Premium DALSTRONG Serrated Paring Knife 3.5" - Shogun Series Damascus Steel with AUS-10V Japanese Super Steel - Razor Sharp Kitchen Knife with Sheath - Perfect for Slicing Fruits, Vegetables & Bread

Beautifully packaged, beautiful knife. Well balanced and feels good in my hand. Great balance. Now to sharpness. I was excited to get it - immediately unboxed it and set to work on some strawberries. Half way through I put it down and got my $10 Walmart knife because it is so much sharper. I was shocked. I really expected it to be much sharper - sharp enough I needed to be careful with it. Not so. IMO not worth $76. Won't buy another one and plan to return this oneWas contacted by Dalstrong with the offer to send another knife, which they did. Dramatic difference on the sharpness. I am now very happy. Excellent customer service. Beautiful well weighted knife with a cover. I would do business with them again. Thank you DalstrongMy son asked for a pairing knife for his birthday…he already has the Dalstrong chef’s knife that he absolutely loves…therefore, we purchased this set to add to his collection…they are super sharp and feel great to hold & handle…these knives are an excellent investment!Updated review - I originally had issues with this knife and the seller not responding. First, let me say that it appears the error was with my email account and not with Dalstrong being unresponsive. I reached out to them via the online webform, they responded to me. They have been extremely helpful.On to the knife review. As in my original review found below, I am disappointed in the lack for detail with the Damascus print. It almost doesn't exist it's so faint. It feels misleading because the photos reflect a very different quality than what I received. I wonder why Dalstrong made a decision to sell a Damascus patterned knife that lacks the pattern or that they simply have not perfected. This time of year, everyone is running great discounts on their higher-end knives. I can purchase a Yaxell Dragon and others for less than what I paid for this knife and with the others I would receive the quality that I paid for. On to the positives. As mentioned in my first review, the handle looks incredible and it feels great in the hand. But what gave me a change of heart is the fact that this knife's performance is excellent. If I were to base my rating on this only, the rating would be five stars. I tested this knife against the Wusthof Ikon Blackwood and quite honestly, it's no comparison. This knife did significantly better than the Wusthof. I highly recommend this knife. It's going to be a great little workhorse in my collection. I also appreciate the outstanding customer service. They truly are doing all they can to address my concerns and make me happy.Old Review - please read updateThis knife has only a faint image of some type of print on the blade. It's certainly not a damascus print. It looks almost like something adhesive was resting on the knife and left an imprint or residue. I polished the knife thinking this will help, it did not. I visited the website to see if the paring knife should have the Damascus print. I also reached out to Dalstrong via email and they did not respond to me. I contacted Amazon and they sent a replacement. Well the replacement has the same issue. I went to Dalstrong's website and sent an inquiry via their web from....still no response. Isn't this the company that everyone says has such outstanding customer service? I have sent two different requests for help only to receive no response. The knife handle is beautiful but the blade is awful. I can't speak to the performance because I don't plan on keeping it. Either have no print on the blade or have a print but don't have something that's faded and uneven and looks horrible. I'm so disappointed with the lack of customer service and the issue with both knives. This also makes me wonder if the workmanship that they advertise is completely false. There is no excuse for the way the blade looks. I have several beautiful knives from other brands with a Damascus print so I know what it should look like, this knife doesn't come close.Great quality. The knife is pretty, to say the least. I love it and so does my choosy wife. We find all the positives mentioned in other reviews true. But being a spoiled son-in-law of a Japanese lifetime knife dealer, I cannot resist pointing out some deficiencies. To be clear, those are minor and do not change my five-star rating.(1) The handle, though meticulously finished and made of a first-class material, may prove small in a larger hand. This would be a nonissue if the handle’s butt was round. Instead, it is (undeniably stylishly) cut flat at an angle. If you use the knife for prolonged periods of time, the pinky side of your palm may become sore due to the somewhat sharp profiled upper edge of the handle’s butt.(2) If you have ever used a scalpel, you will know that despite its advertised super steep cutting angle and polished , the blade in no way has a “ruthlessly sharp scalpel like edge.” Surprisingly, the blade is relatively thick, definitely thicker than that of a significantly less expensive, yet decent, paring knife, such as Pros: Beautifully made, beautifully packaged, razor sharp, comes with loose sheath with locking pin to prevent it falling off. I am a mechanical engineer so the Rockwell hardness specification of 62 was the most important feature of these knives. This is way higher than any of the stainless steels, even the expensive ones that are on the market. They should hold their edges much longer as a consequence.Cons: The retaining pin is held on the sheath using a piece of pretty string. With constant use I am not sure how long this would hold up, but it’s easy to put your own string on.Conclusion: I am absolutely delighted with these knives and it seems like a crime to take them out of their beautiful presentation box to use them.This was my 4th knife from the Shogun range of knives from Dalstrong, I have the Santuko, Kiritsuke & Chefs... The Chef knife arrived blunt, which I took as a 'oh well' I guess it happens & now this paring knife has arrived blunt, couldn't manage a cherry tomato... not gonna pay to get this one sharpened, so I have returned to Amazon UK for a refund. It's all well & good having a nice box, badge (??) polishing cloth & blurb, but if the product isn't able to stand out on top of these things, what's the point?Seems quality has gone downhill, I've always liked the Dalstrong range, I'm just a home cook, I don't have the equipment & skills to sharpen new purchases, I work full time & save to get these knifes that I look forward to adding to my collection.Feeling kinda let down from a company that I always held in high regard.Truth be told im providing this review on the grounds of how muck i like the company they are very keen..maybe too much so..the packahing of their product is exceptional..maybe too much so...the cleaning / ? Polishing cloths are a nice touch...but has one ever been used. The badge is of a very nice quality item...but who and under what circumstance would or will it be worn. To be honest the extras feel a bit "domestic" and inconsequential..the packaging extras that is.. i started in the catering trade 37 years ago..and ive never met a Chef that wouldnt die for these knives..They are beautiful and effective..they deserve not to be trivialized buy a badge and a cloth. I'll probably end up with a "full" set...but what will i do with all the badges? ?We needed new knives for the kitchen and my wife said she really needs a paring knife so I bought this one because it seemed to be of good quality. And I wasn't wrong at all! This blade is exceptional!! We only used it for peeling potatoes, apples and mangos so far but I can see it makes a huge difference from our old knife! Strongly recommend this product, you won't be sorry. It's top quality, easy to use, scalpel sharp blade, everything you want in a knife!I'm just a humble home cook, so I've not ever used very high quality knives.... These Shogun Series knives are very visually attractive and so very sharp! These are a lot higher quality than the knives I was previously used to using. Damascus patterns on the blades add real elegance to the style, but these knives are extremely sharp (understatement!). I can't comment yet on aspects such as durability or edge retention and sharpening as I've only recently bought these.