NORA Nakiri #1347 - Star and Crescent

KNIFE HIGHLIGHTS

• Blade Type: Nakiri
• Blade Length: 6.5 Inches
• Total Length: 11.75 Inches
• Handle Style: Western | Right or Left Hand Use
• Steel: AEB-L Stainless Steel
• Handle Materials: Black G10, Black Micarta Pins, Copper Sheeting
• Rockwell Hardness: 62 HRC
• Grind Type: Full Flat 

• This Blade is Ground...
• Thin for Performance (best performance but delicate! No bones, no frozen food, hard squashes, etc. )
• Thick for Durability (tough, built to last for heavy wear-n-tear)
• >>> Mid-Range (good performance but blade is kept slightly thicker for durability)

• This Knife Feels...
• >>> Heavy in Hand (hefty, durable)
• Light (nimble, maneuverable)
• Not too heavy, not too light (Switzerland)

GENERAL USES OF THIS KNIFE:

NAKIRI

The Nakiri knife is a Japanese style knife that is specifically designed to excel at cutting and prepping vegetables and greens.  These blades are very thin and literally fall through food. Because of the thinness, these blades should not be used for cutting through any type of bone or harder objects but you would be surprised at the versatility of the Nakiri. We find we use ours for a wide array of tasks in the kitchen - everything from protein prep to bread.

The blade height is just over 2 inches which is larger than many other Nakiri's but we find it helps keep your knuckles off the board and it works well with many larger vegetables.  Please know that the larger blade height does make this a slightly hefty knife, as does the G10 handle which is dense by nature so this knife will have a good amount of weight to it.  Some like a heavier knife, others prefer to keep it light.  We just like to provide all of this info up front so you know exactly what you will be getting.

HANDLE DESIGN & MATERIALS:

Every one of our knives is handmade, unique and numbered.  This NORA was specifically made with the Islamic faith in mind, and is one in a small series of knives we made which each have a tie-in with various religions.  This is a one-of-a-kind knife and will never be reproduced.

We kept this NORA handle very clean, very simple to let the engraving shine. The handle is a durable black G10 accented with a single sheet of thin copper near the blade.  The copper is meant to be a small detail that you only catch after careful review of the knife.  The handle itself was chosen as a nod to the simple, unadorned black hijab/niqab/chador that is worn by many Muslim woman today.  

As mentioned before, this knife and the engravings were inspired by the Islamic faith and the main engraving on this knife centers around a Muslim woman, veiled in cloth and exposing only her eyes.  Full disclosure: my husband initially thought this engraving was a terrible idea.  "It's controversial and someone will get pissed off."  Maybe...but as a non-Muslim woman, I can't help but be intrigued and drawn in when I see a woman dressed in a Hijab or Niqab.  I wonder who that woman is, what she is like, what she does each day...its all a bit of a mystery which is both strange and intriguing to an outsider.  There is beauty in it which is why I chose to engrave it on this knife. 

Beyond the veiled woman on the blade, the engravings also reference a grouping of Ramadan lanterns which have become associated with the Muslim faith due to their extensive use during the month of Ramadan.  Finishing the lineup of engravings is a decorative crescent and star which is a symbol of the former Ottoman Empire and, by popular extension, the Islamic world.  Its a beautiful knife and we really love how it all came together on this one.  

STEEL INFORMATION:

AEB-L STAINLESS STEEL

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 higher carbon content in this stainless is what allows it to get a fine edge and higher hardness than 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 scotch brite pad and usually the rough end of a kitchen sponge will also do the trick.