I had a 30.00 knife that was honestly much sharper and so much cheaper. I do love the weight balance and feel in the hand as well as a product with a well known name. I have wondered if it’s defective at times due to the cheaper one working so much better for me. At home I don’t think I would pay the difference again but if I worked in a kitchen where constantly using a knife could create issues, I would hands down want this one for the difference in comfort for a task that large. For home use though…I’m not convinced it is worth the price point. It won’t give a clean cut on a tomato. It squishes a bit and then cuts through the mush. The cheaper one was heavier and sharper and would make very clean cuts through tomatoes with no effort. I’mHonestly going back to it, but for a professional chef who is in the kitchen all day this knife will be much easier on your hands and wrist.I’ve had this knife for a few years now. It is my go to knife. It stays sharp, it’s very balanced and is a joy to use. I have used other Santuko knives and they just were ok. They worked well for their purposes slicing and chopping vegetables. I use this one 9 out of 10 times I reach for a knife. It glides though meats, bread, vegetables and even your fingers if you aren’t careful.Used to work in restaurants cooking, then moved on to actually get paid. Missed having a good chef knife and just settled with a semi dull knife. Watching Gordon Ramsay chopping veggies, I was annoyed I couldn’t rock on like he was, anymore. So I looked at the knife he was using and it was this one. Hit Amazon and it was at my door. Wow... first foray into it and I was reliving my glory days. Soooo sharp. Had to clean up my habits as I got distracted and knife made decent slice on my fingernail. Don’t get people complaining about it getting rust... don’t leave a quality knife wet and don’t toss it in dishwasher for God’s sake. Takes me 20 seconds to handwash and dry. Take care of your tools. I handwash mine after each use and quick hand dry and back in knife magnet. Zero rust and still incredibly sharp after 3 months of use. Also, don’t drag blade along cutting board to move your food. Flip it over and use the top or lightly drag food with knife. That will save your knife edge a lot of wear.I have a few kitchen knives and I prefer the santoku style over a regular chef's knife. Since I hadn't ever owned a Wusthof, I was little leary of the price. I knew it was a reputable manufacturer, but I'm picky on how knives feel in my hand. This knife is on the heavier side and you can feel it. I love the hollow edge as food slides right off the blade. Remember that any knife will loose it's edge over time, you'll want to hit a honing steel with a couple of strokes before cutting just to true it up. I can't believe I waited so long to finally add this knife to my bag.This knife is a quality knife. I've had the Wusthof Classic Santoku for several years, it became my "go to" knife. I always hand wash my knives. The handle has developed several cracks. I know I can send it back to Wusthof on a lifetime warranty, which I will do. This knife compared to that one makes my old "go to" knife seem so cheap. This knife is beautifully balanced and is so very sharp. I looked around for something to cut. I found half a lemon and made several paper thin knife cuts. It went through that lemon like butter. My "go to" couldn't do that, even though it was sharp. If you're looking for a better knife get this one. It's really sharp so be mindful and careful.I got The Wusthof Classic Ikon Santoku 5" knife after researching about the different tiers of models and their craftmanship. The Classic Ikon line I would consider Wusthof's middle-of-the pack line of knives. Before I did my research, I have already purchased a set of Gourmet line knives (entry level). Let me tell you, The quality between the two lines is like night and day.The balance, quality and ergonomic on the Classic Ikon santoku is amazing. Very light weight and cuts up vegetables and boneless meats with ease. I am a lefty in a world of righties, so this fits well on either hand. This fact (along with pricing) is a reason why Shun knives with their cool Demascus blade out of the equation: because of their special "D" handles makes them -handed specific...but I digress.I am an amateur when it comes to cutlery and cooking, but when friends and family come over and help prepare the meal, I always get the "woah!" expression when they use this knife. It also helps that I have my set on a magnetic rack on the wall to showcase them. My sister was so impressed that I instantly knew what to get her for Christmas.Keep in mind that when you do need to sharpen this knife, to do it with an Asian knife sharpener. It has a sharper angle than other knives like the Chef's knife. I believe it's 15 degrees for Asian knives like the santoku versus 20 degrees on the others like the Chef's.From an amateur's perspective, this is the best knife I have ever used (except for the all-mighty butter knife!).I love the handle in the Ikon line. Knife is beautiful and balance is perfect but... Wusthof metal is too soft and it dulls fast even with regular use of sharpening steel and wusthof sharpener. I'm not skilled enough to use sharpening stone. Would recommend knifes from Japanese manufacturers with harder steel like MAC Pro.Our 7" version of this knife was by far our most used kitchen knife. The price of this 5" version made it seem like a luxury and indeed, I looked at it for years before taking the plunge. We've had it less than a month but it's already the most used kitchen knife. The 7" gets used much less now.I've always found it difficult or at least tricky to sharpen kitchen knives. The neat thing about these knives is they go years without needing to be sharpened. Our 7" has yet to be sharpened and it's been used daily for some years now.This knife is expensive but you really do get what you pay for. I was sceptical at first, a knife is a knife right, but this really is like slicing through warm butter when cutting pretty much anything.Even when slicing herbs finely, some knives have a tendency to just mush things together or won't cut the entire strip of herbs, but these slices all the way through without any effort.Highly recommend you get a sharpening steel with it (although I didn't get a Wüsthof as it is simply too much).You get what you pay for, extremely sharp!PS as you can see in my picture, its got different writing on the blade. I contacted Wusthof who confirmed it to be their brand new design.I can't fail a single thing here.Handle fits perfectly in my hand, the knife blade has an ideal angle for my use and mild curve allows fast and easy chopping of herbs and garlic.I've found it well balanced and ideal for my daily use in the kitchen.But if you are not used to having a santoku knife, let alone very, very sharp knife - first few tasks will surely require some carefulness. My wife has never used this sort of knife before and she has found it a bit challenging at first. Now even she can use it with the same confidence as I do.Great knife indeed - really an extension of your hand.Very pleased. Very good quality. I was skeptical at paying, what to me, was a high price, but I'm glad I did. Super sharp. As described on internet and Google sites. Fast delivery also. DON'T buy a pull through sharpener, not even a Wusthof one, but use a whetstone, oilstone or special knife sharpening device only. Pull through sharpeners will change the cutting angle.I'm writing this review after one day of owning the product - not ideal, but I can't wait.I bought this knife as a treat after having had an operation. I didn't know what benefits to expect, but I wanted to treat myself anyway.After preparing one meal, which involved chopping potatoes, carrots, cauliflower and chicken, I'm amazed.It was just like a knife through butter!I think I'm going to reverse one of my life's rules, which was never again to attempt to cut-up a butternut squash. It should be easy now!