imarkuSantoku Knife Chef Knife 5 inch Ultra Sharp Asian Knife Japanese Chef Knife - Japanese SUS440A Stainless Steel - Ergonomic Pakkawood Handle, Best Choice for Home Kitchen

I recently bought a nice set of knives. The set was nice, but it didn't include a shorter chef knife like this. This blade is the perfect size for cutting tomatoes, small peppers, onions, and other smaller diameter produce. It feels great in my hand. When I showed this knife to my son, who does as much or more cooking than I do, the first thing he said when he picked it up was "it's so well balanced!" The second thing he noted was the beautiful wood of the handle. I am very pleased with this knife. It is a great value for the price.My one complaint is that it doesn't come with a plastic sheath. The box it comes in is nice, but bulky. I don't want to store it in that box. Now I'm shopping for a magnetic knife holder so it's not floating around in a drawer.

I've had to temporarily replace my regular Wusthof knifes which were thrown into storage after a fire, and had been making do with a 7" santoku and two smaller vegetable knives. However, there was a gap in the lineup, something which would work for larger veg such as sweet potatoes for which the 7" knife was a little unwieldy.I tried a handful of smaller knives, and eventually settled on this one for two main reasons (over and above it being of decent enough quality that I didn't want to send it back). Firstly, the size of the blade was exactly what I was looking for. The step down in size is less than the 2" it should have over the 7" knife, but it's still big enough to be sturby enough for more substantial fare. Secondly, it feels good in the hand, and the drop of the bolster down to the heel of the blade is large enough that my fingers don't get trapped under the handle as the blade drops onto the cutting board (I sent a number of knives back for that very reason.) The fit and finish of the scales on the tang could use some work - they don't butt up to the bolster very cleanly, nor the tang itself, but I don't notice that too much in everyday use.Overall, for the price, I think this is a solid option for that mid-size knife I was looking for. Edge sharpened up nicely with a waterstone and a strop. Holds it reasonably well, but in the context of a budget knife.

I really can't say enough positive stuff about this knife! It's a good weight. Works perfectly for my needs. I have small hands and the size is fine. I think it would work well for larger hands too. Super sharp. Looks great and clean. No scratches or rust spots. Well worth the money! I'm probably gonna by more in the near future!

Overall solid knife and I would buy again. It arrived well packaged, although the plastic protective bits that were supposed to be covering the tip and back end were loose in the package, not stuck on the blade.Heft: This is a hefty knife, NOT like a traditional Japanese Santoku, which most American cooks will probably prefer. Feels well balanced.Sharpness: Again, overall pretty good, but it does feel like there are some areas on the blade that aren't as sharp as others, and I've had mixed success with tomato and mango skins. I've used it daily since purchase to chop vegetables every morning for my bird and it works like a charm, slices through carrots, cabbage, broccoli, peppers, and apples with ease. Raw potatoes and meat have also been easy. After two moths of daily use, the blade does not feel any more dull than when purchased.This knife is very ergonomic , easy to handle, but if you have very large hands I think the handle will be too small for you. I wear a size small in nitrile gloves for reference. Another reason this gets 4 instead of 5 stars: the metal inlays in the handle are not smooth. Nothing particularly rough, but you can feel the logo and where the rivets, logo, and tang meet the wood.The two improvements I'd like to see are smoothness of the handle where the wood meets metal, and an accurate angle to which the blade is sharpened. 15-18 degrees - which one is it?!

Heavy handle, but promotional to blade. Excellent price.

I have a 7" Santoku knife (different manufacture) and wanted a smaller version. The imarku knife is not as balanced as I'd like, likely because of the short blade, however the handle fits my large hand perfectly. It should be perfect as an everyday kitchen knife.

very sharp. easy to handle for small person

The media could not be loaded. This knife is beautiful upon initial inspection. However, lookimg more closely, the tang is not ground to fit the handle. It is very rough. There is also a tiny crack starting on the right side of the handle in the foremost rivet. The production quality statement inside the package says it took 45 days to make this knife. Unfortunately I don't believe this. I have watched TV shows that demonstrate making beautiful, durable, comfortable knives in a couple of hours. This knife could be one of those.Update: good customer service! I can only up the stars from two to three. Seller provided a warranty replacement and said to keep the first one. The pic is the first knife, the video is the second. Both knives are consistent with the rough tang not ground to the wood, the video shows the prominent rough tang.