This is really quite remarkable: Pure Komachi knives by Kai. Knife nerds will immediately recognize Kai as being the genuises behind Shun and Kershaw, probably some of the best knives in production today. Lovely Wife and I stumbled on these in KTA up in Waimea this afternoon and upon learning they were a whole whopping $17 bought a hollow-ground santoku (in purple-pink) and a yellow vegetable knife, figuring “well, at least we have something for the condo, if nothing else.” (I had been contemplating ordering Fibrox to replace the lousy Sabatier knock-offs we have here right now.) A Kai knife for less than $20? Yeah, ok.

I am shocked, shocked, shocked by the performance. Blown away is more like it. I’d never, in a million years, think I would have found a knife that performed as well as my Kyocera ceramic knives for, like, a tenth of the cost — but there it is, in purple-pink. I’m seriously rethinking my knife acquisition strategy as a result of this.

Plus, they’re colorful! Kitchens need more color. It’s just amazing.

(See also Kuhn Rikon for colorful, ridiculously good knives that are suspiciously cheap.)

Edited to add: I have now purchased two more Pure Komachi knives, a fluted sandwich knife and a very strange-looking bread knife. I don’t think I’m ever going to buy another bread knife again in my life.