Japanese Chef Knife Santoku: Three Virtue Blade | Multi-Utility Chef Knife, Authentic Blade Made in Japan

I just bought this Japanese Santoku and straight out of the box I'm really impressed with it. Saw this brand at an AirBnB I was staying at in Tokyo so had to check it out. When I opened it the knife was wrapped with what looks like traditional Japanese paper and came in a sturdy box, not one of those cardboard ones but an actual bamboo box for transport which made it feel like it was already gift wrapped and ready to go (check out the pictures). At first, I wasn't sure about the black handle, but it's actually really sleek and unassuming. And the way the blade handle fits in my hand is kinda like it was made for me. My girlfriend tried it out too, and even though she has smaller hands, she found comfortable to use.The blade is super sharp - like, scary sharp. I also own a Shun and Miyabi which I bought while visiting Japan few years ago year, but the Raikou is my new favorite. As someone who takes pride in my cooking, I can kinda just tell the difference between this knife and the others. It's pretty clear that the knife is made in Japan, which is a relief, I've seen people asking about this on other reviews so I was worried about getting a fake or replica but this thing is clearly a real one. You can just feel it when you hold it. Luckily, the knife arrived in perfect condition, with no damage or nicks on the blade. Again, bamboo box vs cardboard box for transport probably makes a difference.Overall, this is an expensive knife so I wanted to leave this review in case anyone else was in the same position as me looking for a high-quality knife and worried about buying one off Amazon. It's a bit of an investment, but I think this is like one of those old school knives that can just last forever.

I'll start out by saying how excited I was to see a knife company out of Seki, Japan. I lived in Japan for a while in the same region as Seki, a town which is famous for its long lineage of sword and knife makers. There are plenty of mass produced "Japanese knives" available on Amazon and in retail stores, but very few hand crafted products from this region.The packaging and attention to detail are incredible. They really went the extra mile to show off the beauty of this knife. Once in hand, you can immediately feel the quality and attention to detail that went into producing this thing. It handles like a dream and is sharp as can be. With a little TLC I think this think will last a lifetime. I'm very pleased with the purchase and look forward to expanding my collection in the future!

The media could not be loaded.  I’ve been having a lot of fun using this knife. It is the arguably the most beautiful and well performing knife I have ever used. Japanese made, comes nicely and carefully packaged in a wooden box that includes care instructions, a very thoughtful message, and where in Japan to send it when it needs sharpening (quite the service they provide). The knife is not that large and very lightweight but wow, it glides effortlessly through pretty much anything. For example with onions, you can slice it similarly as you would with a tomato as opposed to applying significantly more force, even with heavier chef knives. There is definitely a difference when using this knife for preparation and it’s certainly a huge positive. Easy to clean and care for, but a knife like this will certainly demand a lot of love and care (make sure to always clean and store it properly).The only thing is that this knife is very expensive. I do believe it holds up as a high performing premium knife, but I also don’t have much else to compare it to (most knives I’ve used have been lower to medium end knives). So do I recommend this? If you can comfortably afford it and/or are looking for a professional and premium knife option, I do believe this is worth considering. I’m not that skilled when it comes to knives but I do notice a huge difference using this knife compared to others. I will say to carefully consider when spending this kind of money, but at the same time, I also have to say that this definitely a knife I’m very excited about.

This is a standard VG-1 santoku that can be purchased from any number of japanese makers for $100 or less. Someone bought a bunch, stamped their logo on it, put some cute packaging with it and is trying to flip it as a $700 knife. Custom handmade japanese knives in much higher end steel sell for that kind of money. This is a $100 mass-produced VG-1 knife and nothing more.