HENCKELS Statement Razor-Sharp 8-inch Bread Knife, Cake Knife, German Engineered Informed by 100+ Years of Mastery, Black

Update: 12/27/2023:It's been more than a month, since I bought this knife and it is holding its edge perfectly. I touched it up when it arrived, and haven't done anything to it since. I use it every day. It cuts vegetables, meats, cheese, anything very easily. The blade is not thick, but quite strong. I.love.this.knife. And I'm especially glad I didn't drop $120 for another knife I was looking at. There are no downsides to this excellent product. The only issue I have is that I don't use my Wusthoff cleaver as much for slicing because this one is so much nicer to use, but then I don't have the wide cleaver to sweep stuff up and put it in a pan. The Wusthoff is a great cleaver, very high quality like this, cuts well, stays sharp, and can hold a lot of food on its side for transport. But I like the feel of the Henckels so much, I just always want to use it. So the Wusthoff sits and I do without that nice wide cleaver blade. I don't care. The Henckels is just a complete joy to use. Maybe someday I will start using the Wustoff again. It IS better for dicing and shredding and moving food from board to stove. But it just doesn't have the magic of this Henckels!!!I bought this knife to replace two cheaper SS knives of the same style because those two knives couldn't hold an edge for more than a week. I decided to pay out some dough to see if the Henckels can hold an edge like my Wusthoff cleaver. I will post an update in about a month with my results on this. In the meantime, I gave this knife an all-star rating because it excels in every other way. It is light and well balanced, and it can take a very sharp edge. I had to touch it up after opening the package, but it has now held a razor sharp edge for 3 days, and I have been chopping chopping chopping! I love the way it breezes through celery, onions, cabbage, and of course, meat. I was able to get paper thin onion slices with all the rings intact. It is a really nice tool.I do want to debunk another comment I saw about the "handle" being sharp enough to cut someone. This is just plain wrong. No part of the handle of this knife is sharp. It is a comfortable handle. The corners and edges are a little more abrupt (not sanded out completely round) but I like this. I can feel where knife is in space very accurately and I CANNOT get cut by the handle. At all.I think the other user was referring to the heel of the blade, which is, of course, close to the handle, but it is not part of the handle, and yes, you can cut yourself on the heel of the blade! Every time you sharpen the knife, you will probably sharpen the heel too, without trying. So, this is a well known phenomenon with this blade shape and has nothing to do with Henckels. The solution is quite simple. Just apply the heel point at a 45 degree angle (approx) to a stone and brush the knife sideways across the stone. This will knock off the sharp point. Then work it around a bit to smooth the sides and bottom of the heel. You can do this on a sharpening stone, or a nice rock from the garden, or even on a piece of sandpaper stretched over a piece of wood. You can use a file, or a brick, or the edge of a concrete sidewalk. You can even use a flat piece of steel, but something abrasive will work better. You aren't doing fine work here, you are just knocking off that point. You will probably want to do this once every 4 or 5 sharpenings, or whenever you feel the heel point is getting sharp again. I have to do this with my "Good Cook" knives, my beautiful small Cuisinart cleaver, and my truly magnificent large Wusthoff cleaver. Knives whose heels end in a straight section with no bevel or edge, or whose heel is buried in the handle do not have this problem. Knives with this right angle at the heel (which is the best shape for slicing, dicing, and mincing) all have this "issue." It isn't the brand.This knife is also seriously shiny. This usually means that the SS is harder than most knives with a brushed surface, because in order to polish in that shine, the metal has to be denser and harder. It doesn't mean a knife with a brushed, non-shiny surface isn't hard, because any SS can be polished buff, but usually a shiny surface indicate higher quality steel. We'll see. I will be reporting back on how well the edge holds up.

4 years later, with very minimal maintenance, this knife still cuts well and feels good to use in terms of weight. No chips. I think I've only sharpened it twice.

Great knife

Great knife! Cuts well.

I grew up with Japanese knives and prefer a Santoku or Nakiri to a French-style of chef's knife. My wife's favorite knife, a 20 year old or more, Henckels International Santoku wasn't holding an edge very long anymore. So, I bought this to replace it -- expecting it to me the same. It has the same shape, is made in the same place, and appears to be of the same steel. However, the old one was only ground on one side and this one has a more conventional grind on both sides. My wife absolutely loves this knife. While she prefers this style of handle, I personally prefer a round cross section handle. So, to each his own.

I've owned Henckel knives for close to 30 years. They are all still in great condition and I have no complaints. My wife purchased a HENCKEL Santoku for me 16 or so years ago for Christmas. It was my favorite knife was used daily. I finally sharpened it enough to start getting into the hollow grind. If you look at the pic., I actually sharpened it into the deepest part of the grind. It would not hold an edge at all at that point. I Looked at purchasing a high dollar Santoku and couldn't see wasting the money. I actually preferred the original to this one though. The original had a smaller handle and did not have the stainless bolster. The edge of this one had a wicked burrs when it arrived. A little time on a steel and buff with my strop sharpened it up. Other's saying it doesn't hold an edge is ridiculous. All knives need sharpening when used. I would definitely recommend this to anyone and purchased 2 more for my son and daughter for Christmas this year. All in all a great knife.

As stated in a previous review. The first one I purchased was dull. The replacement was fine!

Bought as an extra workhorse knife as the wife was wanting a new one that didn't break the bank. I did have to sharpen the blade considerably upon receiving, with it registering a 460 on the sharpness tester. Blade has held its edge extremely well since the sharpening and the wife loves using it for all cutting needs now.