AMIREUXDamascus Chefs Knife 8 inch - Japanese- VG10 Super Steel 67 Layer High Carbon Stainless-Sharp kitchen knife with ergonomic handle, Stain & Corrosion Resistant

The knife looked with the folded damascus steel pattern and hammered finish! They are so sharp and I am amazed use them how well they feel in your hand and how they cut with such ease! My wife thought I should not have bought them but after she tried them on the frozen meat, she completely changed her mind about them. She is Asian and has been around all kinds of chef's knives so it really says a lot about these if she likes using them too!

There's a review here claiming (without giving any reason) this isn't real Damascus steel. You can't tell for sure just by looking, but this does have the look of the real thing, at least. I'll say more about what real Damascus steel is below, along with some other details about the materials in this knife.This looks nice. The wavy pattern doesn't show with the contrast shown in the Amazon photos, which were no doubt shot in the perfect lighting to bring that out, but it's there and looks good.It comes appropriately sharp, and can be sharpened more if desired, though this isn't a scalpel. The VG10 steel in this will hold a very sharp edge well.The G10 material in the handle looks good, has some texture for good grip, and is very durable. The parts of the handle, including the rivets (one nicely decorated), are all flush.It feels good in the hand. The balance point is 1/2" out from the dark part of the handle.Weighs 9.6 ounces.Comes in a nice black hard paper box with a magnetic closure and a black velveteen-lined foam platform to hold the knife. (One reviewer found it hard to remove the knife from the plastic sleeve it comes in, and cut himself, but it's very easy to remove it safely.)Nothing is said in the description about whether this is dishwasher safe. There are VG10 Damascus steel knives advertised as dishwasher safe, and some people do wash them that way without noticing any trouble, but the consensus among experts is that you should hand wash such knives, and not leave them soaking for too long, for better lifetime.Amireux is a new brand from China, where this was made with imported Japanese steel.More details follow for those who want them.Damascus steelWhether there's any such thing as modern Damascus steel in the original sense is a matter of controversy. It's an ancient Asian/Middle Eastern steel tradition that was lost in the 18th century. Modern research has been able to reproduce the basic composition, qualities and look of it, which is enough for some to conclude the tradition has been recovered, though such steel is not widely available. That's no doubt because it's difficult to make and, even though Damascus steel was legendary for its quality in ancient times, it isn't nearly as hard as modern steel.The distinctive visual quality of that Damascus steel was a wavy pattern caused by layers of different materials within the steel, achieved by a particular way of working a single piece of a particular kind of steel (wootz).There's another way, also ancient, to produce the same wavy effect: pattern welding. It works layers of steel(s) together. It's easier to do and can use harder modern steel.Today, both of those kinds of steel with a wavy pattern from the underlying layers are considered real Damascus steel, though only the first was originally called that. Pattern-welded steel is now widely available, and is all you're likely to see commercially sold as Damascus steel.In both cases an acid etching treatment is typically used to bring out the wavy pattern. It's possible to imitate Damascus steel by just etching a wavy pattern on other steel. If you really want to know if it's real, the standard test is to sand off the pattern in a spot and then apply some acid to see if it returns. (I'm not going to do that, because you have to refinish the knife afterwards if you want it to look good again.)Damascus steel isn't rare or necessarily very expensive these days, so there's no strong reason to think this isn't what it's claimed to be.VG10VG10 steel is a hard, tough steel that keeps its edge well and is highly regarded for kitchen use. It has good rust resistance but is subject to pit corrosion if not properly care for.Typically, VG10 knives are actually a middle layer of VG10 covered on each side by a softer, more corrosion-resistant stainless steel. That's what this appears to be, which is why you can see the Damascus pattern ends near the cutting edge, which is the middle layer. It gives the advantage of the VG10 edge with increased corrosion protection around it, and in this case also a Damascus effect.G10G10 is layers of fiberglass bound with epoxy resin under heat and pressure, very durable and water resistant. It's a well-regarded material for knife handles.

This Amireux Damascus Chef's Knife is impressive.  It is a much nicer chef's knife than I expected when I ordered it, though I did expect decent quality because of the relatively high price.  (When I ordered it, the price was nearly $80.  It is about half that now.)  It arrived in a really nice gift box, the kind that has a magnetized closure and everything--another sign of quality.  It was well-packaged for both human safety and protection of the knife itself, with foam cushioning, cutouts to restrict movement, and plastic edge and tip covers.  The etching on the blade is far less pronounced as in the product photo.  This is not real Damascus steel, but a high carbon stainless steel blade etched with a Damascus design pattern, which was not visible to me at all until I tilted the knife a few different ways to catch the light just right.  So the pattern is there, but almost imperceptibly.  Small disappointment, but I didn't mind too much because now I was holding this beauty of a knife.  The balance feels close to perfect to me, the weight is just right, and the handle is exquisitely smooth and shapely, and oh so sexy.  It feels amazing in hand!And boy, this baby is SHARP!  Like a whistle, you might not even notice you've cut yourself at first if you aren't careful with it.  It means business, so treat it with respect.  I used it to cut a head of cauliflower into 1-inch "steaks", which is always tricky, and it sliced them beautifully.  This gorgeous knife rivals my very favorite chef's knife, a Wusthof, in hand feel, balance, and performance, and I think it exceeds the Wusthof in beauty. Definitely the newest gem in my kitchen!  Unfortunately, this knife did not come with any care instructions or information about the one-year limited warranty.  Please hand wash it and dry it immediately.  Store it in a good drawer block (my favorite is a cork knife dock) and sharpen it as needed.  Treat it well and you should get many years' enjoyment from it.I am already singing the praises of this knife to anybody who appreciates good kitchen tools, but seeing that the price has been sliced in half?  Go, fast, RUN!  Put this in your cart and check out NOW!  You won't regret it!  Oh, and the price drop is perfect timing because this would make an amazing gift for the amateur chef in your life!  I hope my experience with this product might help YOU make a more informed purchase. Happy shopping!

I decided to take a photo of each step of my evaluation of the knife (feel free to click around). The box is surprisingly nice. I think I'm actually going to keep the knife in there. Normally when a knife is shipped to me I just toss the box, and store the knife with the others. This is the single most expensive knife I own. So what's there to know about the knife? I'll go over what I'm hoping to show in the images. I don't know the order they're uploaded in, so I'll just talk about them generally.I took two pictures of the knife in the box (one with the box closed, the other just opened). It's not a bad looking box, and it holds the knife really well. It's not difficult to get the knife out of, so I might as well keep it. Just not sure if I want to keep the top piece of rubberized foam. I'll keep it for now.The knife is pretty well balanced. I could have used a SLIGHTLY further up center of balance, but it's nowhere near enough for me to really care about. Maybe 1/4 of an inch closer to center would have been better. Doesn't detract from the usability at all, so I'm not removing any stars. Especially since some people like having a bit more weight in the handle.I took a few photos to showcase the etching, blade geometry, and the bevels on the different sides. So first up, the blade geometry is nearly perfect. I had to REALLY look to see a very slight imperfection (again for my standards). One side has a slightly more pronounced bevel than the other. I can't complain, because I am not proficient enough at sharpening to do a better job myself, and it doesn't impact the sharpness. The next time the knife is sharpened, it'll become irrelevant. As for the etching: It gives a hint of Damascus (it's not real Damascus, obviously), but the pictures on the Amazon page would lead you to believe there's a much stronger contrast. I don't really care, because it's WAY better than the last "Damascus" knife I got. and it actually doesn't look cheap. If you want that "Real Damascus" look, maybe you should buy some Real Damascus. This is very passable.The handle... When I ordered the knife I actually thought the handle looked kinda nice, but really didn't give it much thought. The handle has a very subtle (almost imperceptible) texture to it. It's not enough to do anything for grip, but I like it. It's got a neat center rivet that's got a lovely design on it that I hadn't noticed when I ordered it, which actually makes me like the knife even more. The handle is nicely rounded, and sanded down to where there's no sharp or rough edges. It's smooth to hold, and the way I hold the knife (gripping the blade) is comfortable as well. The edges are smoothed ever so slightly so as to not have that sharp corner on the spine of the knife digging into your finger (as is common with so many other knifes). I'm sure I can use this one much longer without that spot on my pointer finger getting rubbed raw. I'm not a professional cook, so I don't use the knife enough to get a callus built up. Overall VERY nice design. Ergonomics are well thought out.The description doesn't say how heavy the knife is, so I weighed it. Mine is 275 grams on the dot. It's a pretty hefty knife, and I like that. If you're into lighter knifes, keep that in mind. I knew right away this knife would be somewhat heavy, because it felt so solid when I picked it up. I really have no concerns over build quality or sturdiness/durability for this knife.I recorded a video of me cutting a piece of paper. Apologies for the poor angle and me clanking the knife up against the oven a little, but I was shooting this alone. The knife performed admirably. I don't think this is the sharpest knife I've ever had right out of the box (in fact I know it's not), but it's still what I'd consider very sharp.I was surprised at the country of origin. Probably the highest quality knife I've ever held in my hand from there. It's not from Japan, in case you were wondering. Even though the design, and steel type are indicative of Japan. This knife was made in China, which I personally have no issues with. If you are someone who cares about that sort of thing, then now you know. Just don't let any past experiences with the cheap knife sets you get at the dollar store lead you to believe they're all the same. This is definitely a knife I'm glad to own, and will certainly be one that sees a lot of use.I'd definitely recommend this to anyone looking to get a mid-range knife of this style.

This "AMIREUX Damascus Chefs Knife 8 inch" is definitely a high quality knife. It is not a name brand knife and it is made in China. But apart for that, everything else seems legit.VG10 is a premium steel, and VG10 core, with damascus on the outside is basically as good as it can get for knife blade construction. The construction of the blade of this "AMIREUX" closely resemble the premium Shun Classic's blade construction. The handle is made of G10 thermoset plastic laminate, it is some of the best knife handle material.The build quality is good, full tang, and well balanced. As a general rule of thumb, the balance point should be right where the blade connects to the handle (meaning the blade and the handle are of about equal weight), and that is exactly where this "AMIREUX Chef Knife" is. The handle to tang bonding is absolutely seamless, another characteristic of a well made knife. The shape is agronomical too, I had spent non-stop hour long prepping sessions with this knife (dicing onion, peppers for making gumbo) , and it is indeed comfortable.With the good materials, and good build, the result is a comfortable to hold, and VERY sharp knife. And it maintain the edge well, I only need to run it thru a honing steel a few times once in a while. I even did the advertisement style testing: shaving a piece of paper in mid-air, and it worked (see attached pic)!The price is good if you compare to brand-name premium Japan made or Germany made knifes. But if you compare to other chinese made knives, the price is not the best.Thank you for reading this review, I hoped that this review & the pictures are helpful to you in support of your purchase decision.