Monday, April 19, 2010

Hi everyone as you all know I have been away for a short while. I just needed to take a short hiatus to recoup, reorganize, reenergize and regroup. I just wanted you to know that I am back and will continue to give you wonderful posts on recipes, bentos and tips.


Before my short hiatus I enter a contest held by Eric Ackerson @My Hungry Tum. I usually don’t enter contests but I really liked his blog and was fascinated by how it was written. The contest was to win a Bob Kramer Series Shun Utility Knife. I have to admit that I had never heard of the knife brand before but when I saw the photo of the knife I fell in love with it. I could tell that it was a high quality knife by the pattern you can see on the blade. That pattern is created by the forging of multiple layers of stainless steel together which creates a strong, flexible and sharp blade. You may ask where I learned something like this well I remembered seeing a program about how a Katana or “Samurai sword” is made and it uses a similar process. After entering the contest I decided to do a search on this knife to learn more about it and came a cross a video here.

Each knife is meticulously crafted by 150 expert artisans to achieve the precise heft, balance and shape of Bob Kramer’s original design. The 3mm steel blade is composed of an SG2 core (64-66HRC) clad with true pattern-welded nickel and Damascus stainless steel for a beautiful, razor-sharp and lasting edge.
Gently rounded and richly grained red and black Pakkawood handle is crafted in Bob’s signature contoured shape, and mirrors the curve of the palm for a wonderfully natural hand-feel.
Use this utility knife for jobs smaller than those that require a chef’s knife.
Made in Japan.

I must say the performance of this knife is wonderful. As you can see the knife is cutting through the chicken like it was butter. I must however let you know that the chicken here has been slightly frozen to make it stiff enough to be able to cut thin slices. Note I learned this trick from watching the last The Next Food Network Star program. In one of the episodes Melissa d'Arabian used this technique to make chicken slices that where very thin. However I must tell you that I tried this same technique with my old knife with not so good results. Although my old knife is sharp and of good quality and it can cut slices of chicken breast just not as good. I found out from my research that keeping your blades honed is a necessary task. So I will be buying a honing tool to use for my old knives but for my Shun I will be sending that into the company to have them hone it for me.


As you can see in the photo above the slices were so thin you are able to clearly see the outline of the knife underneath the slice of chicken. As you can see in the photo below the slices came out beautifully.


This knife has become an intricate part of my cooking. Although I can use it for almost everything from cutting meat to cutting vegetables I don’t like to cross use my knives. So I am looking into buying more of the Shun brand knives for my various cooking needs.

However, I did try it out on vegetables before using it on my meat products and the results were just as wonderful. When I was creating my j-cation bento contest entry I used it to cut the red pepper I used to make various parts of my Maneki Neko. As you can see I was able to cut small then slices that were perfect for the paw.


I must say that winning this knife has been another step in my cooking education which I feel is a never ending process. I want to thank Eric @My Hungry Tum for having this contest. The world of the Shun knife has been introduced to me and I don’t think I can ever go back to the ordinary.




12 comments:

Whats Cookin Italian Style Cuisine said...

very nice welcome back missed your posts!

Lia Chen said...

Hi Marisa! Glad to see your post again. That knife is so cool ... can make those thin cuts. Congrats to you to win that knife :)

Susan Yuen said...

Glad to have you back and wow, that is a beautiful knife!

Marisa Lyn said...

Hey Claudia, Sometimes you just have to step away to regroup. I'm glad to be back too. I have to catch up on your posts. Can't wait always something good there.

Marisa Lyn said...

Hi Lia, Thanks I'm glad to be back. I had a lot going on so I needed to step away. I really love this knife too and it does do a wonderful job.

Marisa Lyn said...

Hey Susan, Thanks. Yeah who knew a knife could be termed as beautiful. This knife is spoiling me. Can't go back to mediorcre. Oh wow I may have another obsession besides bentos. :~)

Bentobird said...

Nice to see you back, with an excellent post on what looks like an almost magical chef's tool!

Marisa Lyn said...

Hi Jenn, hee hee, I absolutely love the performance of this knife. I don't usually win contests so this makes it extra special to win something as beautiful as this knife.

Ingrid said...

Congrats on winning this beauty. You need great tools to be able to make extra ordinary things like these super thin chicken slices. I never heard of this brand before. Thanks for pointing it out.

Marisa Lyn said...

Hey Ingrid, yeah this knife is so great I'm looking into getting some more. I never thought I could refere to a knife as beautiful but it really is. It's even more beautiful in person. I'l post a review as I get more of these knives so keep a look out.

Eric Ackerson said...

I just saw this post highlighted and remember with fondness and a bit of sadness the day I packed this up and mailed it to you...
On the other hand, I was convinced that you were the right person to get this knife. I realized after first holding it that it was perfect for bento.
Shun makes some of the best knives in the world and Bob Kramer is a genius in functional and beautiful blade and handle design. So happy it is being loved!

BTW for honing, you don't need to send it in to Shun. Just get a good honer and give it a few swipes on a 25% angle before each use and it will remain razor sharp for much longer...

Send it to them when it needs a new professional edge. About every 2-3 years for most at home cooks...

Marisa Lyn said...

Hey Eric, long time no see. It's so good to hear from you. Yes the Shun has been a great addition and I've been looking at getting more. Last week I had been revisiting my old posts too because I had been away for a while because of a down computer. I looked at that post and thought wow I still can't beleive I actually won it. I love that knife. I wash it imediately after every use so that the cleaning is easy and I keep it in the box when not in use.

Thanks for the advice about the honing I'll remember that. I remember as a child watching my dad honing his knives and was so amazed at watching him do it so I know I can depend on him for advice.

Eric thank for everything and for stopping by and leaving the commment. I had been having a very bad day today and your comment cheered me up.

God bless you and your family.
Marisa