In the Michel Bras collection, this is the one that most nearly resembles the traditional Laguiole knife. Easy to handle, the Shun Kai Michel Bras No. 7 Table Knife is also good at carving your favourite roast.
The ten knives in the set of Michel BRAS embody the optimum of function and beauty. Each has a distinct blade flexibility and subtle handle form. The assembly procedures are all carefully completed by hand.
They are more than just cutlery. Indeed these cooking implements are more like precious "jewels" than ordinary kitchen utensils.
What Michel Bras expects of a knife is first that it be "sharp and beautiful," and second that it be "well-balanced and fit firmly in the hand."
"Cutting herbs with a blunt knife is like wounding them," Michel points out. "If the herbs are wounded," he says, "their blood is lost, along with their beauty and savor. They just wither and die."
The act of cutting means finding harmony for Michel Bras. He expresses this using the example of Japanese archery. "In archery, the arrow becomes a part of the archer's body, and if the archer lets go of it just when he feels he has become one with it, he knows he will hit the bull's eye even if he's blind-folded."
The same holds true of the chef's relationship to his knife, he believes. "If a knife has become a part of your hand, you can cut and mince the vegetables without thinking about anything and without hurting them. "
The blade is produced in three layers: a hard stainless steel sandwiched between two layers of a more flexible stainless steel. A hard stainless core layer of VG10 is sandwiched with soft stainless SUS420J2.
This makes for better resistance and durability. Furthermore, a titanium coating has been added to enhance its anti-oxidation properties. The matt satin finish makes for a beautiful and sober appearance.
Made of black laminated wood resistant to water and moisture, the handle has a distinct chestnut shape. The apex of the handle naturally accommodates the fingers and the hand does not tire while cutting.
Connoisseurs will appreciate the beautiful grain of the wood and its silken feel.
High-quality hard maple wood fashioned into a simple rectangular shape. The beauty and serenity of the Laguiole knife find their natural expression in the texture and color of this wood, which is unaffected by changes in the weather. A magnet inside the sheath holds the knife snugly in place.
Shun recommends that you protect your investment by handwashing your blades with gentle dish soap.
Don’t use soaps with citrus extracts or bleach; they can promote corrosion. Do not use scouring pads, steel, or gritty cleanser when cleaning the blades. Rinse and towel dry immediately.
Let the knives air dry for a few minutes before returning them to storage. Never leave your knife sitting in a sink full of soapy water. It does metals no good to be submerged in water for prolonged periods of time, and it’s a danger to you when you reach in.
After you have washed and dried your knives, store them in a block, knife case, in-drawer tray, or sheath. We do not recommend storing the knives unsheathed in a drawer, as this can be a potential hazard to the blades as well as your fingers.
Note
Handwashing is also the best way to care for the wood handles of your Shun knives.
The handle color may change slightly over time due to oils in the hand as well as the natural color change of wood from oxidation and/or exposure to light. This is not a defect, but a natural part of the process.
Preserve your knives from rust and oxidization, and preserve your wooden handles with 100% pure organic cold-pressed, refined camellia oil.
In order to maximize the life of the blade, regular honing with a Shun steel will be necessary. Weekly honing will extend the time between sharpening significantly. When the time comes to sharpen these premium blades, we recommend using a whetstone, the Kai electric sharpener (specifically designed to sharpen Shun’s 16° blade angle), or sending the knives to a professional sharpener.
Returns Policy
All purchases on our store come with a guaranteed 30-day full refund money-back from the date of purchase. To be eligible for a return, your item must be unused and in the same condition that you received it. It must also be in the original packaging.