Stratus Culinary Ken Onion Rain Straight Utility Knife, 6-Inch, Silver

I started the search for my first GOOD kitchen knife with the preconceived idea that it would be of Damascus (or folded) steel. I've been attracted to it since it's rediscovery in the 1970's. It turns out that most of the kitchen knives in Damascus-like steel are clad: a layer of folded metals creating a sheath over a core of a single steel which forms the edge. Curious, I kept investigating. It turns out that Damascus steels are not the best for kitchen knives, so these clad blades are an attempt to give the attractive look with the better functionality of modern steels. During this discovery process, I stumbled upon this Rain Series by Ken Onion. Everything I read, and the video on the Chefworks site convinced me I had found my series. While I could probably afford the entire set if I chose to go that route, I am generally not so inclined. I weighed my wants and needs to select which knife in the series I would buy. My existing favorite go-to knives were a pair of 6" and 8" Santokus from Calphalon, purchased at a ridiculous low price. I'm not a large man (5'8") and my hands are small (gee thanks, Mom) so I seldom reach for our 10" chef knife. I never, ever use the boning or filet knives that came with our set, and seldom reach for the pairing knife (which is junk). In the end, I selected this Rain Series Utility knife as a good replacement for the 6" Santoku in the hopes it would be my new kitchen work horse.This knife is light and agile. It is beautiful to look at and to hold. The etched surface of the blade does a >pretty good< job of releasing whatever you just sliced. I suspect nothing will release a potato! Using the knife properly the way Ken Onion suggests (watch the video: [...].) took some adjustment, but I came to really appreciate the improved control. Partly by specific intent, it is now my go-to knife and the 6" Santoku has been sidelined. [Edited to correct the video link.]This is a utility knife and as such it won't do everything. It's too small to slice a beef roast or large bird. For that you'll want a chef knife. It's too small for the first cuts on something like a Butternut squash, but fine once it's quartered. It is perfect for most vegetable slicing and dicing, tenderloin roasts, chicken or game hen carving (OK, not perfect for that, but it will do), and slicing fresh herbs. The shape works really well when used as intended (watch the video!).I gave it 4 stars rather than 5 because the etching doesn't work any better than the Granton edge on many other knives (like my Santokus), and because I have not owned it long enough to rate its edge-holding. In 6-months perhaps I'll return and adjust the rating. I like it well enough to ponder adding the chef and pairing knives from this series to my kitchen and discarding the rest of the wedding-present knife set (Cavalier).UPDATE 8/10/14 - The knife is still a joy to work with. It holds its edge well, but nothing magical. I have sharpened it twice in the time I have owned it, and am thinking it needs it again. This is in-house sharpening, and takes maybe 15 minutes. I try to keep it sharp enough to easily slice paper. I have not purchased any other knives. I am sorely tempted by the paring knife, but I started noticing how seldom I use mine and have held off. Ditto for the chef knife. This 6" utility knife and my 8" Santoku seem to be meeting my needs.UPDATE 11/2014 - This knife is definitely my go-to knife. I do so little (cooking for two) that needs a shef's knife that I seldom reach for mine, and when I do, it's the 8" santoku (Calphalon). I'm leaving the rating at 4 stars because food *does* stick to the knife, so the etched blade doesn't really work better than other designs for releasing food, but it sure does look good! RELATED: I did "upgrade" my paring knife with a $6.00 Victorinox. For what I do with it, it was a great buy. I also added a Henckels 4" Pro Paring knife to my mismatched set and it is a knife I really reach for. I could live without the Victorinox...

expected a higher quality knife. i have Shun Ken Onion knives and was trying to replace that utility knife.