Kotobuki Seki 6-1/2-Inch Santoku Knife

This is my wife's knife, and her opinions. First, this knife is very, very light. To a western user, this may seem "cheap". I think it is an asset, it is half the weight of my Wusthof! It was delivered sharp, and held its edge for a very reasonable length of time. Although the alloy is not indicated, the steel seems to be good quality, and it can be resharpened without trouble. The blade has a brushed finish. The wood of the handle is not so hard or dense, it is straight grained and has a nice, natual texture which is easy to grip. The bolster is glossy black plastic. There are no gaps around the joints or the blade.

I must note that the name "Kotobuki" is spurious, possibly a mistake in translation. The blade is stamped "Tsubakura Seki". Seki is to Japan what Solingen is to Germany, Sheffield to England. Tsubakura is the maker. Was this knife cheap? Yes, but not in a bad way, more like a bargain overlooked by most shoppers. It honestly represents the lowest price for a very good knife.

WOW, for the price this knife can not be beat! We have a magnetic knife wall rack so all of our knives are exposed, this one stands out and says use me use me, it is very sharp. Only con is that it is light.

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This knife is made in Japan, and it has excellent craftsmanship and fine detailing. The edge is keen, and the machine work on the blade is excellent. It has a good brushed finish, and is made from high quality steel.

It is a very light knife at only 3.6 ozs. it has a thin but rigid blade. It is not something you would use if you need to chop, but for slicing, it is a quick blade.

A small note: The wood handle is bare or perhaps lightly oiled wood. To improve longevity, I applied a layer of polyurethane to seal it.

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I purchased this as a present for a friend of mine. She had been using the same awful serrated "chef" knife for 10+ years that couldn't cut a piece of jell-o. I have a moderate amount of experience with higher-end Japanese knives, and I was not necessarily expecting Jiro Ono / Masaharu Morimoto quality. Regardless, I decided this appeared to be an acceptable entry-level Santoku. (Based on the low price-point and other positive reviews).

The knife came packaged in a clear plastic/cardboard box akin to knives sold at Williams-Sonoma/Kitchen Stores. Upon removing the knife from the packaging I was fairly impressed with the overall quality. The wood handle was a good size, especially for people with smaller hands. Keep in mind though, that the wood is not finished/sealed so oils and water easily soak in. The blade had considerably more shine than the photo reveals and seemed thinner than the other Santoku's that I have used before. Additionally, the writing on the side was a nice attention grabber. Like others have mentioned, this knife is extremely light. My friend seemed to enjoy the lightness, while I preferred something with a little more heft. Whether the low weight is desirable or not is purely subjective.

Now, on to the most important part of any knife: the sharpness. I immediately began by trying the tried and true "paper cut test" (google this if you are unfamiliar). Any knife that is sharp should easily slice through the edge of a piece of paper with little to no effort. The knife failed to even make a knick. I decided to try something more "substantial". I grabbed a lemon and a roma tomato and attempted to slice each with little success. The tomato was half crushed before the knife penetrated the skin and the lemon took considerable amounts of sawing to cut all the way through. My friend watched my frustration grow, and I was bitterly disappointed that her new gift was a dull dud.

Luckily, I had my 1000/6000 grit Japanese water stone (with Nagura stone for finishing) and began to work the edge back into shape. It took several 15 minute honing sessions before the blade passed the paper test and began cutting food properly. I know other people have mentioned the excellent sharpness but the knife was far from that. Perhaps I received one from a bad batch? Regardless, the average user could be very dissatisfied with the performance of the knife straight out of the box. Now that the edge has been refinished it has become a kitchen staple for my friend. It ended up being a good gift, after some work.

The reason I gave 4 stars? The dullness took away one star. All other aspects were commendable: handle, size, styling, etc. You can't expect an inexpensive knife to work miracles, but if you spend a little time sharpening (if yours arrives dull) than you have a good kitchen-worthy Santoku.

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This product fell short of my expectations. This is a decent knife for a beginner, or maybe if you're preparing a Japanese meal and you want authentic cookware to go with it. It was impossible to tell how thin the blade was from the picture on Amazon. It's probably worth the price, I had just hoped for better. There's just no getting around the old addage: You get what you pay for.