feels excellent, not too small like some of these style handles.Handle has a non-slip, dull finish that doesn't feel slippery when wetNegatives:None, this has become my favorite general purpose kitchen knife

Has a nice feel and it’s sharp! I think it’s worth every penny. Cuts steak as thin as you want.