Sora 7" Hollow Ground Santoku Knife | Handcrafted Japanese All Purpose Knife, VG10 Steel Edge and 420J Stainless Steel Blade, Balanced Handle

I absolutely love these knives. The profile of the blade is great and they are really sharp right out of the box. I purchased the Santoku, 8" chef, 6" Chef, Utility, Ultimate Utility, bread knife, and pairing knife. Not only are they a great looking set of knives to display in your kitchen, but they truly do take your cooking to another level. Some people complain that the polymer handle feels cheep, but these knives are perfectly priced for what they are. The polymer grip is comfortable and its profiled it such a way that it looks great. These knives truly show the mastery knife making at work at Sora. I also have a some Wusthoff Classics, Messermeister Elites, and a set of the Calphalon Katana. The Classics and Elites I love. The Katanas not so much. These Soras are the best knives in this price range and I love them. My favorite out of all of them has to be the 7" Santoku, but all of the others are great to. Some people say they got rust spots on these knives. Well more expensive knives have a good side and a bad side. They are great because you get better blade profiles, with a blade that holds an edge a lot longer and is much easier to sharpen, but the down side is they are prone to rust. You shouldn't just leave these knives laying in a wet sink for days like you can do with cheaper knives. You should do that with any higher end knife because they will all get rust spots. Also I can not stress this enough. Do not put these knives in the dishwasher. When you finish using them. Hand wash them in soap and water. Hand dry them really good and put them back on your knife rack. Also make sure you knife isn't wet from placing wet knives on it. Putting your good knives on a wet knife rack is a good way to get rust spots. These really are great knives that are very easy to take care of with a little respect and a few steps, and these are possibly the best knives in the price range. These or the Messermeister Elites. Though the elites are a little more expensive than these. You will not regret buying these Soras'. Also if you purchase these. Get yourself a nice knife rack to display them. The beautifully crafted knives look way to go to be thrown in a knife block or drawer.

Great home-use (and entry-level professional use) knife from KAI/Shun. I use this knife way more than my Henkel or Wusthof knives. It holds a better edge, is more comfortable, and extremely versatile. I use Shun professionally and love their knives, but I needed something that would still be good at home, but that I wouldn't cry over if my wife or in-laws messed up. This completely fits the bill. The thin blade is easy to touch up and keep sharp. Its high polish helps it resist rust (yes, even 'stainless' can rust under certain conditions and uses), and it has a comfortable and easy-to-grip handle. Don't throw this in your dishwasher, or you'll ruin it. Also, invest (it isn't expensive) in a decent soft-wood cutting board, and you'll experience a much sharper knife for much longer. If you read the instructions that come with it, plastic boards will dull it very quickly, and for the love of God in heaven, don't use a glass, corian, or other hard board with ANY knives.

Great knife. Very sharp blade. The handle is quite elegant and fits nicely in the hand. I find this size knife to be the most versatile and most often used knife in my kitchen. A very nice knife, with a very nice blade that is also built to survive regular day-in-day-out use.

I'm a knife addict. There, I've said it and not being in denial anymore has truly set me straight, made me think about the future...made me want to help the world where it's most dire. As real as Hammer pants in the 90s and just as unbelievable as Muslims and Jews both, like, super totally not ordering sausage on their pizza, that opening verbal poo-poo was just foreplay to distract you from this... !!!THIS KNIFE IS FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!!! I work nights at a bar in Las Vegas and I although I do have a healthy obsession with knives, it's kind of ridiculous that I once was a tad bit late putting an order up; I was insanely worried about how much acid my superduper-dopesauce knife of "other" Japanese pedigree just endured and I HAD to clean and dry it immediately. In the middle of a rush. Yeah, I'm still catching crap from that. Enter the Shun Sora Santoku (I sooooo dig the alliteration) as Shun's idea of an entry level knife. I say idea because whoever came up with it deserves free food for life at the Cheesecake Factory and a puppy. I'm sure you've used a santoku and I'm almost positive you agreed with the astute chef Jordan saying, "it doesn't make for a good chef's knife". All true and appropriate with a big buffet of YES, but he/she didn't mention the single most unicorn-like reason this knife is amazing: it's a Shun, made by real Japanese folks, in real life Japan...for UNDER SEVENTY BUCKS. I own three Shun's and except for the handle of the SSS (which is great at work) it has the authentic, no bullcrap Shun feel. The folks at Shun didn't call this one in or have the B squad from the basement have a crack at it, nope. This is solid Shun work at work without the ever present anxiety of having an irreplaceable blade at your station. This awesome freak of the knife world has put in about fifteen solid hours of restaurant paced prep (yes I work at a bar...an AWESOME bar with a scratch made restaurant menu...) and being the knife whore that I am, I know within an hour if it will be a new sister knife to the other beautiful blades in my bag. The SSS had me with its nimble negotiation of teres major cleaning and portioning and immediately to tomato butt dicing (my lame term for salvaging the ends of tomatos that are usually trashed. Although I do use a serrated fella to get slicy). If anyone actually read this, congratulations, you earn a puppy, too. I have a great Shun to use at work and if a disaster happens there, I will probably offer help to humans rather than run for a knife. I can't say that about some of my other blades.

Very good and comfortable to use. It's my go-to knife now. Wished I had known about it years ago. Looks beautiful, right weight when using and holds its edge. Reasonable price.

Great knife, super sharp, well balanced and holds an edge. Highly recommend.

This review is the same as all of my other reviews of the Shun Sora Knives and that is....This knife is very elegant and I love using it. It has a very sharp blade which is really nice to use and to look at. This knife will cleanly slice through bread, vegetables and meats like no other knife that I have ever used. The ergo's on the handle are extremely nice and it fits in hand really well. All in all this is very impressive knife. My only complaint (and why I gave it 4 stars and not 5) is with the flexibility of the blade. This knife and all of the other knives in the Shun Sora collection all make a scary sound when you flex them from side to side. I am not sure if it is coming from the handle or the blade itself. It sounds like the blade will snap in half if you flex it more than a few degrees to either side. This knife was not cheap but not too expensive however, I am not willing to test the lateral strength of the blade to see if it will hold up to hard use. Granted it is a kitchen knife and not made for hard use but I feel that a kitchen knife has to be able to flex from side to side without fearing it will break.

I love Shun knives! This Santoku knife is the mid-range Shun with an attractive Japanese tang and a shaped polymer handle rather than wood. More on that later. Shun knives feel great in the hands, hold a very sharp, provide an easy to keep sharp Asian angle edge, and have been very durable in use. Attractively packaged, Shun knives are not only safe during opening (easy) but good for gift giving. The Santoku knife is a general purpose blade that would be the one knife you would want in your drawer. It is well suited to general cutting, chopping, and slicing tasks. The near perfect length and width for so many activities -- it will be your first choice out of the drawer. For anyone considering their first knife or for gift giving, this is “the knife”. For my own use, I like a knife that allows you to clutch the upper portion of the blade between your thumb and index fingers during cutting activities. I have preferences for the type and shape of handle based on the same. For this Shun, I prefer this particular handle configuration, and have purchased a couple of Shun knives with the exact same handle. The polymer-plastic is strong and comfortable. The shape is fine for general holding and use, and perfect for the finger-thumb clutch. These knives are literally razor sharp out of the box, and slicing through a tomato, onion, or hard squash can be a revelatory experience. With the exception of the harder squash, requiring more force, the (suspected) robotic demons armed with rotating surgical cutters on the cutting edge of these Shun knives cut cleanly, quickly and like the proverbial hot knife through butter! As I tell family members who seem to keep perennially dull knives in their own kitchens --"a sharp knife is safer than a dull knife". Less than sharp knives are quite irritating and a safety hazard when I do not have my Shuns available in alternate kitchens! Keeping Shun knives sharp is easy, but be sure to select the proper "santoku/asian" angle. I prefer this Chef's Choice 463 Pronto Santoku/Asian Manual Knife Sharpener for regular use. For the price, Shun knives provide a super value in Japanese blades with great construction, excellent feeling during use, attractive appearance, and high durability. I have not hesitated to purchase a number of similar Shun knives and still have a couple to go. Compare and buy one of the best!

Shiny and sharp. Great entry level Shun knife. Highly recommended for anyone looking to upgrade from basic kitchen knives.

goodo

Tal como se describe. Auténtico de Japón, multiusos, ligero, de facil manejo y con buena retención de filo. El precio es muy bueno ya que es un producto de excelente calidad. Requiere cuidado con protector de filo, no debe ser golpeado ni usado para intentar partir hueso. Requerirá ser afilado y darle mantenimiento al filo con el uso.

Excelente qualidade, leve, fina e versátil. O formato da lâmina parece uma mistura de santoku com gyuto. Vale cada centavo.

Extremamente afiada e tomando os devidos cuidados, é uma faca para a vida toda. Uma verdadeira obra de arte!