The Shadow Black Series

This was bought as a gift. Giving 5 stars as a rating on the product I received, will ask the recipient for his opinions after some use of the knife. Pros: Aggressive look, definitely a showpiece. Excellent edge out of the box. Definitely ready to take on some sashimi or any other slicing duty you may need. Quality was excellent and no imperfections or scratches on the blade or handle. Excellent value for the money when on sale. Cons: None so far, hopefully stays that way after feedback!

I have 30 dalstrong knives. Great quality. Sharp. I recommend to other coworkers to buy dalsrong

Been using this knife every chance I get. It's half the thickness of the box store knives I once used. Not anymore! The edge on this knife scares the spouse enough that she fears damaging it. The edge on any blades of this series will have no problem skinning the skin twice of a fillet that your old knife tried to do. Only problem in life you'll have is wondering who can sharpen this knife back to the edge it once had. I've had a week and it's cut veggies, it's cut meat, it's even hit a bone or two and still as sharp as the day it came from the box. Oh lets speak of the box! it fits so nice in it's box you may not want to take it out! The sheaths are so simple yet so perfect for the blade you may not want to leave them out of them. Now lets talk about then PIN that's included in the box... Since I bought two knives I stuck one pin on my social hat and stripped the pin off the other so I could add a magnet to it to stick to any surface in the kitchen. The pins are of a nice design for sure. Add it all up, you get a great knife, great look, and tokens to show as well. Enjoy your new blade, I know I will.

I am an Executive Chef with over twenty years in professional kitchen experience. I have knives for every application. I have my prized Shuns, Globals, and Myabis. However not every kitchen worker can afford such knives, or if they do, want to subject them to the arduous requirements of restaurant work. Or maybe even trust to have higher quality blades at work exposed to other employees. So I always look for quality brands that fit right in between. I bought the Dalstrong Kiritsuke black series for this exact purpose. I am left handed and I prefer Japanese finer edged knives for my current restaurant. A traditional Kiritsuke knive is designed to be able to do everything in the kitchen by a skilled hand. They are typically reserved for the head chef. Thus no safety features like a guard. It is well balanced and very sharp, slightly longer than a traditional chefs knife (for slicing fish, sushi etc.) But also with enough depth and a slight curve for vegetables and cooked meats. It came in very nice packaging that would be great as a gift. It also came with a cool pin button and sheath. I have used it for over a month, daily, and just barely had to hone it. It is black and I have read posts of the black scraping off from honing. If you are careful and only hone the true edge of the blade this will not happen. The resin handle is a great fit for a medium sized hand and ambidextrous. I am left handed and it is hard to find comfortable knives. I "choke up" on my grip and it seems this knife was built for that in mind. It is sleek and sexy and affordable. My cooks love it and I don't worry if I hand it to them to use on the fly. If they drop it, it won't cost them alot to replace it. I plan to buy more of these and hand them to my workers as promotional symbols and gratitude items. The metal is lightweight almost hollow feeling, which is indicative of a knife that is not hard enough to hold its edge long. But it has surprisingly held up well to some aggressive applications so far. Far better than your victorinox, henkle and other mid range brands.

This was the first Dalstrong knife I purchased: there now sit some 3 dozen+ Shadow Black, 5 Night Shark, and 1 Gladiator series pieces in my kitchen. Roughly three thousand US dollars with no hint of buyer's remorse. All but one of them have earned and received 4 or 5 stars from me, this Kiritsuke being no different. Across the board: every blade has been exceptionally sharp, straight, and consistently good quality. The handle, although odd and different, are surprisingly ergonomic. The kydex sheath fits snuggly and stays secure-ish. Until today i had zero reservations spending my own hard-earned money on &/or recommending this brand to family & friends. Today I'll still speak on the overall quality but my most recent purchase, the meat fork from this very serious, won't have me rushing to spend or referring others this way. Truly a shame how far Dalstrong's quality has recently fallen because this and so many other pieces I've received over the years were phenomenal.

As a fine dining cook, this is my go to. The handle looks awkward, but is incredibly ergonomic. Its light weight is offset by a razor sharp edge, which is very easy to recover. Pretty sure Moses used a Dalstrong staff to part the Red Sea. It could split atoms.

Amazing knife!!! Love it love it

Often compared to a stealth fighter (or SR-71A, pick your generation), the handle is perfect to hold. All those odd-looking angles have a reason. Most day-to-day chores you would do with your chef's knife, you can do - and enjoy more - with this knife. Perfectly balanced and neither too-heavy nor too-light, the edge at 16-17 degrees is quite sharp. At around 58 Rockwell (hardness) the blade is easy to re-sharpen to a near-razor edge (if you use a rod, not some little Walmart plastic box ... but then, if that's how you sharpen your knives, don't be spending $60 on one). The black nitride coating completes the 'stealthy' look, and who knows, it may have a practical function, too (I'm still not really sold on that). But the main thing for me is the handle: When you first pick it up, your fingers will naturally wrap the handle and find it very comfortable to hold like that (think a fast chop). But, I mostly pinch-up on the blade of a chef's knife, and wow! this handle is perfect for that grip, too! You just have to try it. OK, down sides? Don't be chopping bones with this, if you're used to abusing a chef's knife like that. Use your old knife, or even better, get a cleaver. Other issues? This is an Asian-inspired knife, and the 'belly' on this blade is much less curved than on a traditional European chef's knife. You may grow to find it better (as I have, and as I have on some other Asian knives as well), but you will have to adapt to something a little different, if you have no other Asian-style knives. Buy it and try it - if you cook a lot, I don't think you'll be sending it back. Ciao!