LOS ANGELES, CA – Shun (pronounced Shoon) is known worldwide for giving chefs, cooks and food lovers a knife with the sharpest blade that’s been handcrafted with a design like nothing else on the market today.
“In the great tradition of Seki’s sword smiths, every knife is handmade by highly skilled specialists and requires at least 100 handcrafted steps to complete. Every day, the legacy of ancient sword smiths serves as inspiration to the artisans in the Kai factories. Kai’s 100-year-old tradition of blade-making excellence, combined with the newest technology and the most advanced materials, makes every Shun knife a functional work of art,” http://shun.kaiusaltd.com/about.
The 8-inch chef knife is sleek, old worldly and yet it has a modern look. The shiny knife blade is perfectly balanced with the stainless steel logo embossed in the lightweight easy to grip handle.
This knife requires respect, trust and skills to use or at least the desire to learn all three. This knife is obviously wonderful for a restaurant chef who has built their world around food and food preparation, but is it a good buy for the home cook. We asked ourselves: what should you use this knife for, how to use it, how to handle it, how to clean it, where to keep it.
Thus our test is warranted.
Knife test:
Tomatoes: The knife sliced through them with ease like I’ve never seen before.
Cucumbers: Removed skin from the meat of the cucumber.
Cheese: Sliced the cheese thinly.
Panini: cut in half but we enjoyed cutting the fruits and vegetables rather than the sandwich (we are doing a show on Paired this Saturday 1:30 pm EDT about Panini’s which is why we use it)
Basil: Sliced with out bruising
Outcome:
Everything we sliced, which, has been more than what we listed was done with ease and precision. We followed the directions and used a locomotive motion when slicing rather than a hard up and down chopping motion. We also used the wooden cutting board, which was recommended to ensure the sharpness of the blade over time.
Pros:
First, the design and look will make any cook feel regal and important.
Second, the handle is comfortable to hold.
Third, the knife feels balanced, lightweight yet heavy enough to feel as if you are holding something.
Fourth, the knife is easy to clean.
Fifth, perfect cuts.
Sixth, for a great knife it’s a good buy at $100.
Cons:
First, the knife requires knowledge or at least dedication to learn how to cut properly so the blade isn’t damaged.
Second, it is so pretty that we didn’t want to touch it (not really a con, but it was true).
Overall Rating: 1 cup out of 1 cup. Sora 8-inch Chef’s knife by Shun is a great knife for the price. This is a good gift for anyone who loves to cook and wants to learn how to really use a knife properly and professionally.
Purchasing Info: The 8 inch Shun chef knife can be purchased on their website at http://shun.kaiusaltd.com/knives for $100. For more great cooking tips, recipes and stories from Chef Mary, visit her at commdiginews.com and her website at marypaynemoran.com
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