NORA Boning Knife #1160 - Quilted Maple

{ Knife Details }

Metal: AEB-L

Blade Length: 7 inches

Total Length: 12 inches

Handle Material(s): Stabilized Quilted Maple, Brass Pins, Black/White G10 liner

Rockwell Hardness: 62

Grind Type: Flat with light convexing

USES & DESCRIPTION

As the name implies, boning knives are specifically made for butchering. This is our 7 inch boning knife which has a nice thin profile and a rigid blade which should serve you well when breaking down larger proteins. The thin blade is agile and highly maneuverable making easy work of separating meat from the bones. Please note that we make our boning knives with differing amounts of flex.  This knife has very little flex and is very rigid.  For some this is their preference where for others they like a lot of flex.  Its a personal preference but for full disclosure, this does not have a large amount of flex.

Each of our knives is handmade and numbered.  This boning knife, number #1160, is handled with a beautiful block of quilted maple and accented with several small stripes of black & white G10 as a liner near the blade. The maple is stabilized for durability and it makes for a very classic look on this knife.

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 not absorb water and is generally impervious to oils.  The process helps to ensure your knife has a long lifespan in the kitchen. 

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.