Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2019
I am a retired ex-owner of multiple restaurant/hospitality operations, and an avid gourmet cook at home. I often get teased by friends and family because of an extensive knife collection in my kitchen. Common comments upon seeing my magnetic knife boards and blocks are, "Geez, how many chef's knives do you really need to get the job done?" Hmmm. If they have to ask the question, then they obviously would not understand the answer.
My knives vary by length, thickness, blade angle, rocking motion used on a cutting board, and very importantly, the feel in hand, considering comfort and balance. This knife delivers impressively on all counts. My first test with a chef's knife is to rapidly slice a carrot into even slices. With this knife I was able to effortlessly slice a carrot in a rapid sequential linear motion with very little downward effort.
In the restaurant business, whenever we had novice back of the house kitchen staff, going through training, we focused on safety and best practices in the use of equipment, with knives especially. They were told to use a whetstone to sharpen at the proper angle and a "steel" to true or hone the blade. Further advising, "the most dangerous knife to use in a kitchen, is a dull one." When one has to exert undo effort in the downstroke, bad things can happen, since the blade is not doing the cutting in the way it is intended, and can slip off of its target, with you in mind as its next one.
What first got my attention with the Kitory, was it's razor sharp edge. And I do mean razor sharp. My son in law is an avid hunter who will dress his game in the field, as well as further processing at home before it goes in the freezer. One year I bought him a hunting style knife to use for just that and the first thing he did, out of the sheath, was to lightly drag it at a very shallow angle across a small area of his forearm to see if it shaved the hair by barely touching the skin. That surprised me as he related, "the best way to test my knives after sharpening is to do this". That advice stayed with me as a real test of a knife's sharpness, relating literally to "a razor blade". So, I just had to try that with the Kitory, right out of the box. BINGO. This knife is extremely sharp and boasts a very steep 10 degree angle of finish per side, for razor sharpness. And you can easily retain its sharpness over long periods of time, if you hone it with a steel regularly, as needed, to remove any microscopic burrs, which is called "truing the blade". I have some knives in my kitchen which are kind of workhorse inexpensive utility knives for cutting raw meat, etc, and I just use the tungsten carbide blade sharpeners that are commonly found in the utensil area of a grocery stores. These are the kind that you apply pressure with the V-shaped sharpener as you drag it across the knife blade and they work very efficiently to quickly sharpen utility knives, by removing steel from a knife's cutting edge in pretty aggressive fashion.
However, I would never use that kind of sharpener on this knife or a handful of my other favorite knives which should be treated like a high performance sports car. This one will only see the use of a whetstone, with the blade held at an extremely shallow angle to the stone, as it is moved across the stone to sharpen and then struck against a "steel" to fine tune the edge.
There are other things about this knife that make it superior in its construction, through use of materials (Japanese AUS-8 super steel for the cutting core, and high carbon stainless steel cladding), with the single piece forged steel that runs from the tip of the blade, uninterrupted all the way through the tang, and to the back end of the knife, with the tang being sandwiched between the handle mounts, which are riveted into place for lifelong attachment.
The handle which resembles wood grain is actually ultra premium G-10 Garolite, which is a high pressure fiberglass laminate, traditionally used in the fabrication of circuit boards because of its superior properties of being totally impervious to heat, cold and moisture. However it is also recognized in the knife industry as one of the premium components in use for knife handles. What that means to a Kitory knife is that the handle will not absorb any moisture. It will not react to heat or cold, which can cause expansion and contraction of components, in relation to the steel parts of the knife. And it can't absorb any oils or other substances. Although the Kitory is finished to look like a very fine wood, it will not deteriorate in constant contact with water, as one would experience over time with real wood, This handle will look as good as new, for a lifetime of use, and no matter what you get on it. However, I never put fine knives in a dishwasher with its harsh detergents. I find it far to easy to simply squirt a dab of soap on a dish brush for a knife, and then run under water to rinse, wipe with a towel and put the knife away. One and done.
And lastly, after several cutting tasks with soft and hard vegetables, romaine lettuce, meats, and other items which find their way to the cutting board in my kitchen, I found this knife to be extremely comfortable in hand with a very nice balance, which will not fatigue during long cutting sessions if one is doing repetitive tasks. I am impressed enough that it will now be used as my go to choice along with 3 other favorite brands that I have in my kitchen, which include Henckels, Wusthof , and Victorinox. Victorinox happens to be a favorite of America's Test Kitchen, which I do like very much but have found myself more frequently reaching for my J.A. Henckels knives in the smaller knife category for specialty cutting tasks (most frequently relating to raw and/or cooked meats, poultry, pork and fish).
Bottom line is that this is an extremely desirable knife with great packaging, impressively refined appearance, light weight, and superior performance, which should last a lifetime. And if you decide to give it as a gift, you will make a lasting impression, which speaks to quality in every way.
