Instruct: Classify a review into positive or negative sentiment.
Query: Good mid-range Japanese-style knife

I'd say this knife met my expectations, although contrary to the other reviews I read, I didn't find this knife substantially sharper than any other mid-priced knife I've purchased. I bought this as a sample to determine the differences between the Japanese style and German style knives to see which I preferred; the differences are about what one would expect: this knife cuts more at a diagonal due to the single-sided cutting edge, which must be compensated for. Still, it's a fine carving knife.Pros:Looks very nice, even compared to more expensive knivesCuts as well as Henckels' International series, once the diagonal is adjusted forCons:Matte blade surface is an interesting appearance, but makes it somewhat harder to cleanHandle is rather lightweight for a knife of this lengthFor an introductory Japanese knife, this one is decent, especially considering its low price when compared to the mid-grade German knives.