Enso HD 7" Bunka Knife - Made in Japan - VG10 Hammered Damascus Stainless Steel

So, I've been waiting to write a review until my knives needed sharpening and I saw how they take to a stone. It's been about 6 months and they are totally solid on all fronts. Good looking, comfortable, good steel. First I ordered the 7" although I had just bought a full sized chef knife from Misen I wanted to get into Japanese steel and these met my price point. Watched the vids of the factory tour from the seller and realized these were the real deal at a bargain price. So I received the 7" in the mail and no more than cut an onion with it and I was on the web looking up the seller's website and ordering the 5.5" utility. These are viscerally great knives. They are beautiful, well balanced, and very comfortable to hold. I wear xl gloves and love the feel of the 7" but also wanted something for smaller work and because I have smaller hands in my kitchen. The 5.5" makes a great utility knife and my kids feel confident and in control of it. I can still use it comfortably and tbf it is my go to over the 7". So...It's been about 6 months of daily driver use on veggies and boneless meats and I notice they need a little touching up. I ran them over a stone 10-20 times and they came back to close to factory sharp really nicely. I'm sure I can work on them and get them "scary sharp" but the point here is the steel will take and hold a good edge easily once you've dulled it through normal use. And that edge will last a while. Enso knives are top notch. They maybe don't have the wow factor of a knife at 2x the price point but they are good steal put together by real artisans who know their craft. Solid fit and finish, great edge retention, and comfortably works through all manner of cutting and chopping. Probably avoid cuts of meat with bones in. Probably won't buy any more knives for at least 5 years, but will look in this direction when it's time.

Everywhere you look, an eight or ten inch chef's knife is the kitchen's workhorse. For lots of people, I think this is the better choice. If you come to this knife from a European-style, thick bladed, bolstered chef's knife, chances are that what stands out about this knife will come from its Japanese heritage: a thin blade of harder steel that's sharpened at a very acute angle compared to what you're used to. It'll feel almost like magic. But even if you're somewhat familiar with Japanese cutlery, if you've been using the Gyuto blade format (the one that resembles the shape of a European chef's knife, with an upswept tip), this Bunka format will likely blow you away. At first, you probably think you're giving up blade length by going from eight inches to seven. But it's not really like that. Because this knife's cutting edge is almost completely without a belly, the length of the blade that you can use on the cutting board is actually longer than on a chef's knife. You can cut all the way out to the tip without having to elevate your wrist. You can do ultra-precise cutting with the inch or so right at the tip, and do both push cutting and slicing anywhere along the blade's length. The rocking motion that you need to use on a knife with belly is a thing of the past. And it's got a pointier tip than a santoku, adding both utility and visual appeal. The materials are gorgeous. VG10 is pretty close to a perfect kitchen steel: it takes a terrific edge, responding well to stone, steel, or strop. The cladding steel will resist rust well, and the little dimples add to both the appearance and the ability to shed food after the cut. The micarta handle is evocative of wood grain. There are things that you can do with a chef's knife that you shouldn't do with this one. I wouldn't use it, for instance, to hammer cloves of garlic. Or go digging into the joints of meat. But for the overwhelming majority of kitchen cutting tasks, this is just plain better.

I wanted to start purchasing high quality knives pots pans and other kitchen tools since I found joy in cooking. I did hours of research on knives alone and I came across a Yaxell knives factory tour on a youtube channel called Burfection. I had watched other vids on this channel but this one made me try Yaxell/Enso because of the blend of perfection and passion I saw from the people making the knives. I looked at most of the big names in knives at this price range and it came down to Shun and Enso. I'm still going to buy a Shun to compare this Enso bunka to, so I can be totaly sure but I think the Enso looks better and the handle on the Shun looks very uncomfortable for long use. Now when the knife arrived in the nice packaging I couldn't wait to use it. It was so fantastic looking, and the fit and finish was the best I'd seen on knives since I'm use to a cheap starter faberware set. It was laser sharp out of the box too, I got a small watermelon out and cut it in half and it was as if I was using a light saber, it took no pressure at all. The knife is so light and it fits in my hand so well that I chopped two full freezer bags full of veggies for seasoning before I took a break that I didn't need. this thing just blends into my hand so it's so manuverable, and the 7" length is perfect for any prep work. And Look how wow they look! this knife classes up my kitchen all by itself hanging on my magnetic wood block, I can only imagine how it's gonna look with the full set hanging there. I plan now to buy the full Enso HD line If I don't absolutely love the Shun cause I think I already love the Enso.

I have had this knife for several months now, so I felt I could offer a sound review. This is built with high quality steel, it came super sharp with a finely honed/polished edge, and the solid handle finishes it off. The blade holds its sharpness because it is high quality steel and the knife is well balanced so you are not overworking yourself when in use. My only negative is probably due to trying to slice through a piece of semi frozen meat and I bent the blade off to one side close to the tang where it extends to the handle. I don’t want to stress the steel to try to straighten, so I live with the angle…

Supreme sharpness is not an issue with this Japanese-made knife--it is extremely sharp. I suppose I am used to more traditional Japanese knives. I am returning it. I've been cooking Japanese food for over 30 years and find the traditionally-manufactured knives more to my liking. An attractive, showy blade, though, with nice hataraki.

Solid high quality knife that holds its edge and is comfortable to use. I also have the smaller version and I love them both

Got this knife to replace a cheep one that didn't cut straight ( even after sharpened to try to fix). It is VERY sharp and holds the edge. Be VERY careful when you first get it so that you don't cut yourself. I like it so much that I will be getting more of these.

Bought this as a Christmas gift for my brother. He loved it as.soon as he opened it. So 9 months later this is still his go to knife. Knife stays sharp as a razor for a long time. Holds a great edge and this thing is a great looking knife. No issues with it whatsoever.