A utility knife is between a chef s knife and a paring knife, but its blade is narrower and straighter. This makes it perfect for a multitude of small tasks where more precise cuts are needed, such as trimming broccoli, green beans, or other smaller vegetables. Some cooks like to use it in their hand, too almost like a large paring knife. Others like its smaller size as an alternative to the chef s knife. Utility knives are sometimes called sandwich knives because they work well on almost everything that goes into a sandwich from thin-skinned vegetables such as tomatoes, to meats and cheeses. The Shun Sora Utility Knife is part of the exciting 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 VG10 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.