The Yaxell Ran Plus Santoku Knife works exceptionally well on vegetables, proteins, and fruit for slicing, dicing, and chopping. The slight belly curve enables the cook to rock the blade slightly. Yaxell Ran Plus is constructed of Japanese VG10 Cobalt Molybdenum Vanadium stainless steel with 34 layers of hard and soft stainless steel on each side, resulting in 69 layers total. The surface impresses a fascinating Damascus design pattern. The handle is made of black canvas micarta with two stainless steel rivets. The canvas material is dyed black and brilliantly finished to last for decades. The engraved end-cap of the handle is made of 18/10 stainless steel, which provides outstanding stability and balance.