The 8" Chef's Knife--fabulous! (2009-01-02)
The 8' Chef's Knife is fabulous and such a bargain. I gave it to a friend who had us over for Thanksgiving dinner. She was delighted and continues to rave about it. I also have/use the 5" & 6" Chef's Knives--they are excellent and very useful.R.H. Forschner by Victorinox 8-Inch Chef's Knife, Black Fibrox Handle

Very disappointed, but price really tells all (2009-01-01)
This knife is AWFUL! It's extremely bulky and heavy, but furthermore it's not even sharp! Please,do yourself a favor and spend the extra $30-40 and get a Wusthof. Their knives are GREAT and they are a bit more expensive, but it's WORTH IT, I promise!

Great knife at an awesome price (2008-12-30)
I've had this knife for two years and it's the most durable object in my kitchen. I get really good use out of it. This is the only knife i use, apart from a serrated knife for bread/tomatoes. The make is solid, it fits snugly in the palm of my hand, the blade is perfectly sharp(i've used it every single day and haven't had to sharpen it until now), it's easy to clean and super economical. Just be careful until you get the hang of it. I have several nicks and cuts to show for my clumsiness and the knife's sharpness. I bought several pieces for friends and family and it never failed to delight the recipient. Why buy a high-end knife when you could get something just as good for much less?

This knife cut my work load in half (2008-12-30)
I love this knife. It is comfortable and has a very nice grip and arrives razor sharp. The first night I got it, I was amazed. I cook alot but had never invested in decent knives - wow! This cut my workload in half. It will slice a tomato razor thin. It sharpens easily and quickly. I can't believe it was as affordable as it was. I wish I'd spent the money long ago. I also got the paring knives and have found them to be lighter, but just as sharp and easy to sharpen.

Another glowing review (2008-12-29)
I love this knife. For starters, Forschner made the very smart move to grind it properly in the first place so that when it arrived, it was hair-shaving sharp right out of the box. Good first impression. I loved the feel of the handle and the wide blade -- both good for someone with big hands.

But before writing this review, I wanted to wait for the blade to dull and then resharpen it, to get an idea of its edge retention. So I waited. And waited. (Note that I am not a professional cook, but I am a serious home cook who makes almost everything from scratch and routinely throws multiple-course dinner parties for 10-20+ guests.) About 4 months later, with only occasional stropping as blade maintenance, I noticed the slightest drop in performance -- the blade still shaved hair, but needed more passes to clear a patch. So I busted out the whetstones and got an arguably sharper-than-the-factory edge with only minor effort and my quite meager sharpening skills. This is without reshaping the edge or taking down the fairly conservative factory angle.

Now here I am to write the review. This knife is fantastic. The only complaint i could begin to muster is that it looks like a cheap knife. If i could, i would give it a 4.9 star review on that basis. But as I prize function and value over form, it's certainly no biggie.

I actually prefer the forschner to my old roommate's Henckles (though certainly not to his Hiromoto gyuto - that thing was a lightsaber). But comparisons to high-end knives are beside the point. Compare this knife to any other $20 piece-of-junk knife I've seen and used in kitchens. The difference in blade quality is downright hilarious, forged or not. Heck, compare this knife to anything whatsoever in your kitchen that you paid $20-$25 for. In terms of bang for the buck, I have not seen a better deal available in kitchenware.

Edit: One other minor drawback of this knife that I only remembered after posting the review --
The knife doesn't come with a sheath, even a cheap cardboard one. And it's too wide to fit into most wooden knife blocks (the width is a good thing otherwise). Making your own sheath isn't hard at all, but I would advise people to either do that or get a magnetic knife strip rather than let it bang around in your drawers uncovered. A blade this nice deserves better.