Shun Premier 4" Paring Knife w/Tsuchime Damascus Steel Blade Many Shun cutlery lines are characterized by the beautiful Damascus on the blades. Shuns Damascus is formed by layering different types of metal alloys together, then forging them into a single piece. The processand the different characteristics of the layered metalscreate the rippling patterns in you see on the blade. In Japanese, tsuchime (TsooCHEEmay) simply means "hammered" and you will see actual hammer marks on a tsuchimefinished blade. This finish does two things: gives the knife a look that is reminiscent of the handcrafting techniques of ancient Japan; and it creates tiny pockets of air that act as hollowground cavities to reduce drag and quickly release food from the blade. Because of the hard, premium steel from which Shun cutlery is made, the blades can be thinner, lighter, and sharper. A thinner edge cuts more easily by putting less stress on the edgeso fewer strokes do the job. Thinner edges are easier to control as well, making cutting smoother and, once again, relieving stress on the edge. Shuns handcrafted Japanese knives are sharpened to a precise 16 angle on each side of the blade (for doublebeveled blades, this means a comprehensive angle of 32). For comparisons sake, Europeanstyle blades are generally sharpened to 2022 each side for a comprehensive cutting angle of 4044. Due to the premiumquality steel we use for the cutting core of our blades, Shuns incredibly sharp edge will nevertheless last an incredibly long time before resharpening is needed. Experience shows that with Shun you get extremely sharp edges that last an extremely long time.