Bob Kramer 7 inch Carbon Steel Santoku by Zwilling JA Henckels

I had been knife shopping for a long time before I finally settled on Zwilling's Kramer santoku. I knew I wanted a santoku and I knew I wanted something I could count on lasting a lifetime. I don't tend to agonize much over any of my purchases but I found myself struggling to find the knife I wanted. The market seems lately flooded with a multitude of high quality knives featuring a bewildering variety of blade and handle designs not to mention different steel types! I was eventually drawn to this particular knife because the European style chef knives from the same line seem to earn such high praise. Oddly, Iv'e had little luck in finding many impressions of this particular model on the internet. I gambled that Zwilling had put as much care into the crafting of the santoku as apparently went into their other Kramer designed knives. I have not been disappointed.

This knife feels wonderful in my hand. It is well balanced and comfortable in any of the grips I normally use. The edge curvature suits up and down veggie slicing quite well and contrary to what some have found, I really like the way the blade rocks from tip to heel when I mince herbs. Of course, it is intimidatingly sharp right out of the box. I've only been using it for a few days now so the blade has lost none of that initial edge but I look forward to seeing how long it lasts. Straight carbon is well known for its ability to hold a sharp edge for a long time and to resharpen quite easily. I'd like to point out one aspect of the blade that is not at all obvious in any of the pictures or descriptions of it that I've found. The thickness of the blade tapers very evenly along its entire length to become very, very thin for the last inch or so. This is great for performing delicate work and is a testament to the attention to detail which went into this knife's construction.

I hope to update this review in the future and report how well this tool holds up to longer term wear and tear. I might even upload a few pics to illustrate how the patina develops.

There are 2 versions of the Bob Kramer 7 inch Santoku knife

1. Bob Kramer 7 inch Carbon Steel Santoku by Zwilling JA Henckels made in Germany: This a great knife but be aware that it has a Carbon Steel Blade and requires maintenance to create a patina and prevent rust. The blade keeps a very sharp edge longer.

2. Bob Kramer 7 inch Santoku knife by Shun made in Japan: This the knife I chose. I tried both at Sur La Table which is where I bought it. This Shun Bob Kramer knife is meticulously crafted by 150 expert artisans to achieve the precise heft, balance and shape of Bob Kramer's original design. The 3mm steel blade is composed of an SG2 core (64-66HRC) clad with true pattern-welded nickel and Damascus stainless steel for a beautiful, razor-sharp and lasting edge. The Handle is the same on both versions and is Gently rounded and richly grained red and black Pakkawood handle is crafted in Bob's signature contoured shape, and mirrors the curve of the palm for a wonderfully natural hand-feel. It was a financial stretch as I'm Irish and Swedish. This knife and the one above are worth there weight in gold. The Shun cost $40 more then the carbon steel but was well worth the cost to me. The Blade is a work of art and there is no patina maintenance required.

This is a YouTube Link of Food Star Alton Brown Talking about Shun Knives, Interesting to help you select your knives:

youtube.com /watch?v=lVCM5BfeA8c

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Brockenb, the fault is indeed yours. You DID misuse the knife. This kind of knife cannot be used for cutting bone and doing so will break the blade, which is what happened to you. Also, a carbon steel knife will acquire a patina, and requires proper care.

It sounds to me like you had no idea what you were buying, or how to use it properly. In the future, I suggest Target -they have some very nice knives for $25 or so that should be perfect for you.

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I received my Kramer by Zwilling knife as a gift. It looked and worked great at first, but then it began to rust. I've never seen a knife rust before, but it looked awful. Then, while cutting through some meat, the edge of the knife caught on a piece of bone and a big chunk came out of the blade, totally destroying the knife. I contacted Kramer and received an email from Bob Kramer himself essentially blaming me for improper knife use. I'm very disappointed and will never buy a knife with the Kramer name on it.

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I got this a few months ago, i never used it because i hated the way it felt in your hand. I didnt cut one thing with it, and I put it back in the box and returned it. 2 weeks later i get a partial refund ($150/$329), stating that i stained the steel with my fingerprint (if thats even possible.) So i had to open a claim with amazon which i won to get the rest of my money. Very bad experience and wont order from them again. I think this knife is very over rated and the paring knife i have of this brand has rusted and looks horrible and ive never dishwashed it and always cleaned it right after use. I since then got a Wusthof Chef Knife and i couldnt be happier.