These have high quality stainless steel blades, with a nice thin tapered edge (50/50, so fine for left or right hand use) but with traditional Japanese wooden handles, so they're very lightweight and look amazing. Of course you'll have to take extra care to keep the handles clean and dry (NEVER leave them in a sink!) and the handles will wear and take on a patina over time, but that's part of the appeal of these style of handles (besides the cool look). The blades themselves though are high quality and pretty easy to maintain, so they make great all-around kitchen knives for home or pro use.
All Grand Chef series knives are made from high quality Bohler N685 stainless steel. This is a martensitic chromium stainless steel with added molybdenum and vanadium, which results in high hardness and good wear resistance, with excellent corrosion resistance -- an ideal steel for durable and sharp kitchen knives! Grand Chef blades are hard and tough with long lasting edges. HRC approx. 59-60 for sharpness and ease of maintenance and sharpening.
