DALSTRONGHybrid Cleaver & 8" Chef Knife - Shogun Series ELITE - The 'Crixus' - Japanese AUS-10V Super Steel Kitchen Knife - Black Handle - Razor Sharp Knife - Meat Cleaver Heavy Duty - w/Sheath Cover

Beautiful knife, worth the cost. Great construction

This is a beautiful knife. It's well made, is exquisitely packed, and comes sharp as a razer straight out of the box. The balance point is at the writing on the blade, so it is point heavy. If you are used to using light weight knives, this knife will come as a shock to you; it's a little on the heavy side. And If you are used to using smaller knives, this knife will take some getting used to; it's big, it looks and feels like it’s made for serious business. You will also need an appropriate size cutting board and work surface. If you don’t have any of this, it's time to upgrade before your new knife arrives. Now for the good news. If you bought this knife knowing that it would fit the environment your using it in, and it fits you, your style and skill level; you will love this knife. From looking at the pictures, my wife was concerned that the handle was small. I have huge hands, hers are medium. When it arrived, I was glad to see that it fit both her and my hands just fine. For both of us, it was comfortable to use; but we are both accustom to using large knives.

Okay, at first I was attracted by looks, but I can say the same about my husband. Normally I go for sensible, basic knives and was actually looking for a chef's knife when this caught my attention. At first I dismissed this knife as gimmicky, but I thought it would be fun to have one that looked this cool. I'll never actually use this knife as a cleaver because I don't want to be that rough on the blade. I use it as I would use a chef's knife. The weight and balance offer good control with uniform chopping, dicing, mincing, and thinly slicing. Seriously impressive. Despite what some reviewers have said about the protective cover, it's actually much better than I expected, and way better than the disposable taped cardboard that is normally included with knives. My husband regularly uses the sheath when he takes the knife on work trips in his luggage. I appreciate that it was included because unless you own a knife roll, I don't know how well you could protect the blade otherwise. For the price point, this knife is a friggin bargain! I'll be ordering more knives for sure. I'm currently looking at their different slicing knives, which got me thinking about making my own bacon and pastrami so I have something great to slice.

This line of knives, wow! I'm definitely in love with these. I went to culinary school and cooked for a pretty long time. I was a butcher as well. These knives are sharp and are definitely eye candy. I initially got a 6 inch all purpose knife and was hooked from there. I didn't review all of the other knives that I got, their amazing review speak for themselves. I did feel obligated to review this knife for a reason though. If I were to have only bought one of these knives, which are expensive, this one pictured is definitely the one. Balance is spot on, weight is perfect, and the practicality is unmatched. You will not be disappointed

I've had this knife for 2.5 years and it is still sharp even with daily use. It is my go-to knife and I don't want to use any other knife. In fact, other knives are just not very good by comparison. I'm a little protective over the knife I like it so much. It is exceptionally well made and looks new after using it on a regular basis all this time. I've got a standing order for Christmas gifts of any Dalstrong Shogun series knife. The family knows exactly what they can get me for a gift.

Let's talk aesthetics...- It's a bada** sexy looking knife.- Dalstrong packages their knifes beautifully. You feel like you're buying a new car. It comes in a gorgeous box, nice protector sleeve, a Dalstrong pin and various pamphlets for use and care.Quality...- Great weight. This is not a lightweight knife, nor did I want a lightweight knife.- You can tell a lot of care went in to crafting this knife.- The handle is comfortable- I sliced a big ribeye last night and it glided through it like nothing.Why did I take off one star?Now, I'm not a professional chef or work in a kitchen. I'm a home chef, but definitely above the amateur level. That said, I know my knife skills can be improved upon since poor techniques can wreak havoc on your knives, but I definitely don't have poor techniques. This knife lost its fresh out-of-the-box sharpness with little use. I did the paper test immediately out of the box and it was effortless. I could keep shaving off thin strips of paper with ease. I also did the tomato test. It went through with little resistance the first time.After just a few uses on some veggies? Couldn't do it anymore. When I say a few I literally mean a few. Cutting through paper saw the paper tearing at points and trying the tomato test faced more resistance; it was like playing chase the tomato on the cutting board, but when it caught the tomato I could cut through so-so. I sharpened it back to original form, but it shouldn't have needed sharpening that soon. In my opinion any knife over $100 shouldn't need sharpening after two or three uses.

Blade, packaging, fit and finish are excellent. It is a zombie apocalypse knife.It is sharp enough to use on tomatoes to rib roast but the weight is significant.If you are using a traditional chef's knife this will feel like a cleaver.The belly is better suited to slicing and rock cutting than downward chopping.The knife to me is cool but better suited to meats and tough veggies and squash. If you want to do more fine work the gyuto from the same series would be a better all around option . That said, it is fun to use