a beautiful knife at one of the best prices going. its shape seems to be between the classic santuko style and the western chefs knife which suits me. sharp! tried the paper slicing, cutting tomato (without holding the tomato!) and other tests found on the internet! i thought its balance was a somewhat foreword until i realised that it its design is for the ""three fingers around the handle and pinch the side of the blade with finger and thumb"" style grip; then the balance point is right at the pinch point. this grip seemed to be favoured by a number of chefs on internet videos and gives a very secure and safe grip. not sure how its sharpened but it seems to be a japanese 30/70 edge. i think i have couple of months before i need to figure out the best way to keep the edge but i've bought a whetstone and i am going to practise on one of the many cheap blunt knifes in the kitchen drawer.