Fortune Cookie NORA #1364 - 7.5' AEB-L Stainless Kiritsuke - Chef's Creed
$ 364.00
KNIFE HIGHLIGHTS
- Blade Type: Kiritsuke
- Blade Length: 7.5 Inches
- Total Length: 11.65 Inches
- Handle Style: Western | Right or Left Hand Use
- Steel: AEB-L Stainless Steel
- Handle Materials: Black G10, Brass Pins, White G10 liner, Stabilized Wood of Unknown Nature (but its awful pretty and derives from the Pacific Northwest)
- Rockwell Hardness: 62 HRC
- Grind Type: Full Flat Hybrid - Performance Grind (3 different bevels, blended)
- This Blade is Ground...
- Thin for Performance (best performance but delicate)
- Thick for Durability (tough, built to last for heavy wear-n-tear)
- >>> Mid-Range with Special Geometry (specially ground for food release and glide but blade is kept slightly thicker near spine for durability)
- This Knife Feels...
- >>>Heavy in Hand (Hefty. Durable. G10 is, by its nature, a very dense material so this one has some heft. If you prefer a very light knife, this will not be the best fit for you. If you like a little weight to your knife, this will be damn near perfect.)
- Light (nimble, maneuverable)
- Not too heavy, not too light (Switzerland. Nicely balanced for the size of the knife.)
GENERAL USES OF THIS KNIFE:
KIRITSUKE KNIFE
This blade shape is our take on the traditional Japanese Kiritsuke knife.
A Kiritsuke knife is one of the very few Japanese knives that is considered multi-purpose. It is a hybrid between a Yanagi (fish slicer) and a Usuba (vegetable knife.). A Kiritsuke knife works well for slicing and breaking down protein but it also excels at vegetable prep. and general purpose tasks. In Japanese kitchens, the Kiritsuke knife is reserved only for the executive Chef as a sign of respect and also due to the skill needed to efficiently use these knives.
Our Kiritsuke design does not have as flat of a belly as the more traditional Japanese style knives. We have done this to allow just the slightest amount of rock in the cut. We feel it adds a bit more versatility to the knife.
ENGRAVING:
This knife falls into a small batch we made that we dubbed our "fortune cookie" batch. All of the engravings in this batch are located on the spine of the knives and all have some form of text. The text isn't necessarily a fortune, but rather a line, quote or saying that resonates with us for whatever reason. The hope is that maybe the saying or text will resonate with whomever adopts this knife.
This knife's "fortune" reads:
This is my knife. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
This is a play on the Rifleman's Creed. The way we see it, a Chef likely feels about his knife the same way a soldier feels about his gun. So...we put it on a knife. Take care of your tools and they will help take care of you.
HANDLE DESIGN & MATERIALS:
Every one of our knives is handmade, unique and numbered. This NORA has a base of ultra durable black G10 paired with a stabilized wood that we can't honestly tell you what it is. It hails from the Pacific Northwest and has some beautiful spalting and color. We added a white liner behind the handle and brass pins as accents.
Wood stabilization is an added feature that we offer with our knives. Wood that is stabilized has been injected with a clear acrylic resin under a vacuum process. Stabilization helps to minimize, if not eliminate, any cracking, warping, shrinkage and/or expanding of the material. Stabilized wood will absorb very little water and is generally impervious to oils. The process helps to ensure your knife has a long lifespan in the kitchen.
STEEL INFORMATION:
This knife blade is composed of AEB-L stainless steel which is a high-quality Swedish metal, originally developed for razor blades. Recently, steel suppliers have made this steel available in thicker sheets and it has proven to be an excellent adaptation for the cutlery industry.
AEB-L has a beautiful balance of carbon and chromium and, with proper heat treatment, this steel produces both a very fine edge as well as excellent toughness and edge stability. The fine grain structure also makes this steel very easy to sharpen. We believe it is one of the finest stainless steels available on the market today for use with kitchen knives.
As a side note, there are two things we like to mention about this steel:
1.) This steel responds beautifully to honing and if the knife is honed regularly it should need infrequent sharpening.
2.) AEB-L is a stainless steel but just barely. The concept of stainless steel is very misleading because every steel is, at some level, reactive to water and other elements.
The higher carbon content in this stainless is what allows it to get a fine edge and higher hardness compared to many other stainless steels but it also has a tendency to sometimes form very fine rust spots on the blade. If this happens, these are easily removed with a green or red scotch brite pad and usually the rough end of a kitchen sponge will also do the trick. Take extra care to remove any excess wetness that remain on this blade. Drip drying is NOT recommended.