Enso HD 5.5" Prep Knife - Made in Japan - VG10 Hammered Damascus Stainless Steel Utility Knife

The little big knife delivers stunning looks with excellent cutting performance.The Enso HD 5.5 prep knife absolutely lives up to it's name.Packaging - very simple velvet plastic holder in a black box branded ENSO. Does not come with edge guard.Knife - Absolutely beautiful reflective hammered finish. This knife works very well in small kitchen tasks like cutting shallots, spring onions, mushrooms, small fruit, cheese, chopping chocolate bars. It's basically gonna handle anything a pairing knife could do but better at the larger tasks because of the handle leverage as well as the increased blade width that really helps peeling tasks.Edge retention - It seems to hold an edge really well even when butchering fibrous mango cheek after mango cheek. I lent this out to a friend who subsequently rolled the edge on something tough but was able to grind it right out and got even sharper than the factory finish. If you want to put a steep angle on this knife it can certainly handle it. It seems to be a fairly high quality VG-10 they are using. I recommend you but a cheap plastic edge guard for this thing or a knife block to keep that edge in tact as it it thin.Handle - Plenty to grip onto if you have small to medium hands. Really good leverage for a knife this size.This knife is a buy at $80 but when if you can find it for under $70 it represents a good value. Anything under $60 is a steal even if used. It is my most used knife for small task kitchen prep work.Note: Picture for size comparison is the 7.5 Yaxell Dragon Santoku in BD1N (long discontinued, same parent manufacturer)

This 5.5" utility knife arrived earlier this week, and already it is the most used knife in the kitchen. I already had big knives (chef's knife) and little knives (paring knives) but not much of anything in the middle. Suppose you just want to cut an orange or something. A paring knife is too small, and the big guns don't seem worth the trouble. THIS knife is perfect for the job. In fact, for most jobs. The blade is wide enough so that you can grip the handle and still chop on the cutting board. The handle is very comfortable. The workmanship is excellent. Is it sharp? Out of the box it was arm-shaving sharp. Thirty seconds on a strop and it was face shaving sharp. The core steel is VG-10 at 61 Rockwell hardness, so I expect it will stay sharp for a good while. The knife seems very nimble and easy to handle. It is lighter than I expected, but not fragile feeling at all. I was cutting an apple into thin slices this morning, and using a slicing action. The hammered finish seemed to help with keeping food from sticking. On a whim, I tried a thin push cut, and it went through that apple like something through a goose. The blade is thin and sharpened to about a 15 degree angle with a 50-50 grind so there should be no problem for lefties. I doubt that anyone would be disappointed with this knife. If so, then just give it to me.

Very well made! Beautiful and a pleasure to use. If you’re going to toil at the cutting board why not put something in your hand that’s a pleasure to hold and use. Expecting great edge retention and as far as being difficult to sharpen my diamond whet stones don’t mind the hardness. Just show it some respect by carefully hand wash and dry after use. Also some diamond stropping paste on a leather strop will help maintain that factory edge without the need for a whet stone just strop often.It won’t cut by itself although it may seem like it. I’ve noticed in slicing various food there is not as much juice or crumbs left on the cutting board, probably because this knife does more cutting and less crushing or tearing. Soft food like tomatoes slice so easy and again less juice left behind.With proper care should last a few lifetimes.

This knife is an absolute work of art. The fit and finish are flawless. I cannot find any gaps or inconsistencies anywhere where the handle scales meet the tang. The handle is small, but fits well in my hand and is still substantial enough to balance the blade. The blade is lovely. The hammered finish is a real stunner and steals to show when compared to the beautiful in their own right Damascus layers. I have put this knife through multiple cutting tasks and it performs flawlessly. Onions, carrots, celery, various greens, tomatoes, etc... The blade is razor sharp and glides through anything. The core steel used is very hard, and as a result brittle. I have a small chip in the blade from contact with a ceramic bowl during prep work. This is normal with a steel that is this hard and I would expect it from any of my other knives with super-steel cores.

I bought this knife because of a YouTube review I saw of various kitchen knives. This is my wife's new favorite knife. I think because it is a little smaller than the chef's knives and fits comfortably in her hand. It is razor sharp out of the box and allows very fine slicing to be done easily. I think they could make it even better if they would polish and round off the choyle a little more but this is a minor criticism. The balance is excellent. If you have a very large hand it will feel somewhat small but this is such a useful tool that is used a lot in the kitchen. You still need a chef's knife for heavier work but they did a great job with this one. The Black canvas micarta handle is similar to G10, which I love. Stable and hard, almost indestructible. The CG-10 steel is hard stiff and fairly thin. If you have small veggies to chop this is a joy to use.

Stylish, elegantly light and super sharp..!! Cuts through anything like butter …Awesome craftsmanship eye catching blade finish…!!

Fantastically sharp knife, although a little brittle. Do be careful not to nick bones or other solid objects, else you may see chips in the blade.

Love this knife. Very sharp, very good looking. Handle is good for small hands, I wear gloves size L so for me it is a little thin. Also overall it is a very light knife, it is excellent quality. My wife loves it, I tend to grab my chef's knife instead.