Zwilling Tanrei 4" Paring Knife

This paring knife is exactly what I was looking for, with a Western style handle (no pinch grip required) and a Japanese blade. It's a beautifully made knife and sits well in the hand. It is well weighted and substantial - both the handle and the Damascus blade pattern make all my other paring knives over the past 50+ years seem puny and downright ugly.

The Zwilling Tanrei design is not typically imported into the USA. It is similar to Zwilling's Takumi and Bob Kramer knife designs, while having differences to both of them. It's definitely a beautiful knife for a home cook, professional cooks would likely want something more functional.

The downsides of this knife are, in my opinion:

• It is expensive. I'm glad I bought it on sale, I I think there are better options at its full price

• It is quite sharp out of the box, but not as much as the Miyabi knives I have purchased. I used a leather strop and diamond paste to make it sharpen up, and you may even want to use a high grit finishing whetstone at the outset if you like your knives super sharp

• It is not truly a Japanese style blade, it is thicker, which means it is more rugged and durable than many Japanese blades, but a thicker blade doesn't cut food quite as easily as a thin one

• Zwilling doesn't explain what FC63 steel means beyond its hardness rating; so you are a bit in the dark when it comes to how it will perform over time and how best to sharpen the knife using a whetstone - don't even think about using a…