It is a stick tang knife, the handle won't come off. It is a white steel, which gets very sharp, but will not stay sharp forever, if you are new to Japanese cutlery you will need to get some whet stones to work with to keep it in optimal performance. The white steel is clad with stainless, so corrosion issues will not be as much of a problem as they would with a full carbon knife, but you do need to exercise more care diligence than you would a Chicago Cutlery...
The knives are not consistant, some reports have excellent fit and finish, others not so much. There are now two options to purchase a thick and a thin. I bought mine when it was only the thin version and it cut well, but was "chippy", and needed to reduce the bevel angle and added a micro bevel to correct the issue. Reports that I have heard suggest the thicker versions do not cut well at all.
The knife that I had was severly lacking in the fit and finish department, including sharp spine, choil and some delamination issues. I was able to correct all the issues, in a night with some wet/dry sand paper, but is something you should be aware of.
In short, the knife takes some work to get it primed, if you don't want to put forth the work in a mid $200.00, I would not buy it.