Aliexpress Damascus VG10 kiritsuke chef's knife review - Amber Knife Store 

Still holding up great with over a year of use. Sharpens quite easily.

@@AGuThing How about after 3 years? I thought VG10 was supposed to be hard to sharpen?

@@jeffreyjbyron still going strong, no issues. It’s harder to sharpen than a high carbon steel like 1095, but isn’t nearly as hard as SG2 or S30V etc. To be honest not bad at all considering how well it retains the edge, just a few more minutes compared to carbon steel.

My pleasure! For sure there is some overpriced garbage out there that’s not worth it at any price. However there is also a lot of great quality stuff for extremely reasonable prices if you take the time and do the research. You’re more shopping the seller than the knife. I always message the sellers first. If they don’t respond or continue to claim that the steel is imported Japanese VG10 - I move on. If they answer honestly, I’ll consider doing business with them. Often times you’ll get very frank answers “this knife is 440c, marked vg10 because it’s easier to sell”, “I have another knife that is $6 more but is better steel quality, 10cr14cromov” they often will also send a picture of their knife on that machine testing Rockwell hardness.

Exactly how AGuThing said - the main problem is extremely overpriced garbage that floods the internet. Generalizing the oldest civilisation as incompetent to create good knives is illogical.

Agreed 100% would have been such an amazing value if the profile was more conducive to the intended application.

Enjoy!

How about sharpening them? Was it painful or ez? :D

⁠@@Plechu93Pretty easy. Feels about the same as my Shun VG10. Takes a little more work than high carbon steel like 1095 but much easier than SG2.

Lol. $40 Aliexpress kitchen knives...not geared towards serious knife collectors. Thanks for all the comments!

I was looking for this... As soon as I saw the "damascus" I was like... I can't be the only one noticing that fake damascus finishing.

@@filipesena7698 There are so many fake damascus knives out that I think people are comparing with fakes to begin with. Surprised me how many people think they are buying hand-forged too. I don't think I've seen forged knives for less than a few hundred minimum. Then again stamped knives have drastically improved in quality... For most people, they just want a cool looking knife. OP even said he bought for the wa (made with...epoxy?)

Lol, good eye! My yojimbo 2 and pm2 are the only knives I carry tip down. I like to spyder drop these 2.

Now that made me smile. For better or worse.

Good to know. Thanks for the heads up.

Enjoy them! They really are a pleasure to use!

I ordered another set as well for $42, just got a message from them saying the price was wrong... Lol. Haven't heard back from them yet on what the resolution will be. Did they send you the same message? I'd recommend taking screen shots of your purchase as evidence if you end up needing to open a dispute. Sorry!

@@AGuThing Same feedback here - got the message that it was only for -1- knife.

Oogie Boogie Too bad... I wouldn’t pay $40 for the 6” petty just cuz I don’t use that size much but $40-50 for just the big one is still a great deal for the quality that you get.

FYI - I contacted customer service and opened a dispute. Aliexpress proposed either a $22 refund or full refund if I return the knife. For $20 - worth it!

Thanks! Appreciate the additional detail.

Kiritsukes are my favorite blade shape as well. I think you’ll be happy with this one if you don’t mind the belly.

Agreed. I prefer a straighter profile, as kiritsukes traditionally are, for my personal cutting style. IMO this is more of a western chefs knife profile with a kiritsuke style tip than a true kiritsuke.

@@AGuThing yes i thought possibly as seen them on amazon been looking found a nice genuine 9.4 inch gyuto knife damascus also all review's are positive seem to be knowledgeable people to an extent so im says as seen below which with the reviews tells me it is genuine maybe buy one to review for us to see im gunna be ordering one

J G Sounds like it has potential. Could you share the link? I’ll check it out too.

@@AGuThing Sorry I lost the notification il have to check if it's about

It looks like that one is no longer available maybe check Amazon out they have a big variety of knives all look great but wether the Damascus is etched on or cladding is not known as some lie

franzb69 Most likely 10cr15cromov which is essentially the same material just produced in China. Personally I have no issues with that as long as the heat treat is done properly which it was in this case. Edge on this has held up as well as my Shun Premier.

Some sellers sell vg10. U can know if u ask the seller he will tell you

There’s definitely a ton of absolute trash for sale in Aliexpress but if you know what to look for and a little good luck you can find some great deals on good quality stuff. I still use this pair on a regular basis and they’ve held up phenomenally with surprising edge retention abilities. Although I am careful with all of my kitchen knives; hand wash and dry immediately, don’t leave them in the sink to get banged around, don’t use for boning etc.

@@AGuThing yeah, dont get me wrong. I'm buying knifes at 10 dollars be below. Maybe you can give me an idea how often a kitchen knife used mostly for veggies, like apples, potato's for example. Am I wrong to be disappointed that I notice a drop on edge after only a week. (Dont get me wrong its still usable, and fine) I'm just not sure what to expect. I would be more comfortable if the knife came with the metal ratings ON the knife. But, the description stated its a 7CR17 steel. Am I wrong to question this? Do you think this rating is good for the 6-10ish dollar range for each. A set would be around 65 or so. I don't look for sets since I have knifes. I do overall like AliExpress its just a lot of the stuff has descriptive pictures or even descriptions. I've been mostly impressed with my knifes. But, as I said I don't really know what a high quality knife preforms like. Which, is why I asked. i did learn cheap shoes from AliExpress have like zero grip and are quite unsafe. Basically they are only indoor shoes but, some of them look good. Just gotta watch out for any rain or ice or spills. Or anyone with balance issues. Seems like a dumb place to cheap out on. Oddly many of them have decent cushion which would make more sense to cheap out on since insoles are cheap on AliExpress.

@@Sublimer79 7cr17 is a softer steel, would be hard to get a razor sharp edge with 7cr17 and it would not last long. With this type of steel you are better off sharpening to a wider angle, something like 20 degrees each side. That’ll be sharp enough for most things and will hold that edge longer. That being said, 7cr steels will need to be sharpened fairly often. For aliexpress knives I’d recommend messaging the sellers and asking them specifically for the steel type, you can usually tell from their answers if they are being truthful. If they say something like it’s true Japanese vg10, I would stay away. Would also recommend sticking to 8cr or higher, 440c, “Chinese vg10” aka 10cr15comov, aus8, or aus 10. Assuming a proper heat treat, these can all be sharpened to 15 degrees and will hold edge well at that angle.

@@Sublimer79 7cr17 is a softer steel, would be hard to get a razor sharp edge with 7cr17 and it would not last long. With this type of steel you are better off sharpening to a wider angle, something like 20 degrees each side. That’ll be sharp enough for most things and will hold that edge longer. That being said, 7cr steels will need to be sharpened fairly often. For aliexpress knives I’d recommend messaging the sellers and asking them specifically for the steel type, you can usually tell from their answers if they are being truthful. If they say something like it’s true Japanese vg10, I would stay away. Would also recommend sticking to 8cr or higher, 440c, “Chinese vg10” aka 10cr15comov, aus8, or aus 10. Assuming a proper heat treat, these can all be sharpened to 15 degrees and will hold edge well at that angle.

@@AGuThing okay, good to know. I don't know, anything about sharpening. My mom has an electric sharpener I bought her. I use it when need be. i have a manual type that you slide in and out at home. It seems to work good enough for the basic veggie cutting. Which is the bulk of my cutting. Good to know to go up from 7 to 8. Next time. I'll remember that. Luckily with a good knife sharpener . The ones I have are good enough for the basic things we do. We have various unknown steel knives at my moms place and my own. 😂 Seemed silly to buy 2 expensive electric sharpeners. On the upside, the softer steel is probably easy to sharpen. Even if It needs done every 2 weeks. 😂 appreciate the help. I just started learning about the grading system. I real the 7 was decent maybe for the price its decent. 😂

Let me look into it. I’ve never heard of that before.

They are holding up perfectly. We use them several times a week. Edge retention is great and sharpens relatively easily. We treat them as you would a pricier knife; hand wash, dry, and put away immediately after using.

👍 If you typically rock the knife, this would be great for you.

Not full tang. These traditional Japanese style handles never have a full tang. Take a look at this video, ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QAEMwB_OLoo.html. The tang on this knife is similar but it is epoxied into place.

Hélio Solar they are double beveled, western style.

@@AGuThing Thx alot for replying ;-)

Not sure what website you’re talking about. Do you have a link? I think it’s most likely that the website you are looking at is reselling these at a higher price.

The same ones I looked at but there actually on the santoku website, the knifes you had aren't real Damascus steel are they, the ones I wanted were £250 for 5 knifes

@@coreymanders1206 can you provide the link for the website you are looking at? I believe the ones in this video are true multi layered Damascus with a 10cr15cromov cutting core. The pattern is different from knife to knife and it’s clear there are multiple layers and not laser etched.

Thanks bud!

Yangjiang, China. A city known as Chinas capital of knife and scissor manufacturing.

Sorry, video uploaded over night. Description now uploaded with links. Thanks!

Thanks bud!

I use Japanese water stones. Typically my chosera 1000 followed by an arashiyama 6000, then leather strop

@@AGuThing thank you for the reply.

@@fuzzywuzzysk 👍 not a detailed instructional but here’s a vid demonstrating my process. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-A5WoJ26dOgg.html

I’m gonna have to disagree. Looking at it under a loupe, it’s clear to me that there are separate layers. I’ve seen laser etched Damascus look knives, it is very different. Sure you can sharpen anything to cut but the difference between good steel and bad steel is edge retention. Using this for the past 9 months, the edge retention on this is on par with my Japanese VG10 knives. I’m fairly certain it’s not true Japanese VG10, likely Chinese 10cr14cromov but the heat treat on this was legit and edge retention is spectacular for the price paid.

Easy to prove, just grind the surface see if you can see the layer or buy another one see if the patterns are the same, from my see the layer seeing too thick and obviously possibly fake with this price.

Jie Wang Lol. No thanks. I’d prefer not to destroy a knife that I’m very happy with and use regularly. Take a look at my other videos, I have numerous Japanese VG10, sg2, aogami, and Shirogami knives to compare this against. If you’d like dm me on Instagram, jamesgu208, and I’ll send you a picture of the knife taken with a digital microscope

My whole knife set are China damascus knives and I can assure you that it is real damascus I have scratched the damascus pattern a d it's clear that it's different layers I'll see if I can upload a pic

@@AGuThing I've just started looking into aliexpress knives, and from what I've read none of them will be Japanese Vg10 simply because the export of the steel is not allowed. Apparently the Chinese imitation 'can' be there or thereabouts, but as you suggested, the quality control and heat treatment are the weaknesses. It would appear that AUS-10 would be a safer bet.

How can you tell? I bought the same set and it looks like Damascus to me, many layers. I’ve seen the fake etched stuff and it looks very different to this one.