Absolutely loving this knife. Picked up this beauty to finally add an AS blade to my growing collection of stainless and powdered. What a difference! The knife came relatively sharp, but not as sharp as I would do myself. Even so, it made it through the first week of prep with little to no complaint and is fantastic in the push and draw cut.
The balance is about 40mm ahead of the handle and may be a challenge for pinch on small hands (fantastic for mid to large). The choil and spine are a little too squared, but not sharp or uncomfortable like some of the entry level Japanese stainless (if you know, you know).
The black smith finish and stainless cladding look fantastic and the handle was well mounted and centered. I gave it a hand sharpening after the first week, the feedback on the stones was terrific and it took and held very keen edge. It didn't really need it, as the edge was holding well even after about 15 kg of veg and protein prep, but I wanted something with a little more bite than the factory edge provided.
