I love the aesthetics of this knife. Very beautiful. The balance of the knife tends to favor the handle which I’ve found makes it a little easier to chop/mince with. The best feature that I enjoy about this knife is the upward-slanted choil. It is very comfortable with a super smooth finish and does not irritate my index finger after prolonged use. HRc 60 so the blade stays sharp for a long time. CAUTION: I purchased this knife new from an authorized retailer. I returned the first knife due to imperfections in the VG10 core. After receiving the replacement, there were still divots/imperfections within the katana-finished edge. Not sure if it was coincidence or a blight synonymous with this particular knife. I also own the Kaizen 9 1/2” Gyutoh and the Kaizen 3 1/2” Shotoh and the blades on both knives are flawless.