CangshanTN1 Series 1020007 Swedish 14C28N Steel Forged Chef Knife, 8-Inch

I am by no means a knife aficionado, but i do expect my knives to be sharp and stay that way, oh and also to cut stuff. I am happy to report that this knife does both very well!It is weighted well, cuts well, and feels great in my hand. I appreciate the rounded hand holds and the open center, as it gives my finger something to grab on to. It came packaged exquisitely, would be perfect for a gift. Overall great knife and makes for a fantastic cutting experience.

SUPER sharp and HEFTY. I am a huge fan of this blade shape. It combines the more shorter (and more nimble) height of Japanese chef's knife with a thicker hilt as is common in German knives. It can is the perfect do-it-all chef's knife. It can slice incredibly finely (think wafer thin tomato slices) yet has the heft/thickness to really do some heavier work too. Speaking of heft, this is a heavy knife and the handle is on the larger side. I find this very comfortable for chopping and general use however people with smaller hands (I'd say mine are average) may find this too heavy or large handled. I like the open handle on the knife and do find it comfortable. That said it is perhaps not the most practical design as it gets water in it and must be dried.Long story short this has become my go to (and will soon be my only) chef's knife. It has a perfect blend of nimble-ness and fine slicing yet has the heft to do heavy and fast work as well. I'm impressed with how long it stays sharp between sharpenings, though I do use a honing rod daily.

Now THIS is what 5 stars are for!!!! I've spent money on good knives before, and this is absolutely first rate! My husband wsa also blown away. My first test object was a soft-ish, past its prime cherry tomato and this baby sliced through the skin like – whatever better-than-butter is! It felt like a magic trick! It's substantial and on the heavy side, but not at all unbalanced. Both my husband and I find it a joy to hold.The knife is also gorgeous and comes beautifully presented, so it would be an impressive gift. I've never seen before a knife with this style of handle – it has negative space in the center, so ostensibly you could hold it differently if you wanted to. For me it holds aesthetic appeal – this thing is GORGEOUS – so far I can't detect any particular advatanges or disadvantges in how might grip it differently or work with it.I knew that Cangshan had a reputation for making high quality knives - now Iknow why. The only downside is that now all my other knives feel inferrior, and they're going to get bored sitting in the drawer all the time.Absolute winner - first rate, gorgeous and very very very very very very very very very very very very sharp.

I have some mixed feelings about this knife.I will say, its gorgeous, and there is merit in the striking design which makes it a great knife for someone who occasionally cooks but mostly will keep this displayed in their kitchen.But as an actual instrument? Unfortunately, not great. Its not actually a very good knife for a serious cook. The problem is the handle and the balance. I knew when I ordered this one that the hollow handle would probably not be super comfortable to hold, but I was not concerned because I prefer to use a pinch grip in my knives. All the knives I have from Cangshan are balanced RIGHT at the bolster, and thats fine for a pinch grip. I assumed that with a hollow handle, the balance might even be a bit forward of the bolster, towards the blade, and that is actually great for a pinch grip too. Some of my favorite "Asian style" knives are balanced this way and I pinch them just fine. But much to my surprise, the handle of this thing is actually really heavy. This thing is balanced right where the hole in the handle begins, which is like a good inch (I measured) behind the heel of the knife. If you try to do a pinch grip at the bolster, the knife blade will be constantly tilting up and back in your hand; this feels uncomfortable and is inefficient. The only way to really hold this knife is with a very basic handle grip, which is like the first thing you're taught not to do when you start to take cooking a bit more serious. But okay, I'm not pretentious, I know most people still hold a knife that way in the kitchen. Its less precise, sure, but if you're a home cook, who cares right? Well its not very comfortable there either, because then you really feel that empty void in the handle, with the kinda sharper than they should be edges around that hole starting to kind of dig into your palm a bit. Its not terrible, and I certainly got through my meal prep just fine with it, but it just didn't feel very good to use. Frankly, I don't know if I'll use it much at all, which is a shame, because I was super excited to have a new workhorse knife in a 14C28N steel. Its a very good steel, it will hold an edge for a long time and is considered a favorite steel by some pretty prominent folks in the knife nerdom.So yea. Its a great knife if you want something stylish to put on a magnetic knife block in your kitchen. Maybe not so much if you plan to use it often.

This chef's knife has become the cornerstone of my kitchen arsenal after a month of use. The Swedish 14C28N steel holds its edge remarkably well - I've only needed to sharpen it once despite using it for everything. The balance between the 5.5-inch handle and 8-inch blade creates a natural extension of my hand, reducing fatigue during long cooking sessions.The full tang construction provides stability and strength that's immediately noticeable compared to my previous knives. I appreciate the simple care instructions - a quick wash with warm water and detergent keeps it pristine. The design awards it's won make perfect sense after experiencing its functionality firsthand.