ZHEN Japanese VG-10 5-Piece 3-Layer Forged Steel Cutlery Knife Set, Pakka Wood

My set just arrived today, They were marked down $25 because of damaged boxes, but I could find nothing wrong with the nice presentation type box that each knife came in. They came sharp, but a few passes on a steel hone and they are even sharper. These are the best kitchen knives I have ever had. My only negative observation is the steel rivets in the handle. They are not quite flush with wood grips so you can sort of feel them when gripping the knife. Otherwise, I'm quite pleased. I wish Zhen offered other knives in the line.

These are economical Taiwanese versions of traditional Japanese knives based on VG10 blanks purchased from Takefu in Japan. The name 臻 Zhen is reminiscent of Shun which means '10-days' (don't ask) and is a formal Chinese (rather than Japanese) word for a 'high level of attainment'. These knives use VG10, but rather than having 101, or 63 or some other number of layers of cladding over the VG10 (which is brittle and needs to be supported) these only have one thick layer on either side which makes for an overall thicker knife than a comparable Shun or Miyabi.Here is where I docked the knives a point (admittedly for something that was part of their design decision). Structurally the blades are as strong as, say, my $200 Miyabi Artisan Chef's knife or $300 Yaxell Gou, but are twice as wide at the top of the blade (making them heavier) and don't have the pretty Damascus design on the blade (they are a brushed solid gray, and you can see where the cladding dwindles right above the sharp part of the blade). They are almost flat, but not quite, at the edge. This becomes very obvious after putting 15 degree angles on each side of the blade. After sharpening to my specifications, these knives are 90% of the way to a Miyabi Artisan (which they resemble) at a fraction of the cost. But it would still be unfair to say that they are equivalent; Miyabi Artisans feel better in the hand, and are a notch higher quality. I'm still happy with my purchase.The Zhen knives came machine sharpened; not as sharp as the Yaxells, which were 'scary sharp' like a scalpel (probably the result of a 10,000 grit waterstone). But the sharpness was gone after a week of use, and now basically all my knives including the Zhen knives are about the same sharpness (~2-3000 grit). The handle is pakkawood, a heated-compressed composite of various wood veneer layers mixed with resin, which is pretty standard on high end knives (my Miyabi 8"chef's knife has almost an identical pakkawood handle). Another small complaint I have is that the posts that secure the wood on the handle stick slightly above the pakkawood on all the knives. They should be flush, though this is insufficient reason to dock a star. Another review called these 'workmanlike' which I think is an accurate assessment - their design very intelligently reduces cost while attaining the objectives of this sort of knife (light, balanced, holds an edge).A note on the steel used. There are basically two standard material choices for high-end Japanese cutlery blades: VG10 (high carbon steel) and SG2 (powder metallurgy machining steel); both have similar composition (w/~1.5%carbon, ~16% Chromium, ~.5% Silicon & Manganese, ~2.5% Vanadium, 3.5% Molybdenum). Both are made from blanks purchased from Japanese steelmaker Takefu (which the Zhen description notes). SG,VG and 440 steel seems to cover 90% of the knives you see in Sur la Table, or Williams-Sonoma. 'SG' and 'VG' are marketing names, for 'Super Good' and 'Very Good'; there are other cutlery steels, but the mass market chef's knives use these two. SG2 (63 HRC) is a proprietary product of Takefu Special Steel, but everyone is using the name for powder metallurgy cores, versus the softer (HRC 61) VG-10 (which is also a Takefu name) versus the 440C (55+ HRC) of Wustoff and other German knives. The hard steel allows the 10-15 degree edge, versus traditional 22-25 degree for the 440C per side, without wearing too quickly. Wustof's knives are heavy, durable and less brittle; good for cracking bones. The edge is sharpened at total ~45 degrees, vs. 25 degrees, and also wears more quickly due to the softer metal. The VG10/SG2 knives hold a very sharp edge well, but are brittle and best for vegetables, fish and so forth.These come in nice, individual boxes that are actually better than any of the Japanese knife makers seem to use. I'll plan to keep these boxes around in case I ever need to transport the knives.Buy some of Global's (15 degree) MinoSharp Sharpening Guides 2-Piece Set with DMT WM8EF-WB 8-Inch DuoSharp Plus Bench Stone-Extra Fine/Fine With Base and finally DMT D8EE 8-Inch Dia-Sharp Continuous Diamond Extra-Extra Fine to maintain sharpness and appearance.

edge sharp is a bit weir, not even, handle is a bit bulky! remember the chef knife cutting edge is not 8" (shorter) I'm unlucky got a santoku with a chip on it. In addition, blades are thick compare to Japanese knife like Shun or Yaxell and 1 or 1.5 inch length from the tip is thick very hard to go though onion and is also hard for later to sharp and keep up those knife! If you have been used a real Japanese vg-10 like Yaxell, Shun... don't buy this set!!!! will disappoint you!

Great quality product. As advertised. Had them for 2 months now and still sharp. Just a pleasure to cook now with sharp knives. I hope they'll last me for a long time.

Very nice knives. They cut with out pressure. It's so nice to have a set of knives that actually are very sharp right out of the box. I actually cook a lot more because I want to use these. Along with the rosewood handles looking beautiful. I'm glad I paid the money. Hopefully Zhen makes matching steak knives.

Very sharp and we'll crafted, a pleasure to prep Wil for 12 hours. Note, buy a kevlar, or leather knife roll, as they sliced through my old one like butter by accident

Hi! All, I'm using this knife for almost 2 weeks now and loving it. It was so sharp and easy grip and looks elegant. Its a great addition to kitchen and aside from that its a Japanese knife felt really proud having one. From having this knife inspired me to cook more.

it came with a set for of 5 firmly packed in a small box. The box is just simply plain carton. Each knife is in the brand box and behind there is a sticker labeled made in Taiwan.Have use it for 2 weeks, likes the wooden handle. It came as sharpe as new. I sharpen it with stone after 2 weeks, easily be sharpen again.