Fortune Cookie NORA #1361 - AEB-L Nakiri - A Boy Named Sue
$ 404.25
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, Stabilized Spalted Maple
- 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. 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)
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.
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 ring true with whomever adopts this knife.
This knife's "fortune" reads:
I tell ya, life aint easy for a boy named Sue
Now if you don't like Johnny Cash then this knife ain't for you
but if you've ever heard this song, then you've heard the tale of Sue.
And Sue didn't have things so easy, that's plain to see
But "easy" never was a good teacher to me.
So don't forget that the struggle gives you grit
And remember that our names all sound like Sue sometimes
at least a little bit.
Fun Fact #1: This song was written by Shel Silverstein.
Fun Fact #2: This is our favorite Johnny Cash song of all time which is really the only reason we needed to put this on a knife.
HANDLE DESIGN & MATERIALS:
Every one of our knives is handmade, unique and numbered. This NORA has an upper made of durable black G10 and a base of beautifully figured, stabilized spalted maple. It's a clean, classic look that we never get tired of.
Some people ask...what is G10? It is an incredibly strong & durable fiberglass laminate that was originally used in the electronics industry. It has been adapted in the knife making world and has proven to be an excellent material for handles as it has high strength, low moisture absorption and can be found in a variety of colors. Its one of our favorite materials to work with outside of wood and its damn near indestructible.
STEEL INFORMATION:
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.