KATSURA Woodworking 8in Gyuto Chef Knife Kit

TL/DR: Low quality chinese blade, terrible tang made a different super soft metal, not real damascus. Fun project but not a quality item you're going to be proud to display in your kitchen or to give as a gift to anyone who knows anything about good knives.Finishing of the blade was great, very well polished and sharp out of the box. I wanted to give these kits a try since other blanks can cost a lot more if you're a casual DIYer who enjoys knife making. I usually do smaller knives, pocket, bushcraft, daily carry etc. I did attempt to increase the etch on this knife with an acid dip which is when I realized it is most certainly not damascus. Its some type of laser etched pattern. The finish and fit of the tang is terrible. On the knife I received the pommel was different on each side of the tang which looks ridiculous if you get your eye on it for more than a second. I shaped it as best as possible on my belt sander but its obvious it is not perfect. Overall, yes it was fun to sculpt some handle scales for this knife and the mosaic pin and press fit pins it comes with are pretty good if you have a counter sink bit and a good arbor or hydraulic press. I would not recommend this if you're looking to make yourself or someone you care about an "heirloom" peice to use in their kitchen. Its a fun training exercise at best.