There’s no denying the fact that the Komachi knives offered by KAI, the makers of the well regarded Shun knives look a bit whimsical, if not a little silly. There are few knives on the market which bear significant resemblance to these knives.
Although a pro cook might well be laughed off the line if he or she were to pull out a knife looking anything like this, the colored resin coating the blades reports to have some hygienic benefits, and the colors used on the different types of knives do have at least a passing similarity to the colors used in HAACP programs designed to reduce likelihood of cross contamination of food and preparation surfaces.
Once you get past the pretty colors and cute cutouts in the handles (a tiny bread loaf in this case), the knives are all business and bear the hallmarks of a respected Japanese knife maker like KAI.
The construction is quite good and I would expect it to hold up well if used in its intended purpose. While this bread knife is a bit on the short side for my taste, I’m sure it would be good for home use or as a utility slicer in a pro setting. Were KAI to offer this knife in a longer model, I’d consider it to be on par with a comparable Forschner bread knife and predict it would perform as well, if not a bit better.
