My fiance insisted that we buy this knife after watching Giada DeLaurentis use it on her show. "Are you kidding me? We don't need a $100 knife." Now, I don't know how I could survive without it. It makes cooking so much easier and so much more fun. I had an average set of knives that I got for Christmas when I first started living on my own. I only use this knife now. I can't wait until we get married so we can request an entire set of nice knives. If you can spring for it, you should get this knife. Make sure you get the professional grade, and make sure it's hollow. It helps to keep food from sticking to the blade, and it makes the blade stronger (at least that's what my fiance insists). I'm not a chef, and I don't know anything about knives, except that I couldn't cook without this knife.
I have about seven Henckels Pro S knives, which I bought ala carte, and this was the last one I purchased. Initially I bought it for a rather silly reason. I saw a lot of people using Santokus on television. Then one day I was in my local restaurant supply store, had some extra money in my pocket, and they had this knife on sale. So I bought it. I took it home, tried it out, washed it, put it in my knife block, and there it sat. Though I had tested it a bit at the store, I discovered I didn't really like the heft or balance of it, compared to my Pro S chef's. I was used to a bolster and a much heavier blade.
But, I eventually started using it. At first I discovered with the Granton edge, (what they call "hollow," here) it was great for slicing cheese. Cheese usually stuck to the side of my chef's knife, necessitating my peeling it away. With this knife, at least as often as not it just fell to the cutting board, and when not it was much easier to dislodge. Then I started using it to cut up veggies. Pretty soon I found that my Santoku had replaced my chef's as my automatic go-to knife. I use it all the time now, and am quite happy I bought it.
I still love my chef's for certain things, but for fast, light work I don't know how I ever got by without my Santoku.
And for those of you who wonder about the quality of this particular Santoku, I have had no problems keeping it quite sharp by touching it up on the steel regularly. I can't use one of those clear flexible cutting sheets; my knives cut them to ribbons.
And regarding the handle shape, these traditional handles feel good in my hands. However, it is all in what you get used to, as long as the blades are of good quality, as evidenced by my initial dislike and my later love of this knife.
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I bought this knife as a gift for a wedding shower. I own one myself, and I love it. It works so well that I buy it for all kinds of gifts. Shower, wedding, or anniversary. It took me a long time to buy myself quality knives so to me giving a good knife that should last them for years is a gift I wish someone had given me. I am an avid cook and think anyone who needs a knife should definitely consider this one.
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Overall, I like this knife alot. The one thing I don't like is how the slices stick to the blade. I thought that santokus were supposed to eleviate this problem which is why they have the indentations on the sides. Also, I own another Henkels knife from the Twin Cuisine line and I definitely prefer the Twin Cuisine handles to the Professional S handles
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For years, I used a chef's knife for all of my chopping and slicing needs in the kitchen. Mostly I cut vegetables and fruits. The Henckels knife is perfect for that. I'd say it's twice as easy as my old knife. The blade is very sharp, and the knife very well made. On the expensive side, but it should last a lifetime.
I received this knife last christmas and immediately fell in love with it. It's heavy for it's size, feels great in your hand, and just looks really cool. It also cuts great. Cheddars and Swiss don't stand a chance, as well as peppers, boneless meats, tomatos, and anything you can think of that doesn't need a really stout, heavy blade. The holes in the blade make any meat or cheese just slide off as soon as the cut is made. It's just a quality piece of cutlery. Now if only you can get someone to buy one for you.....
