I am very happy to have bought this knife. It is very sharp and a beautiful piece of engineering, looks great in my kitchen. I bought it for myself but I am ordering a second one as a gift for my sister !

That is a good knife. Comfortable balance and grip. Sharp blade. The wood handle seems very durable and looks gorgeous. The hammered pattern on the blade looks very pretty, almost like drops of water. I did not expect to find such a good knife in this price range but I am happy I tried.

I gave this knife as a gift, to someone I consider an accomplished home chef. They were both delighted and impressed, and I know they have several other high end knives at their disposal.

I'm French but I really like Japanese stuff and their knives are really something. Most are out of my budget though so I was intrigued when I saw this one. I have to say that it exceeded my expectations. The wood handle feels really good in my hand, and the weight distribution is just perfect. And of course it is crazy sharp. Been having fun slicing paper (and some real food too lol) without even trying.

I personally like heftier knives but this is the closest I have ever been to liking a Japanese style knife. It has a full tang so it is very sturdy and it is not too light, and the edge is just very, very sharp. I wish they offered other models for us cooks who prefer western style knives.

Looks really, really good. Very nice black box, even includes a black polishing cloth. The knife itself is super slick, looks classic and very sturdy. I especially like the hammered blade. I bought it for a gift so I dont know how the edge holds, but when I tried it after receiving it was scarily sharp.

Very sharp and well made. Cuts through pretty much everything I've thrown at it. The wooden handle looks great and gives a pretty good grip. I also like the details like the logo engraved in the handle, that looks very premium, like my Miyabi. I would say that this knife is a 9/10, but knowing that it is below $100 it is definitely a 10.

Amazing sharp with excellent grip and cut

I bought this knife as a gift, and it was the perfect gift. Not only is this knife everything the Kotai people say it is, but more!! Also, I had occasion to communicate directly with the company and they couldn't be better!!

This is the best of both worlds, as sharp as a carbon steel knife, but still stainless. I was also really impressed with the craftsmanship and attention to details that show real quality, for example, the metal end of the handle that can used to crush garlic without damaging the blade. Nimble and well balanced, it fits comfortably in my hand. Just went through about 8 pounds of potatoes and a bag of onions like a breeze. Couldn't recommend it more !

I'm not a chef but having such a knife in my kitchen makes me believe I'm one :) It comes with a classy black box that I'm happy to open every time I need to use it. Light and terribly efficient, it is a must for such a price. Don't hesitate and buy a second one to offer to the most talented cook you know within your friends...

It's a flatter to my hand and mind when using it. It's everything one can ask for for the flexibility in kitchen. The best part is what you chop never sticks to the knife.

Very good price and seamless performance, a nice addition to my kitchen. Weight distribution is perfect and has a nice feel when cutting. Glad I stumbled on this product!

I had been looking for a stylish sharp knife for a while. It is the beautifully hammered blade that attracted my eye and I went for the Kotai! Honestly I am more than satisfied with it: I would use it all the time!!! The handle design fits nicely in the palm. A wonderful present for a friend… Against a dime of course!

Great piece of knife that I use everyday.
Comfortable grip.
Cuts through tomatoes like butter.
Very durable, needs maintenance only once in a while.
Great for both home and professional kitchen.
Highly recommended.

I used to have a Victorinox 20cm chef knife. I still have it at home but I rarely use it anymore. There is nothing wrong with it, but once I started using a really good knife, nothing is quite comparable in terms of sharpness, design and durability.
After years of using my Victorinox I decided it was about time I had an upgrade to a proper professional knife instead of a stamped blade with a cheap plastic handle. Since I cook every day I wanted something that would make cooking enjoyable. I asked around and a colleague told me about the KOTAI knife he had recently bought. He was impressed by the its balanced weight + Japanese high-carbon steel + pakkawood handle and highly recommended it.

I decided to try it out as well and here is my verdict after about a month:

Pros:
- Incredibly sharp out of the box
- Stays sharp despite daily usage
- Well-balanced and lightweight with minimal wrist fatigue
- Thin blade with acute cutting angle, which makes slicing cleanly through food extremely easy
- Looks great, minimalist traditional design but very sturdy at the same time

Cons:
- There is only 1 knife - I wish they had a complete set with a paring knife, a santoku, boning knife etc.
- The steel is very hard, so it takes longer to re-sharpen it. But of course it also means that it doesn’t need to be sharpened as often as other knives.

Overall verdict is that it is beautiful and really well finished. All details look great and cuts through everything without even trying. Absolutely love it and would highly recommend it to other chefs or avid cooks.

I used the KOTAI knife for the first time this week and it's great, you can really tell it's made of good, strong material. It's much better than my last knife set as they dulled easily, but this is so sharp and strong. You can definitely tell the difference.

Very nice design, I like the simplicity and elegant lines. Super sharp, now my whole family naturally switched to this one and stopped using our older knives. Definitely recommended if you want something that will last.

For the price the sharpness and quality is unmatched!! Very happy camper over here!!

I had just moved to a new place and was looking for a good set of knife for the kitchen as we cook a lot at home. It was very hard to chose among all the ones on the market. But one of my friend who was a professional chef had recommended me this brand that he had recently come across and is using at his restaurant. I couldn't be happier with my purchase. It is very sharp and easy to use for amateur like me. The design is definitely of high Luxury and most importantly I think it is very reasonably priced for such quality. Will definitely get the whole set once available. Highly recommend it!!!

This product is fantastic, purchased it and didn't know what to expect. AND ALL I CAN SAY IS WOW!!!
I mean first of all the weight, the material are top notch, when i got it out of the high end box I was amazed!!
I cannot use anything else. This product is great. I would reccomend it for those of us who like to cook, for chefs, and for just everyday people who cooks once in a blue moon. I have had it for over a month and STILL the blade is as great as when i got it. The design is mesmorizing and everytime i host events and people see this knife they always assume it is those high end $200 chef knifes. GREAT PRODUCT KOTAI!

All-around great knife, very sharp out of the box, well-balanced. Cuts through pretty much everything with no effort, a real joy to use. Having owned many different knives fro cheap to super expensive, I'd say that I could have gotten myself a better knife by spending a lot more, but the hundred-dollar difference may not justify the very marginal improvements.

Fantastic knife; Great price point and good packaging. Makes for a good gift item. Highly impressed.

I purchased a set of Kotai knives when moving house. Being a restaurant owner, I am pretty critical of cookware and especially knives because they are such an inportant and basic tool in the kitchen.
This set has stayed sharp and so do not require constant sharpening, The weighting is perfect and the handle shape gives really good control over cutting. I have had knives that make it really hard to cut straight giving really annoying wonky sliced and creating a lot of food wastage, these ones weight make it a dream to cut with, super sharp! The 440c grade steel is great and makes them very corrosion resistant while staying sharp and precise. The hammering design is also a pretty nice touch as it helps food to not stick to the knife.
All in all a great purchase and I have had much more expensive knife sets that don't work this well. Well recommended.

Very impressed by the quality I got for this price. I wanted to step up from my Victorinox knife and get a proper forged knife. What I like the most is the balance and weight, it feels good using it. This came in a really nice packaging too, simple and elegant, no plastic.

I'm a chef / pastry chef and I've been using Global, Sabatier and Fontignac until now. I wanted to invest and upgrade without spending too much. I needed something sharp and with a good balance because since I cut things all days it really does make a difference. I've also been reading up on blade materials and 440c seems like a good compromise between corrosion resistance and sharpness.
I still use my Global for very thin slicing work but almost everything else I do it with the Kotai. I use Fontignac for bones but not much else.
Overall, very solid performance, unexpected at this price.

Beautiful knife, everything is perfect from the blade edge to the gift box, which I use to keep my knife safe in my drawer. Very very sharp blade, hopefully it will stay that way for a long time but so far so good. Really impressed by the quality, especially for this price.!

The knife arrived in less than 2 days and I have been using it ever since. The wooden handle fits perfectly in my hand comfortably. I quite enjoy the weight distribution of the knife making cutting almost effortless. Packaging itself was also very good with an extra cleaning cloth. Thank you!!

I’m sometimes scared of buying things online but this time the experience was flawless. Right after clicking the checkout button I immediately received a confirmation email with my purchase, and only 30 mins later another email with my tracking number! Took the free shipping option but still delivered within a week, and the product is exactly as described: a beautiful and high quality knife, the craftsmanship shows in the small details, you can tell it was handmade. Also super sharp! 10/10 :)

great knife, unfortunately couldn’t be delivered the first time as USPS put my package in a locker box but couldn’t tell me which one… Throughout the whole process the customer service (kotai, not usps…) was extremely helpful and very responsive, they found the parcel location for me and basically saved the day. They had even offered to send me another knife for free if the first one couldn’t be located, but in the end it was not necessary.

I am used to bad surprises with free shipping, but this time I was surprised with first class service, tracking number sent to me by email the next day (I bought on a Sunday), the tracking number actually worked and my knife was delivered in 4 days! Tried it on a bunch of carrots and herbs I was gonna prepare for dinner, it’s the best knife I have ever owned… (for full disclosure, I am not a professional chef but I like having good tools)

Great quality, simple and elegant design, the hammered blade is really something to look at and I would say that the pictures don’t do it justice. Also feels great in my hand, nice balance and grip. Most stuff takes a while to arrive to Australia but this one arrived the same week I ordered it, pretty happy given that shipping was free

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