The Shun Premier 6-1/2-Inch Utility Knife from Shun’s Tim Malzer series will find plenty of use in your kitchen with a blade long enough to serve as slicer, prep knife, and sandwich cutter. The hand-hammered Damask steel and re-designed walnut Pakkawood handle made the Premier product line Blade Magazine’s 2010 choice for Kitchen Knife of the Year.
German celebrity Chef Tim Malzer’s belief that good knives not only make the work easier but lend to more success in the kitchen will be proven over and over with this versatile cutter. Utility knives often hold a slot in between the knives we really use, but the quality of this one bridges the gap. Unless you own other Premier knives, you’ll be using this one wherever possible.
Cutting action really is noticeably better, since the tsuchime or hammered finish of the 33-layer high carbon stainless steel blade reduces the drag of the knife even more than the already good rippling of Damask steel. Edge-holding is exceptional due to the durable and hard central core of SG-10 steel. The higher quality of SG-10 allows hardening to Rockwell 60 to 62. This combines with a more acute sharpening bevel of 16 degrees on each side for a thinner, sharper, and harder cutting edge than the European or American cutlery standard.
Real hardwood provides the material for the Pakkawood grip but out-performs natural hardwood by permeating thin layers of real wood with hard resin. The sheets stack into a solid piece of what still looks like natural black walnut, but the durability and polish gets much better. Yielding to western preferences, Shun redesigned the grip of the Premier series for more comfort as well as more style.
For a flexible, serrated sandwich utility knife from Shun, see the Shun Classic U2 Ultimate Utility Knife.
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