YaxellMon 4.75-inch Utility Knife

In a vast sea of six-inch utility knives, this Yaxell Mon is the only utility knife with a reasonably short (4-3/4”) VG10 blade that I could find on Amazon. I find the shorter blade length to be handier for most of my purposes. Such knives have great utility indeed. I keep most of my knives, sheathed, in drawers. But this one is always out on my counter top, In easy reach, with its super sharp blade protected by an edge guard. Its proportions make it a mini chef’s knife.Nearly all knives on Amazon with the superior VG10 steel blades have the faux Damascus treatment. When mankind lacked the technology necessary to melt steel the Damascus method was the only way to make steel swords from raw iron. In that era, Damascus steel was indeed superior. But nowadays steel is easily melted, and the Damascus treatment serves only a cosmetic purpose. As evidence of that fact, notice that the Damascus treatment of current VG10 knives is applied only to the cladding outer layers, not the VG10 core that bears the knife edge.As for cosmetics, it’s personal preference, but I find the elegantly simple glass beaded finish of this knife more appealing than the flashy faux Damascus finishes.Its Micarta haft is beautiful, and very nicely made. The Micarta-metal joins at the bolster, end cap, and rivets are essentially undetectable by touch. On the other hand, the finish is smoother than I prefer. I’d like some texture for a more secure grip when the knife is wet.BTW, the Amazon description of this knife is somewhat incorrect. It says:“Blade core is made from 3-layer Japanese Cobalt Molybdenum Vanadium VG10 superior stainless steel, clad by high quality stainless steel from both sides.”In fact, the blade core is a single layer of VG10 steel, as you would expect.A note about the name, YAXELL MON: YAXELL is the manufacturer, MON is the style (the glass beaded finish). YAXELL RAN style knives have the common faux Damascus treatment.I found a good felt-lined edge guard for this nifty knife on Amazon: DkOvn 4.7” x 1”. It’s seen in the photo I provided for this review, and just spans the sharp edge of the knife.

Really superb petty knife. Perfect blade shape , not too narrow but not too wide, also very rare comfortable handle shape and size. Perfect compliment to fill the gap after 90mm/3.5” paring knife because 4” pairing knives in my opinion are too long for paring but too short for in - between petty knives jobs. This knife 4.6”/117 mm length just ideal for me. The matte finish unlike glossy kitschy Damascus looks simply wonderful. Price is decent too, so win win here!

Took a chance on a lesser known Japanese knife maker. The knife came perfectly fit and razor sharp. San mai construction of VG10 over VG10, the knife has a decorative weld line that suggests something like a hamon (differential temper) line. While I suspect it is purely decorative and adds little to the function of the knife, it is lovely to look at. The knife is light in hand, a little handle heavy, but extremely comfortable. After a couple weeks of use, I am very pleased.The VG10 steel is much more rust resistant than some of the comparably priced knives I have purchased in the past. Compared to the Shun Kanso Nakiri of AUS10A and Shun Sora san mai build of 420J over VG10, both of which had superficial rust after minimal use, I much prefer the full VG10 construction. To be fair, the Shun knive's rust wiped away with very little effort - just a soft cloth with a little aluminum oxide polish.As of now, I prefer the Yaxell to the Shun offerings. Would recommend and intend to pick up other Yaxells in time.

Super sharp knife made in Japan.

I love this lil knife its very sharp and handy in the kitchen at work. Its been almost a week using the little guy and the blade is bended.