This is a great little knife with a major identity crisis. Someone else said it works well as a small chef's knife and I agree. It's a great little utility knife. However, it absolutely stinks as a paring knife. I was using it for the first time yesterday to hull and chop strawberries for jam and it is downright dangerous as a paring knife. When your hand and thumb are placed where you need them for paring and cutting, the heel (which you can see in the picture protrudes quite far and angles out) is perfectly positioned for cutting you in the tender area between your thumb and index finger. It happened to me three times before I just gave up and grabbed my Henckels instead.
If you're looking for a great little knife on the cheap, pick this one up. If you're looking for a true paring knife, keep searching. I would highly recommend something with a shorter heel. I'm sure someone out there will think I'm just a dope who just doesn't know how to use a knife properly, but I assure you, I'm no spring chicken. I've been at this cooking thing for a while.
This knife is brought to us by KAI, the company responsible for Shun kitchen knives and Kershaw and Zero Tolerance sporting knives. Of course, this knife represents the opposite end of the price-quality spectrum from Shun.
The Pure Komachi line is very comparable to Kuhn-Rikon's Colori line. I prefer the Pure Komachi knives, as they are flat-ground instead of hollow. That's just my preference.
The "nonstick" coating is really there to cut manufacturing costs and keep the knife cheap. It is cheaper to coat a big run of these knives than it is to polish the bare metal. I'd rather have a plain steel finish, but at these prices, it's hard to complain.
This little parer is an excellent pattern, much more like a miniature chef's knife than most paring knives. It has that sort of raised-handle format where your fingers slot in behind the blade, and you can get the whole edge down on a cutting board and make "rocking" cuts. And it cuts like crazy because the blade is quite thin.
It comes with a plastic blade cover so that you can toss it in a drawer and not worry about dinging the edge. I wish that all knives did.
The steel is 420J2 stainless, the lowest-carbon cutlery-grade steel there is. Compared to other cutlery steels, it will not hold an edge very long, but to be honest, it's hard for the average person to tell any difference in edge-holding between this knife and a more expensive one made of "better" steel. Most kitchen knives are run pretty soft so that they dent or roll instead of chipping or breaking on impact, and so that they'll be easy to sharpen.
You can easily get a scary edge on 420J2, and it is very corrosion-resistant. It also keeps the price of the knife down.
So yes, this knife is CHEAP. But it cuts and handles great.
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This knife has virtually replaced the paring knives in my knife block. I'm not sure what made me get it (I purchased it cheaply at Target), but I'm glad I did. I use it for cutting small vegetables, trimming steaks, and almost any other kitchen task. I even use it as a steak knife sometimes. It's easy to clean, and has held a superb edge. I consequently went out and purchased the sandwich knife, a santoku knife, and the utility knife (all of which have done well). My only complaint is that they're so brightly (and somewhat effeminately) colored; this may sound trivial, but imagine cooking for a date using a pink chef's knife. I consequently bought a similar-styled chef's knife from another brand, but it was not nearly as good (I had some trouble cutting a sweet potato, although my henkel's knife did it with ease). As a paring knife, this beats my Henkels and Oxo knives HANDS-DOWN. I'm not as sure when it comes to larger stuff, but if you're getting a resin-coated knife, stick to the Komachi brand.
Read Best Reviews of Pure Komachi 2 Series Paring Knife Here
These are the best knives that I've ever had. They're especially perfect for a person who is lacking strength in their hands.
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I was introduced to KAI scissors a few years ago. When I saw KAI knives at a trade show I had to try them. They are razor sharp just like the scissors. The price is very attractive at around $10 each. They resharpen beautifully and the colors are fun. The only down side is they are rather light weight. I have subsequently purchased more knives as gifts and to fill out my set.
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MY husband's employer held an auction for the annual charity drive. I filled a cotton tote bag with a bread knife, this cutting board, honey and gave the winner a choice of home-baked breads, which were delivered a few days later. The item earned a nice bid. The fabric is nice and would have been great for an iron-on logo, which I'll do next year! The board is sturdy and sustainable.
