NORA #1481- 7.5' AEB-L Santoku - Blue Sea Shokwood

KNIFE HIGHLIGHTS

>>> Mid-Range with Special Geometry (specially ground for food release and glide but blade is kept slightly thicker for durability)

This Knife Feels...
>>>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.

HANDLE DESIGN & MATERIALS:

Every one of our knives is handmade, unique and numbered.  This NORA has been handled with a beautiful “Kansas Sky” Shokwood piece which has semi-translucent hues of swirled blue.  Shokwood is a hybrid mix of stabilized live edge wood and urethane based resins. This particular handle has a big leaf maple burl wood.  The nice thing about these handles is that this is wood that is usually thrown out by the mills since it is deemed unusable for most uses but it gets new life on this knife after being stabilized and with resin added.

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.

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.