A man who stabbed his victim ten times because he did not want to "lose face" has been jailed for seven and a half years.
Student Connor Moore, 18, almost died when he was attacked in the early hours of January 1, 2011.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard cleaner Michael Turnbull was seeking revenge for an earlier slap.
On Wednesday, a judge told the 23-year-old he was lucky he was not facing a murder charge.
Lady Smith said: "Knife assaults remain all too prevalent in our society and cases like this come before our courts all too often. The willingness of people like you to carry knives and put the lives of others at risk, particularly after consuming alcohol, just beggars belief.
"You launched nothing less than a wicked, reckless, vicious, brutal and unprovoked attack on him. Had Connor Moore not had the luck to receive prompt skilled medical attention he would have died."
Turnbull, from Edinburgh, previously pleaded guilty to attempted murder.
The court had heard Mr Moore and friends had been drinking and celebrating Hogmanay but was still "in control of himself." The group went to a late night bakery on Leith Walk to get something to eat.
There was an argument between Turnbull and Mr Moore which ended with Turnbull being hit and held on the ground. No one was hurt in the incident.
Soon afterwards, Mr Moore was walking a girl home when they heard footsteps behind them. They turned around to see Turnbull brandishing a knife.
He attacked Mr Moore, stabbing him ten times. He was left bleeding and struggling to breathe.
Defence advocate Ronnie Renucci said the story was "particularly common among young men in Scotland". Turnbull had attacked Mr Moore because he did not want "to lose face."
The court heard that Turnbull had previously been fined for carrying a samurai sword and for a drink-fuelled assault.
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