J.A. Henckels International 30160-143 Kitchen-Utility-Knives Prep Knife, 5.5"

Works well, keeps its edge, it’s a little pricey but the lifetime warranty makes it work it and it’s a well-made knife

I work in a commercial kitchen. This is a review of the 5.5" classic compact chef knife by Henckels.Like all of the Henckels knives, they are unfinished. The spine of the blades are all very very rough and sharp and will cut your hand. You have to use a stone or grind off the backs of the blades to make them workable.The steel is very good. Takes sharpening and honing very very well. I use both stones and diamond plates on this brand and it is very easy to sharpen and keeps an edge for a while. It's not brittle and it's not too hard, but it's not a soft metal by far. The factory edge felt like the burr was still on, and after a quick few swipes on a strop felt very sharp.The handle is just barely big enough, and the belly of the blade isn't very deep. It's a good 'bigger than a paring knife, smaller the a chef knife' general purpose knife.I would not feel comfortable handing this knife to someone who doesn't know how sharp the spine is. I have cut callouses on Henckel blades before, ripped right through. Be careful with a brand new blade.But after a little elbow grease these knives are the best dollar for value you can get. It behaves well above the 50-60$ price point they sell for; they are balanced, ergonomic (after you fix the spine issue), and the cutting edge is great. And if you don't mind putting a little effort into the finishing touches, which is where you can tell they saved a few dollars in manufacturing... these are excellent workhorses of a knife.I have the classic 8", classic 6.5" nakiri, and the statement 5" from Henckels. I don't like the handle on the 5"; it's tiny and I have larger hands. The classic 5.5" is very similar to that blade with a bigger handle and a slightly deeper belly.

I don’t like things to change, but I got this as a gift and SO glad I did! It’s a little larger than my previous knife, but just as comfortable and SO MUCH SHARPER. Chopping prep takes me less time and is more enjoyable with this knife. Buy it!!

Sharp blade out of the box.Not ergonomic. The edges of the metal are sharp and and not refined. The blade is not rounded or smooth near the handle, so it's easy to cut oneself while cooking and especially while cleaning.The handle material is cheaper than it used to be and also not refined smoothly. The handle color seems faded and low quality.I question if these are authentic.

I own several J.A. Henckels knives both the international Classic version and the Professional S, first thing I noticed was the quality of the blade was very poor and the second thing was there was no trade mark symbol next to the Henckels trademark. This is a knock off; the photo on the left is of a real Henckels knife and the photo on the right is the knock off I received. Notice the difference in markings