Yasuda Hamono YG300 Kotetsu Seki Gold No. 10 Tsubatsuki Santoku Knife 7.1 inches (180 mm)

Beautiful knife!!!

This is a very light weight knife. The handle smells strange (probably from the adhesive used to make the pakkawood handle). There are gaps on both sides of the bolster as reported by other users that may lead to stuck food residuals. Not really a big deal, but something that can be improved upon. The edge is not evenly ground, which seems intentional, I'd say about a 30-70 ground. I'm yet to test the knife in the kitchen, but I see why some users have reported chipping edge, since it seems very thin and delicate, which can be a good thing depending on the user case. Probably will be suitable for soft ingredients, but hard ingredients like squash could potentially damage the edge. Note that this is not unusual for Japanese kitchen knives that prioritize the ease of cutting by sacrificing robustness. You will probably experience similar hardness vs robustness trade-offs from Shun or Miyabi knives. So choose the knife with the properties that suit your need. I've used various brands and types of kitchen knives made by German and Chinese manufacturers, and this is my first Japanese kitchen knife. Granted that traditional Japanese cuisines are not like German or Chinese cuisines, I still feel that given the price, this knife does not quite live up to the expectations. I know Seki is one of the knife capitals in Japan, like Solingen and Yangjiang are well-known knife capitals of their respective countries. This knife is indeed manufactured by Yasuda Cutlery located in Seki. But just like not all knives manufactured in Solingen and Yangjiang are of the same quality, one should expect the same for Seki. I'd say that in terms of overall quality, this knife is on par with some middle range of Chinese knives that you can find on Amazon at cheaper prices. When buying a knife, one needs to look at the quality of the steel, the fit and finish, balance, quality control, and the design. The steel of this knife is VG-10, which is a relatively hard steel for kitchen knife, despite its brittle tendency. So the steel quality should be good, although the performance of the steel also depends on heat treatment and the geometry of the blade. The balance is fine, not exceptional by any means. The design is the standard Santoku, and the thinner blade is a plus for Santoku knives in my opinion. The bolster design is potentially problematic as I've mentioned, although not a problem at all if implemented well. What is knife lacks is the quality control, as I highlighted. Yasuda Cutlery can certainly make this knife much better by making some marginal improvements in the manufacturing process. This knife is certainly functional and will cut things well enough in the kitchen, but its price tag is not quite justified by the aforementioned other quality parameters, especially if you compare it, for example, to quality knives manufactured in Yangjiang, China, at much cheaper prices. The problem with the Chinese knives is that it is hard to discern which ones are from reputable quality manufacturers, so you will have to do your own research.

Well worth the money!!!