Calphalon Contemporary 7-Inch Santoku Knife

I always just used the flimsy cheap 5" knives that were given to us prior to this purchase. This was my first "nice" piece of cutlery. The difference is amazing. Chopping vegetables takes half the time that it used to with the cheaper knives. I particularly like the heavier feel of the santoku over other specialty knives I have used in the past. If you are looking for a general purpose knife to handle your daily chopping needs, I would highly recommend purchasing this.

We have used this knife regularly since we bought it about 9 months ago. It handles wells and is comfortable to use. The blade maintained it's sharpness every time we honed the knife. We took good care of the knife as we had hoped to keep it for a long time, Stored it properly, cleaned it after every use, never dropped it before, etc. In general, we really enjoyed using this knife while we had it

However, just yesterday, while we were doing the dishes, the knife was accidentally knocked off the counter. Our initial fear was that we ruined the tip. When we picked it up, the knife was split in half between the blade and the handle. We were incredibly surprised because the knife was made with one continuous piece of metal from the blade and through the handle. Apparently the metal at the tip of the handle had rusted through (even though we dried the knife before storing it). We wonder how long the knife would have lasted even if we hadn't dropped it.

And because the knife broke after being dropped, we don't think the lifetime warranty will cover it. We may try to submit it just because of the rust and see what happens.

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Good value. I wanted to add a santoku to my Henckels 4 Star set, but the price for a Henckels 7" santoku was 3 times the price of this blade. Balance is good and grip is comfortable. Full tang through handle. Easy to put an edge on and holds it as well as any knife I own. When comparing it to the Henckels set, I believe no one other than a metallurgist could tell the difference.

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Until I invested in knives from the Wusthof Classic collection, this was my go-to knife. The edge is sharp and stays sharp and when it needs to be sharpened it takes a new edge nicely. It slides through produce with ease, even tomato skins, eggplant skins, etc, that might need added pressure from other knives. This is a testament to its ability to keep a sharp edge.

The handle of the knife is comfortable, and the tang runs all the way though the handle, giving the knife nice balance.

If I could stop there, I'd have given this knife five stars. Unfortunately, there are some bad points too. Although Calphalon claims that the knife is stain and rust resistant, my knife that was always hand-washed has two small rust stains away from the edge of the blade. They aren't growing in size, but they're unattractive. Even worse, my knife mysteriously developed a chip in the middle of the edge of the blade. It wasn't ever used on bones or any material that would damage it and the origin of the chip is a mystery to me.

Like I said, if I hadn't invested in Wusthof knives, I'd still be using this Calphalon, and for $30 it's a good knife. Just don't expect it to be perfect!

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I live not far from Mitsuwa, a Japanese grocery and "mall" like place that is like taking a trip to Tokyo. Next door to it is a store that sells high quality Japanese forged cutlery (including swords). A friend of mine who loves to cook has bought a number of their knives, high quality hand made by Japanese artisans, and he has been thrilled with their performance. The sharpness is absolutely amazing. If you've never cut food with a Japanese knife, you're really missing something.

Of course, those knives cost a significant sum of money above what you'd find available in the mass produced Calphalon brand. But they last a lifetime if you care for them well, paying for themselves many times over across the years. I hope one day to buy some of these myself, but for now Calphalon is in my budget limit.

I bought this 7-inch Santoku (utility) knife about 6 years ago. I think I got it on sale through BB&B (paid around $25). Anyway, I was immediately impressed with the quality feel of it and the sharp blade. The size is very usable and the handle feels great in the hand, so I put it to use fairly regularly. Today I pick up this knife and have to be careful of the blade--it is still very sharp despite never honing or sharpening it. I cut through all kinds of things rather effortlessly, including raw meat.

I have two recommendations regarding the knife:

* Be very careful of the back edge of the blade near the handle, as it is VERY sharp and can cut you if you're not paying attention. This is no casual knife--it is serious business.

* Treat the knife as if it were Japanese made. After finishing using it, immediately rinse it off, with soap if need be, dry it, and put it away. It's very easy to do this and will guarantee fine condition for many years. I did once leave the knife sitting in standing water overnight and it didn't show any rust, but it's not good practice. Cleaning it quickly after use doesn't take much time.

While this knife was given a Japanese name, it was made in China. However, the quality is excellent. Yes, it's not a real Santoku. I've held one of those and they are lighter and even sharper. But for under $35, you really can't go wrong.

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