This is the place to start your Shun Sora collection: the Sora Chef's Knife. Of course you know it's the essential kitchen knife. But what you might not know is that since the Sora line features traditional Japanese blade and handle shapes, in Japan, the Sora 8" Chef's Knife would be called a gyuto. It's used for all the same purposes as a chef's knife-all-around food preparation. But the Sora Chef's has less curve than a Western chef's knife, which means it contacts the cutting board along more of its length, so more food is cut per slice. Once you try the Sora Chef's Knife, you'll wonder what you ever did without it. The Shun Sora Ultimate Utility Knife is part of the Shun Sora line that provides exceptional handcrafted Shun quality at an amazing price. Sora uses Shun's proprietary Composite Blade technology to bring together a VG-10 san mai cutting edge with a Japanese 420J stainless steel upper. This technology puts high-performance material exactly where it's needed-on the edge. The two blade sections are laser cut, then fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Braze welding permanently joins them. The attractive wavy pattern at the joint is based on traditional Japanese sword hamon lines. While Sora's blade shapes and handle design are traditional Japanese, the textured PP/TPE polymer blend handle material provides a contemporary look, secure grip and balance, and is easy to maintain.