Kai Gift Box Hocho Premium Chef Knife 7.36 Inc. Blade, Black, Stainless Steel Knife.

Best for a beginner or a home cook
Bought this knife for just 398 during the Amazon Great Indian festival season. Haven’t even completed a week of use at the time of writing this review. I was looking for a good chef knife and this seemed okay for me. For an average household use, this knife is one of the best knives you can get for this price. If you want an even better knife, go for Victorinox.Note: you need to know how to hold the knife in a pinch grip like a chef. If you don’t know it, learn it before you use this knife.Please bear in mind that this review is of a critic. I have used a true Japanese VG 10 chef knife and hence review is based in comparison to it. Needless to say, it falls short on a lot of things when you compare a true Japanese VG10 chef knife. But then again…they cost a bomb here in India.pros:1. The blade is thinner than most chef knives out there. This is as thin as a true Japanese VG 10 chef knife. This is the only true “Japanese” part of it. A thinner blade helps you to cut thinner slices easily.2. Cheap and best. You won’t get a better knife of such quality at this price. Even the Amazon Solimo blade is thicker than this and costs INR 450+3. Stainless steel – while it is considered a pro for the majority as stainless steel doesn’t rust, for me I consider it a con as Stainless steel blades are notorious for losing their edge. Not sure if this can retain the edge for a long time.4. Sharpness – This is by far the sharpest knife I have seen. I feel it is sharper than Godrej Cartini which I purchased almost 5 years ago.5. Knife with a curved edge – This is a con for me. This knife has a European-style curved blade which is good for rocking motion type of cuts. For me though it’s a con as I am a fan of a top-down chopping motion.Cons: Please bear in mind this is what I feel. This might vary from an individual’s perspective. As I mentioned I have previously used a Professional VG10 Japanese knife, I find the following cons:1. Stainless steel – This at the end of the day is a stainless steel knife and not a VG10 or a molybdenum vanadium steel alloy. Though the manufacturer claims it has high carbon content, I am a bit skeptical of the edge retention. I would be highly surprised if it can retain the edge for more than 15 days of daily use.2. European styling – Kai Hocho is supposed to be a Japanese-style knife but I see that the knife has a pure European style. Unlike the octagonal or round blade handle, it has 3 pegs with a European-style handle. While it is comfortable to hold, I usually prefer the Japanese-style octagonal wood handle.3. Knife has a belly – This is the biggest disappointment for me. Japanese knives usually do not have a belly, meaning they do not have a curved blade but instead have a straight edge and hence are more suited to chopping in a top-down motion. This knife has a European style and hence has a belly to the blade and is more suited for rocking motion cuts. Some people prefer the rocking motion over the top-down chopping but I like the way of chopping veggies from top to down. Even my age-old Godrej Cartini has a much straighter blade than this.4. Vegetables stick to the knife – This side of the knife is flat and not groved which makes the food (vegetables) stick to the sides after chopping. I find this a bit irritating while chopping veggies.Final Verdict – This is the best knife in this price range. You won’t find a better blade than this. The only disappointment for me is the curve in the blade. I would have loved a straight-edge blade that would be horizontal to the chopping board, but this compromise is very minor for the quality of the knife you are getting at this price. It’s worth every penny and for a beginner and household daily cooking, it’s a great knife. But once you have used an authentic Japanese knife, you cannot go back to any other knife.Update as of 16-Dec-2024: As suspected, this knife lost it’s sharpness in about a month (quite longer than other knifes) but with a few rubs on the whetstone, it was sharp again. Have been using it for more than a year now and quite happy with the product.Tip: – Do not get it sharpened by your street side sharpness vendor. The stone they use is quite coarse and may remove more metal than needed. Besides, the knifes do not stay sharp for long either. I suggest purchasing a whetstone and learn to sharpen your knifes by yourself. This way you will have more control on the angle of the knife blade and can have a razor sharp edge without removing much of the metal. This will also prolong the life of the knife.

A knife for every kitchen
Good quality with sharp edge.

SHARP BUT STICKS TO FOOD
The knife is very sharp. However a good knife is one that doesn’t stick to food. This sticks a lot. And each time you need to push food away from your fingers so that you can continue cutting. I’d recommend looking for something else.

Cheaper than ofline market price
Best knife 🔪 IN best price