I had a choice. But a knife set that would be okay and suit my needs, or buy a single knife that I would use for 95% of what I need it for anyway. I went with the latter and bouth the Dalstrong Chef's Knife.

The first thing I noticed after opening the box and removing the knife is that it is about twice as heavy as any other knife I have owned in the past. It isn't too heavy to use, however. Perhaps it would be for a smaller person but I am 5'10" and 175lbs. It feels PERFECT in my hand.

It wasn't as sharp right out of the box as I had expected. Don't get me wrong, it is sharp enough to meet your needs, but at this price point I had expected something that would pass the paper test. This knife, right out of the box, did not. I like my knives so sharp that I am in danger of cutting off my fingers if I am not careful, so I took it to be professionally sharpened.

I am not disappointed. It sharpened up nicely, passes the paper test with flying colors. Best part? It's been two months and is still every bit as sharp as when I got it back from the sharpener. It is holding its edge like a $500 knife would.

I have little doubt that I will be passing this knife down to my son. It is a lifetime knife for someone who appreciates a good tool. It's worth every penny.

As I get some extra money I am going to be sure to purchase other Dalstrong knifes to flesh out my collection.

This knife is great. They responded to my question almost immediately, and from what I've been reading everywhere it sounds like they honor the 100% satisfaction guaranteed thing pretty enthusiastically, so the customer service is great too.

The Damascus is Clad, not fake/etched by laser (if you sanded it they would still show, lets put that to rest). Hard core, soft outer layers that chip less, sharpen easier, and are higher corrosion resistance.. .and they look cool. Damascus clad is not 100% the same as traditional Damascus no, but it's close enough and it serves a purpose functionally and cool looking. I'm fine with it. I don't know why people are expecting a $800 art piece knife out of a product, that I feel, is meant to strike a nice balance between kitchen or work workhorse, and looking pretty sharp on a knife block too.

The blade is welded to the handle, but the visibility of the weld is minimal, especially with all the other patterning going on near it. The handle is comfortable, seems durable. I like this blade for rocking cuts, it has a nice curve but not so much that you cant dice chop either. The weight of the blade feels even and great. I can't complain about anything on this knife, I like it. I also purchased the non serrated steak knives and I have to say they look even better than the Gyuto. I'm very glad I got those second and I like those even more than the Gyuto.

Bottom line is this, if you're looking for a crazy expensive custom art piece knife at the price of around $100, of course you're not going to be happy. It's not going to glide through zero resistance like an ultra thin specialty non-stainless all hand-made by one guy Japanese knife with a single bevel that you have to dry and oil to keep from rusting every time you cut with it and sharpen or have sharpened differently. No standard mass produced stainless double bevel knife will do that. If you want a solid kitchen knife that is aggressively priced, about as sharp as you can get this kind of knife to get, stays sharp pretty long, looks cooler than the average persons knife, and still works great for cooking dinner... well it seems like a pretty well rounded knife to me. I have a wide range of professional use German knives, and a couple Japanese artsy knives I'm afraid to use/damage, and many in between, and beater knives too. These are what's on my kitchen knife block and I plan to buy more as I can afford to.

I saw a few accusations about what it means to be Damascus and people shouting fake reviews.... I don't know about all that. It's a knife... with some pros and cons... like all products... and I think the pros are pretty solid for the price point. A knife snob might poo-poo it I guess. They aren't right for everyone probably, but all I can say is I'm happy with them!

This is my second Dalstrong knife. My Phantom chef's knife was so handy, I purchased a Shogun X for myself and one for a co-worker. It's great. In everyday use it's great for slicing and chopping on plastic or wood. The shape of the knife is very comfortable and easy to control. It's quite heavy and well balanced with a good thickness across the top of the blade. The bolster is comfortable and the handle allows for different grip preferences. I use it at home and it has quickly become my daily go-to blade, and I haven't had to use a stone in three months; although, I do hone with a ceramic honer and strop weekly. In a commercial kitchen with 2-6 hours of use daily the edge retains well with daily honing, weekly stropping, and stoned once every three or four months. One knife came out of the box needed slight honing, but the other was exquisitely sharp.
Overall, the edge retention on this knife is better than some of my more expensive blades from other makers used in the same conditions.
The finish of this knife is very classy. The "damascus" pattern is very subtle and the hammered texture makes scratches to the polish less visible. Patina formation has been slow, but I'm excited to see what this knife looks like in a few more years. Hammered finish also assists slightly in reducing that pesky, food-sticking-to-your-knife problem.
The handle is full tang with three full rivets. The handle is nice for daily usage since it's a bit easier to clean and holds up to moisture better than most woods. It also looks really nice with the classy rivet roset and the modern texture and shape.
Get this knife if you cut things every day. Just remember that the core steel is harder than most European steels, and you will need a ceramic rod for edge up-keep.

So to start this off, this is my day 1 review. I'm gonna update this after about a month of constant use. I'll see what edge retention is like, how the handle holds up, and if the blade continues to be as beautiful as it is after being repeatedly washed. I was NOT given a discount or free product to write a review, I just did my research and decided to give Dalstrong a shot based off reviews and my knowledge of knives and steel forging.

Out of the box, this thing is sharper than any other kitchen knife I've ever bought. It's insanely sharp. I could cut paper thin slices out of a tomato that was just sitting on a cutting board without having to hold the tomato. It glides through most everything. I did have 2 small complaints out of the box, which I've reached out to Dalstrong about to see if there's a way I can fix them, which are a 1-2" scuff on the handle that feels somewhat abrasive, and a very small rust spot on the front of the knife in one of the Damascus layers (these two issues are why I gave it 4 stars, for a cheap knife I wouldn't care, but for something over $100 I feel it has slightly more weight). I'll update once they get back to me as well.

As for feel, the opinions differ here based on hand size and what people are used to. I like a quality forged blade, and I have very large hands. I think the knife feels absolutely perfect in the hand. Weight, grip, rivets, handle material, all of it. To me it couldn't have a better handle. My wife on the other hand, has tiny hands. She thinks that the handle is too large. Not too large to use, just not comfortable. She is fond of Cutco handles, which are thermal resin and very high quality... though their blades are just cheap stamped steel that has no heft to it. I own both and strongly prefer forged blades with weight behind them. Also I don't like the cutco handles. They feel narrow and uncomfortable to me.

The general appearance of the knife is beautiful. It has a beautiful center rivet made from 3 copper rings and a bunch of brass rings. The Damascus is far less pronounced than the photos lead me to believe, which is sad, but not something worth knocking a star off for. The hammered look is fantastic. I love the lion head logo stamped in the blade, though I am concerned that a health department employee may be less than fond of it because I could imagine meat particles getting trapped in it. I bought this because I'm starting a food truck and I want to find the knives I'll be using in my food truck, this will just be one of many as I do BBQ and I'm particular about the blades I use for various cuts of meat.

Lastly I'll mention the packaging since people seem to care about such things. In a word, it's excellent. More accurately it's over the top. It keeps the blade very stable and provides a very satisfying unboxing experience.

Overall I'd say excellent. If I can fix the little scuff and the rust spot I'm gonna change it to 5 star. In the price range, unbeatable. Shuns and real Wusthoff forged blades are the only ones I've used that I would say can match the quality, and frankly the Wusthoffs actually fall below, especially on workmanship.

UPDATE 1-6-2018

I talked to their customer service the day after I received the knife because of the tiny scuff/spot on the blade and they sent me a new knife and told me to keep the first. Unbelievable service. I just wanted to know if there was a treatment or product to use that would get it out. Both have continued to perform flawlessly over the last several months, even without sharpening (I was letting them go to see when I'd notice a decline in performance). Still about 98% of what they were out of the box. I'm gonna be buying a full set both for my truck and my home in the next few months. I've used just about all the knife brands they make, I'd put my Dalstrong Shogun against any $500 knife you can find, happily. I'm even planning to purchase their $400 gladiator set for my mom when she graduates with her doctorate.

If I had one complaint, it would be that they don't seem to offer a full set of their Shogun series blades. I'd love one with a nice modern, high quality block. Not that I particularly mind ordering each one individually. Would just make it easier.

I personally read through several reviews of both Zelite and Dalstrong. Decided to buy Dalstrong for two immediate reason:
1. Though quality seems very close, Dalstrong seems to have priced more honestly than Zelite
2. This is personal choice - but I think Zelite's trademark (Name) to me is an eyesore and new customers may just think its some cheap knock off. Whereas Dalstrong's brandname, lion head etc are balanced and really good to look at.
The hammered pattern is emnbossed by machine (not hand). This you will see if you compare the patterns of your knive and the picture on the box. There will be differences in the depth of each pattern based on how and where it was ground/sharpned.
The company is headquartered in Canada. (SELLER: "Dalstrong's headquarters are located in Toronto, Canada. Though our factory is located in Yang Jing, China, and we have warehouses throughout the U.S., Canada ant the U.K")
I tried to take picture of upper edge (spine) of knife to see if I can see the 67 Damascus layers, but could not see perhaps due to the grinding marks. But if you see the rest of the knife under microscope, the laters are clearly there.
Regarding layers and steel used, this is what the seller has to say - (SELLER:"To confirm, our steel used for the cutting core is indeed VG-10 Japanese steel ( 1% Carbon, 15% Chromium, 1% Molybdenum, 0.2% Vanadium, 1.5% Cobalt, and 00.5% Manganese) from Takefu Japan, and is cold rolled and annealed. Interestingly, the ancient damascus method of folding over by hand is actually somewhat of a lost art form, the history of which is murky as of the 16th century. Today's steels however are much stronger for numerous reasons, including their lack of impurities. The outer steel of the blade comprising of 33 layers ("Tasekiso"), is made of variations of stainless steel (to protect the harder, more rust prone high carbon VG10 cutting edge) sandwiched and rolled together under tremendous pressure (cold rolled). This gives the pattern. The pattern is 100% NOT printed or etched or lasered. It is the genuine result of the production process, and each and every single blade pattern is different. If they were printed or etched they would be identical. This layering is done in Japan by our steel partner Takefu, the same supplier of steel to Shun, Miyabi, Tojiro, etc, and the same damascus.")
They have same suppliers for the handles as that of Zelite, you will see several similarities. (SELLER - "Zelite's line of knives share many similarities with our Shogun Series, however our blade shapes are different as is the fact that all Dalstrong knives (regardless of series, and we have four at present, Gladiator, Infinity, Shogun, and Phantom and one more in development, Omega) come with protective sheaths and more. Zelite shares the same handle manufacturer and a nearly identical style with the grip (you will notice the mosaic pins are different), but the similarities end there (and only with the Shogun Series").
I brought both their 8'' & 6'' knives as I was not sure which one I will be more comfortable using. The attached pictures contains both knives. I think I like both of them as these can be put to different uses. Overall, I am extremely pleased to have brought these finely crafted knives. These, I am pretty sure, are the best ones around at these price. Their customer service - as of Aug 2017 would treat you as royalties, they seems just too good. This may be a small company, still growing but the quality, finish, beauty and value for money of their products will put most the market leaders to shame! If you were looking for the perfect knife - the kind you wanted to pass on to next generation as heirloom, you've reached the end of your search. Go ahead, buy it and don't look back. Good luck!