Fortune Cookie NORA #1365- 7.5' AEB-L Santoku - Let them Eat Cake
$ 324.00
KNIFE HIGHLIGHTS
- Blade Type: Santoku
- Blade Length: 7.5 Inches
- Total Length: 12.6 Inches
- Handle Style: Western | Right or Left Hand Use
- Steel: AEB-L Stainless Steel
- Handle Materials: Teal Blue Kirinite (Acrylic Based Resin), Black G10 & Black Micarta Pins
- 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 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:
SANTOKU
Our version of a Japanese Santoku, this is an extremely versatile knife that functions similarly to a Chef knife. Santoku literally translates from Japanese as "three virtues" which refers to the three tasks this knife does exceedingly well: slice, dice, and mince. While Santoku knives generally lend themselves towards a chopping motion, we have also designed the blade with just enough belly to facilitate a slight rocking motion as well.
This is a revamp of our original "NORA" knife. We started by making a single Santoku design and that is all we sold our first year in business. Since then we have had roughly 4 different versions of our Santoku and I think we finally arrived on a blade profile and handle that really work great together.
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:
"Let them eat cake!"
This line has been traditionally attributed to the French queen, Marie Antoinette, who is said to have uttered these words upon being informed that her subjects were suffering due to widespread bread shortages.
Just to set the record straight, it's highly debatable that Ms. Antoinette ever even said this. Further, the quote actually translates from French as "Let them eat brioche." But honestly, who is choosing brioche over cake? Not us. Cake wins. We also like the idea of everyone eating cake. So there it is, completely sound logic on why this phrase is now found on our knife. Also, a good reminder that we all deserve some cake once in a while.
HANDLE DESIGN & MATERIALS:
Every one of our knives is handmade, unique and numbered. This NORA has a single piece of shimmering, teal blue Kirinite which is a proprietary acrylic-based resin product. We love the vivid color and the shimmering swirls in this resin. We decided to leave it be and let the handle itself shine. We added only a liner of black G10 for durability and complemented the look with black micarta pins.
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 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.