The KAI Chef's Knife, an All-Rounder
The chef's knife is undoubtedly the most important knife in your knife block. It is versatile in its application and suitable for almost 90% of all cutting tasks. Therefore, you should take your time when choosing your chef's knife and choose the one that suits you best. It must fit properly in your hand and feel like a natural extension of your arm. Perhaps your favorite is a chef's knife from KAI.
Chef's knives are true all-rounders. Cutting vegetables, chopping herbs, filleting meat & fish, these are just some of the tasks for which a chef's knife is used. Chef's knives have an almost straight blade that curves upwards towards the tip. This makes them ideal for the preferred rocking motion used by European chefs. The slightly wider blade back provides the necessary stability.
The KAI Series
No matter which KAI series is your personal favorite, each series features a chef's knife.
The blades of the KAI Wasabi Chef's Knives are made of a special stainless steel with a hardness of +/- 58 HRC. The handle is made of a combination of plastic and bamboo powder. Blade lengths of 15, 20, and 23.5 cm are available.
The KAI Seki Magoroku Redwood Chef's Knives have blades made of Carbon 1K6 stainless steel with a hardness of +/- 58 HRC. The handle is made of North American Red Wood. Available blade lengths are also 15 and 20 cm.
The KAI Shun Chef's Knives are made of VG MAX steel. This hard core is wrapped in 32 layers of corrosion-resistant Damascus steel. The hardness is +/- 61 HRC. This combination gives the knives a stable blade that is both hard and elastic. The knives are rounded off with a handle made of laminated Pakka wood in chestnut shape. This shape fits perfectly in the hand. You can choose blade lengths of 15, 20, and 25 cm.
Then there are the KAI Kochmesser Tim Mälzer. The official title is KAI Shun Premier Tim Mälzer Edition. The blades are an advancement of the Shun Classic series: the VG-MAX core and the 32 layers of corrosion-resistant Damascus steel. In addition, a hammer-finished surface, known as Tsuchime in Japan, has been incorporated from the blade back to the middle of the blade. This gives the knives a hammer-like appearance and has a similar effect to kullens: the cutting material adheres less to the blade. The beautiful blade is combined with a dark, polished walnut wood handle in a symmetrical shape. With this series, you have to choose between 15 and 20 cm.
The KAI Seki Magoroku Composite series is spectacular. The 20 cm chef's knife combines two types of steel, which are connected in the middle by a special copper soldering. As a special detail, the fine copper line on the blade remains visible. The satin-finished blade back is made of SUS420J2 steel, while the high-gloss polished blade is made of VG MAX steel with a hardness of +/- 61 HRC. The handle made of light-colored Pakka wood gives the knife the dynamic appearance that is also evident in every use.
The choice is yours. Decide wisely and carefully. It should be your chef's knife, you should like it, and most importantly: cutting with it should bring you pleasure! And if you're still looking for a place for your knives: here you can find a KAI Kochmesser Messerblock.