This is one beautiful knife and oh so functional.  It will do anything an 8" chefs knife can do. The blade has a core of VG10 super steel and is protected by 64 layers of additional steel.  It is also ice hardened so the knife stays sharper for a longer period of time.  The knife is razor sharp and glides through even the toughest of vegetables.  The handle is a comfortable, classic Japanese, D sharped handle.