Best Selling Products

This Nami Steak Knife set is a 4 piece coreless damascus steel set from Seki Kanetsugu. Whereas most damascus patterns are generally found in the cladding around a hard core steel, these knives are made from a solid billet, combining VG2 and VG10 (both stainless steels). The handles are made of a laminate wood composite and have an accentuated curvature which makes them fit well in hands of all sizes. These are beautiful knives and are a stylish way to add to your kitchen cutlery collection.

The 180mm petty is a bit of an anomaly. Too long for paring tasks, too short for portioning, it was the antithesis of the "Goldilocks." Even though we couldn't wrap our heads around the idea of them, they have always been super popular, so we started asking around. Why do you like them? IT'S THE PERFECT LINE KNIFE. Out of the way, good for ´a la minute prep, garnishes, cutting the crust off of sangwishes, and slicing steaks before plating.

The saya for this knife has a wonderfully detailed image of a monkey done in the style of tradtional Thai art from the Dvaravati period by Aroonask Thiranuth.

While the stainless-clad series from our Kochi brand is usually left with a kurouchi finish, this unique, one-off blade has been polished like the migaki series making it even thinner. This knife is accompanied by our laser-printed saya with "Chinese Floral Illustration" (1867) selected from the South Kensington Museum's archives. We find that the floral pattern serves as a refreshing pair to the darker features of the Kochi.

"Honyaki" is a traditional Japanese term used to describe a type of high-quality knife made from a single piece of steel, usually carbon, without any additional layers or cladding. The term “honyaki” emphasizes the knife's craftsmanship and the purity of its materials.

This particluar example is made of White #1, is very finely mirror-polished, comes with a very handsome ebony handle, and the hamon depicts Mount Fuji with a sun on one side of the blade and a crescent moon on the other side.

The process of making a honyaki knife involves heating the steel to a high temperature, forging it into shape, differentially heat-treating the blade by placing a layer of insulating clay on the spine, and quenching it in either oil or water. Water-quenched blades are much more difficult to work with, resulting in a higher rate of loss. This type of knife is known for its exceptional sharpness, edge retention, and craftsmanship. However, honyaki knives require more care and attention during use compared to sanmai knives, as they are exceptionally hard and brittle.

Due to their intricate and demanding production process, honyaki knives are often considered the pinnacle of knife craftsmanship and are highly prized by chefs and culinary enthusiasts.

The pursuit of mastering the honyaki blacksmithing technique is one that can take a craftsman years. Within that time there is a huge number of lost kiji (rough forged blanks) that shatter or crack during the heat treatment process. I remember touring the workshop of a really talented craftsman. Tucked away in a corner of the space was a box filled with dozens of kiji, possibly a hundred, and they were all cracked.

As these knives are carbon steel, they will need to be cared for as such.  You can read more in our about knife care section.  Carbon steel can rust if not cared for properly, so please make sure to clean and dry your knife after use. 

• Knife Type: Gyuto
• Steel Type: White #1 Carbon
• Handle Type: Octagonal Ebony
• Construction Type: Monosteel Honyaki
• Hand Orientation: Ambidextrous

• Handle Length: 143mm
• Handle Height: 26mm
• Handle Width: 24mm
• Handle to Tip Length: 242mm
• Heel to Tip Length: 227mm
• Width of Spine at Middle: 2.40mm
• Width of Spine 1cm from the Tip: 0.60mm
• Width of Spine at Handle: 3.20mm
• Width of Spine above Heel: 2.90mm
• Blade Thickness 1/2 way between the Spine and Edge: 2.10mm
• Blade Height at Heel: 52mm
• Weight: 242g

The craftsman behind this series is a longtime friend. He worked at Ashi Hamono before starting his own knife sharpening company in the Osaka area (normal sharpening and repair, as opposed to the grinding and shaping of knives). For the years that we have known him, he had always been talking about creating his own line of knives. Having seen his work previously and knowing how he values the same kind of thin cross-sectional geometry, we were excited to see how his knives would turn out. They do not disappoint. He’s always been focused on what he sees as a pragmatic balance between ease of sharpening, edge taking, and edge retention. With that in mind, he picked this version of VG10 for these. While it doesn't have amazing edge retention, the knives are very easy to sharpen and decently tough and durable considering how thin they are. His focus is on maximizing cutting performance while still being easy to use and care for. The handles are made from Borneo Ironwood and the knives come with leather sheaths. We’ve been using some of his knives for a while now, and, as I often tell people, thin knives just cut better. We hope you enjoy.

This Zakuri 330mm Blue #1 Kurouchi Sujihiki is a double-beveled knife. This knife comes with a ho wood octagon handle with a buffalo horn ferrule. It would make a great all-purpose slicer at home or for a professional cook or chef who is comfortable with carbon steel. The blue #1 steel takes a very good edge and holds it a pretty long time. This knife is carbon, so it can rust if not cared for properly. The kurouchi finish does help protect the knife from rust a little.

The Kochi line is an exclusive to Japanese Knife Imports.  These knives have a great in-hand feel... not too heavy, but not super light.  Near the spine they seems to be more substantial, however, behind the edge, the are very thin thin.  They are awesome cutters.  Near the heel, they have a nice flat spot, and towards the tip, a gentle curve.  The octagon burnt chestnut handles are very comfortable and retain grip very well when wet.  These are clad in soft ironand feature a carbon steel core so they will need to be cared for as such.  The knife can rust if left wet and/or dirty and will develop a patina over time. 

Though we are not sharing the exact steel, the core steel is a very pure, high carbon steel with a very fine grain structure.  It sharpens very easily and takes an amazing edge.

This Gesshin Heiji 210mm Wa-Gyuto is made from Heiji's special Semi-Stainless steel. It is hardened to about 63hrc. It comes with a burnt chestnut octagonal handle. 

A letter opener is potentially dangerous on the desk since the blade is ordinarily uncovered. For this reason, ordinary letter openers are designed so that the blade is not so keen; it is made appropriately "dull" so as not to cut extremely sharply. We, however, sought an approach that allows the blade to be keen to the limit and at the same time achieves ease of use and safety enabling users to open an envelope while keeping their fingers away from the blade, and thus created the Licorne, which eliminates the perception that keen blades are dangerous.

The blade embraces traditional Echizen Uchihamono techniques, achieved by delicate artisanship. With this letter opener, you can cut upon envelopes comfortably and smoothly, so you will look forward to opening letters you receive daily.

This letter opener is a totally new stationery product that can be placed on the table with the edge facing downwards in a casual manner. It is perfect as a souvenir or a gift to your close friends. [Product received the Good Design Award in 2015]

This Gesshin Ittetsu Honyaki Wa-gyuto was a custom order for us.  The Gesshin Ittetsu wa-gyuto tend to run on the thin side and for a honyaki knife, this is no exception.  Not quite a laser, this knife is still very thin behind the edge.  This honyaki blade also has a beautiful hamon (from the heat treatment process) that is visible on both sides of the blade.  The surfaces of each side have been mirrror polished and the spine and choil have been rounded. The hamon is polished in such a way that the area above it is misty, like a kasumi finish.

Honyaki knives offer better edge retention than similar knives with awase construction (hon-kasumi, etc.).  Due to their higher hardness, they can be slightly more brittle, but many professional chefs find this tradeoff to be worthwhile.

This knife comes with an octagonal ebony handle and a ho wood saya.

Tsukasa 150mm White Steel Migaki Wa-Petty

We are proud to introduce our new Gesshin Kagekiyo series. This is something we have been working on for a few months now, together with one of our partners in Japan. Sara and I are very excited to finally be able to introduce it. These knives represent some of the highest levels of craftsmanship and quality we have seen. The blacksmiths, sharpeners, and even lacquer-ware craftsmen are all amazingly skilled, as can clearly be seen by simply looking at them. In fact, all of the craftsmen are certified craftsmen or dentou-kougeishi (a very prestigious honor). These knives have amazing fit and finish, spectacular grinds, some of the most beautiful handles and saya we've seen on Japanese knives, and amazing geometry. They are really thin behind the edge, have great distal taper, and wide bevels, making them easier to thin and sharpen. The lacquer craftsmen uses real lacquer on these, not synthetic lacquer as more commonly used. Even the boxes are beautiful lacquer-ware. We hope you guys are as excited as we are. 

This Gesshin Ittetsu 300mm Blue #2 Hon-Kasumi Wa-Sujihiki comes with a ho wood octagonal handle and matching saya. The sides of this knife have a misty white polish and the core steel can be seen in a slightly more polished finish near the edge. When visiting Ittetsu a few years ago, we saw this kind of finish on some knives in their workshop and asked if we could have some made. The profile and grind are very nice and the polish is really facinating.

The Gessshin Hide Mizu-Honyaki Wa-Gyutos are a special project we have been working on with the maker of our Gesshin Hide line of knives. The Gesshin Hide knives we carry have some of the most perfect grinding i have ever seen with hand made kitchen knives. This project started when Sara and I went to visit the makers of Gesshin Hide. In their shop i saw some really cool honyaki wa-gyutos sitting around. The ones I saw were unfinished, but they prompted me to ask about about doing a custom project to make some similar ones. After some discussion we picked Shiraki-san to forge these blades. He is well know as one of the top blacksmiths in Sakai. A few months later, the knives were finished, and now here they are.  To say these are amazing would be an understatement.

The Gessshin Hide Mizu-Honyaki Wa-Gyutos are a special project we have been working on with the maker of our Gesshin Hide line of knives. The Gesshin Hide knives we carry have some of the most perfect grinding i have ever seen with hand made kitchen knives. This project started when Sara and I went to visit the makers of Gesshin Hide. In their shop i saw some really cool honyaki wa-gyutos sitting around. The ones I saw were unfinished, but they prompted me to ask about about doing a custom project to make some similar ones. After some discussion we picked Shiraki-san to forge these blades. He is well know as one of the top blacksmiths in Sakai. A few months later, the knives were finished, and now here they are.  To say these are amazing would be an understatement.

This wa-gyuto project began when we went with the maker of our Gesshin Hide knives to visit one of the blacksmiths he often works with.  For a long time now, I have been saying that the maker of our Gesshin Hide line and his father are by far the best knife sharpeners I have met.  A while back, we started the Blue #2 Hon-Kasumi Wa-Gyuto series, and this is an evolution of that line.

We have re-worked the profile and grind, creating a thinner knife with less belly.  Also, we are adding various steel options as we go- Blue #2, White #2, and Ginsanko.  By working with a few different blacksmiths, we have been able to match steel types and heat treatments with those who do them best.  Throw that together with great customer feedback and extensive testing, research, and development on our part, and this knife series is what you get.

This wa-gyuto project began when we went with the maker of our Gesshin Hide knives to visit one of the blacksmiths he often works with.  For a long time now, I have been saying that the maker of our Gesshin Hide line and his father are by far the best knife sharpeners I have met.  A while back, we started the Blue #2 Hon-Kasumi Wa-Gyuto series, and this is an evolution of that line.

We have re-worked the profile and grind, creating a thinner knife with less belly.  Also, we are adding various steel options as we go- Blue #2, White #2, and Ginsanko.  By working with a few different blacksmiths, we have been able to match steel types and heat treatments with those who do them best.  Throw that together with great customer feedback and extensive testing, research, and development on our part, and this knife series is what you get.

Gesshin Heiji 220mm Semi-Stainless Chinese Cleaver

*Chinese cleavers are not designed to be used on bone or for boning tasks... they are much more like chef's knives than meat cleavers.

Chocolate Knife Silver with Red Leather Case... This was designed by Ryusen to be used for cutting petit fours, truffles, and similar items, as a way to display the inside to the guest or customer.  The blade is thin and shaped in such a way that it is easy to hold at an angle convenient for this kind of task.  The shape is similar to a kiridashi, but it is a double bevel knife.  The coating helps reduce sticking to the blade.

The Souryurin series features a VG-10W core, clad in stainless hammered Damascus steel. VG10W adds tungsten to VG10 for increased edge retention. A long time ago, when I was still cooking professionally, I used knives from Ryusen. Ryusen used to be one of the most popular OEM makers in Japan, as they had an excellent reputation for the knives they produced. More recently, they have stopped all OEM work to focus on their own brand. With this shift in philosophy, they have redoubled efforts to constantly make improvements to their various series (profiles, grinds, fit and finish, forging, heat treating, etc.). This is extremely apparent in their most recent offerings. They have done an excellent job at both researching on their own, as well as eliciting in-depth feedback from professional chefs and customers. Their business philosophy is such that they are open to new and better ways of doing things at every step of the way. When visiting Echizen on one of our Japan trips, we met with Ryusen Hamono, the maker of Blazen knives. Their commitment to excellence in grind quality, fit and finish, and consistency in each line they made was most impressive. Likewise, it was clear they took great care and pride in each step of the knife-making process, which they do entirely in-house. From the forging to the heat treating to the product design and packaging, they had smart, well-thought-out processes in place.

The Souryurin series is relatively thin (not quite a laser, but close), with a medium/lightweight. While they aren’t super lightweight in hand, they aren’t heavy, and despite is western handle appearance, the in-hand feel (along with the weight and balance) is much more similar to that of a Japanese-style handle. The hammered damascus finish is beautifully done, with a very high polish and exceptional fit and finish. Though it is primarily aesthetic, the hammered texture does help in food release. The blade profile, choil shape, and handle design mirror that of similar series they make, focusing on comfort in hand. The choil shape sweeps away from the handle and the spine and choil are very nicely rounded and polished. The blue resin handle has the appearance of dragon scales just under the surface, drawing upon the imagery of Seiryu- the legendary blue dragon. The tapered shape of the handle makes the pinch grip extremely comfortable. No detail has gone unnoticed. The VG10W core is exceptionally well heat treated, as they use molten salt baths in the process, which we agree is an excellent way to go about heat treating this steel. This series also comes with a black wood saya.

The Souryurin series features a VG-10W core, clad in stainless hammered Damascus steel. VG10W adds tungsten to VG10 for increased edge retention. A long time ago, when I was still cooking professionally, I used knives from Ryusen. Ryusen used to be one of the most popular OEM makers in Japan, as they had an excellent reputation for the knives they produced. More recently, they have stopped all OEM work to focus on their own brand. With this shift in philosophy, they have redoubled efforts to constantly make improvements to their various series (profiles, grinds, fit and finish, forging, heat treating, etc.). This is extremely apparent in their most recent offerings. They have done an excellent job at both researching on their own, as well as eliciting in-depth feedback from professional chefs and customers. Their business philosophy is such that they are open to new and better ways of doing things at every step of the way. When visiting Echizen on one of our Japan trips, we met with Ryusen Hamono, the maker of Blazen knives. Their commitment to excellence in grind quality, fit and finish, and consistency in each line they made was most impressive. Likewise, it was clear they took great care and pride in each step of the knife-making process, which they do entirely in-house. From the forging to the heat treating to the product design and packaging, they had smart, well-thought-out processes in place.

The Souryurin series is relatively thin (not quite a laser, but close), with a medium/lightweight. While they aren’t super lightweight in hand, they aren’t heavy, and despite is western handle appearance, the in-hand feel (along with the weight and balance) is much more similar to that of a Japanese-style handle. The hammered damascus finish is beautifully done, with a very high polish and exceptional fit and finish. Though it is primarily aesthetic, the hammered texture does help in food release. The blade profile, choil shape, and handle design mirror that of similar series they make, focusing on comfort in hand. The choil shape sweeps away from the handle and the spine and choil are very nicely rounded and polished. The blue resin handle has the appearance of dragon scales just under the surface, drawing upon the imagery of Seiryu- the legendary blue dragon. The tapered shape of the handle makes the pinch grip extremely comfortable. No detail has gone unnoticed. The VG10W core is exceptionally well heat treated, as they use molten salt baths in the process, which we agree is an excellent way to go about heat treating this steel. This series also comes with a black wood saya.

The Souryurin series features a VG-10W core, clad in stainless hammered Damascus steel. VG10W adds tungsten to VG10 for increased edge retention. A long time ago, when I was still cooking professionally, I used knives from Ryusen. Ryusen used to be one of the most popular OEM makers in Japan, as they had an excellent reputation for the knives they produced. More recently, they have stopped all OEM work to focus on their own brand. With this shift in philosophy, they have redoubled efforts to constantly make improvements to their various series (profiles, grinds, fit and finish, forging, heat treating, etc.). This is extremely apparent in their most recent offerings. They have done an excellent job at both researching on their own, as well as eliciting in-depth feedback from professional chefs and customers. Their business philosophy is such that they are open to new and better ways of doing things at every step of the way. When visiting Echizen on one of our Japan trips, we met with Ryusen Hamono, the maker of Blazen knives. Their commitment to excellence in grind quality, fit and finish, and consistency in each line they made was most impressive. Likewise, it was clear they took great care and pride in each step of the knife-making process, which they do entirely in-house. From the forging to the heat treating to the product design and packaging, they had smart, well-thought-out processes in place.

The Souryurin series is relatively thin (not quite a laser, but close), with a medium/lightweight. While they aren’t super lightweight in hand, they aren’t heavy, and despite is western handle appearance, the in-hand feel (along with the weight and balance) is much more similar to that of a Japanese-style handle. The hammered damascus finish is beautifully done, with a very high polish and exceptional fit and finish. Though it is primarily aesthetic, the hammered texture does help in food release. The blade profile, choil shape, and handle design mirror that of similar series they make, focusing on comfort in hand. The choil shape sweeps away from the handle and the spine and choil are very nicely rounded and polished. The blue resin handle has the appearance of dragon scales just under the surface, drawing upon the imagery of Seiryu, the legendary blue dragon. The tapered shape of the handle makes the pinch grip extremely comfortable. No detail has gone unnoticed. The VG10W core is exceptionally well heat treated, as they use molten salt baths in the process, which we agree is an excellent way to go about heat treating this steel. This series also comes with a black wood saya.

The Souryurin series features a VG-10W core, clad in stainless hammered Damascus steel. VG10W adds tungsten to VG10 for increased edge retention. A long time ago, when I was still cooking professionally, I used knives from Ryusen. Ryusen used to be one of the most popular OEM makers in Japan, as they had an excellent reputation for the knives they produced. More recently, they have stopped all OEM work to focus on their own brand. With this shift in philosophy, they have redoubled efforts to constantly make improvements to their various series (profiles, grinds, fit and finish, forging, heat treating, etc.). This is extremely apparent in their most recent offerings. They have done an excellent job at both researching on their own, as well as eliciting in-depth feedback from professional chefs and customers. Their business philosophy is such that they are open to new and better ways of doing things at every step of the way. When visiting Echizen on one of our Japan trips, we met with Ryusen Hamono, the maker of Blazen knives. Their commitment to excellence in grind quality, fit and finish, and consistency in each line they made was most impressive. Likewise, it was clear they took great care and pride in each step of the knife-making process, which they do entirely in-house. From the forging to the heat treating to the product design and packaging, they had smart, well-thought-out processes in place.

The Souryurin series is relatively thin (not quite a laser, but close), with a medium/lightweight. While they aren’t super lightweight in hand, they aren’t heavy, and despite is western handle appearance, the in-hand feel (along with the weight and balance) is much more similar to that of a Japanese-style handle. The hammered damascus finish is beautifully done, with a very high polish and exceptional fit and finish. Though it is primarily aesthetic, the hammered texture does help in food release. The blade profile, choil shape, and handle design mirror that of similar series they make, focusing on comfort in hand. The choil shape sweeps away from the handle and the spine and choil are very nicely rounded and polished. The blue resin handle has the appearance of dragon scales just under the surface, drawing upon the imagery of Seiryu- the legendary blue dragon. The tapered shape of the handle makes the pinch grip extremely comfortable. No detail has gone unnoticed. The VG10W core is exceptionally well heat treated, as they use molten salt baths in the process, which we agree is an excellent way to go about heat treating this steel. This series also comes with a black wood saya.

Yoshimi Echizen knives are designed, forged, and sharpened in one workshop; closely handled and overseen by certified craftsmen in Echizen. They are committed to great quality and inherit and pass down knife-making philosophy and skill-set. This brand is a great example of craftsmanship from Echizen.

These knives have an excellent profile, grind, and distal taper, as well as clean fit and finish. Both the kurouchi and migaki models are clad in stainless steel. The stainless cladding reduces the reactive surface area of the knives to the few millimeters in between the cutting edge and lamination line.

The core is Super Gold 2 (SG2) stainless steel, engineered for superior edge retention and excellent sharpness. It's clad with a softer stainless steel that has a stylized star-patterned tsuchime. This model will have similar toughness to the Blue Super model, which is not to say tough, but not crazy brittle like a lot of powdered stainless steels out there. These knives come with a saya, either ho wood, as pictured, or black (not pictured).

This set is discounted 20%. The Gesshin Stainless Wa-Series are exclusive for Japanese Knife Imports. We designed these from a sketch on paper all the way through to the final product. The steel is AUS-8 at about 58-59 HRC, so they will sharpen easily and have very good toughness (resistance to chipping). They are also relatively thin behind the edge, so they will move through food pretty easily, with very little wedging. The neck of the knives is a bit longer, helping to make the pinch grip a bit more comfortable. The handles are American cherry in an oval shape, with an inner copper ring for stability over time.  They also come with a ho wood sayas, which feature a  pin attached by a string to help prevent loss.

We hope these knives serve you well.  We think they will make great first Japanese knives, are good workhorses for home cooks and professionals alike, and will provide a very nice balance of cutting performance with ease of use and care.

* These knives are sharpened prior to shipping.

This set is discounted 20%. The Gesshin Stainless Wa-Series are exclusive for Japanese Knife Imports. We designed these from a sketch on paper all the way through to the final product. The steel is AUS-8 at about 58-59 HRC, so they will sharpen easily and have very good toughness (resistance to chipping). They are also relatively thin behind the edge, so they will move through food pretty easily, with very little wedging. The neck of the knives is a bit longer, helping to make the pinch grip a bit more comfortable. The handles are American cherry in an oval shape, with an inner copper ring for stability over time.  They also come with a ho wood sayas, which feature a  pin attached by a string to help prevent loss.

We hope these knives serve you well.  We think they will make great first Japanese knives, are good workhorses for home cooks and professionals alike, and will provide a very nice balance of cutting performance with ease of use and care.

* These knives are sharpened prior to shipping.

This set is discounted 20%. The Gesshin Stainless Wa-Series are exclusive for Japanese Knife Imports. We designed these from a sketch on paper all the way through to the final product. The steel is AUS-8 at about 58-59 HRC, so they will sharpen easily and have very good toughness (resistance to chipping). They are also relatively thin behind the edge, so they will move through food pretty easily, with very little wedging. The neck of the knives is a bit longer, helping to make the pinch grip a bit more comfortable. The handles are American cherry in an oval shape, with an inner copper ring for stability over time.  They also come with a ho wood sayas, which feature a  pin attached by a string to help prevent loss.

We hope these knives serve you well.  We think they will make great first Japanese knives, are good workhorses for home cooks and professionals alike, and will provide a very nice balance of cutting performance with ease of use and care.

* These knives are sharpened prior to shipping.

This Gesshin Ittetsu 270mm Blue #2 Hon-Kasumi Hamokiri is a special order from the talented craftsmen responsible for our Ittetsu series. Expertly forged and precisely ground, the overall fit and finish and performance of this knife are second to none. The size and weighty nature of this blade give it a really nice presence and in-hand feel. The hamokiri knife is used for making very fine cuts along the fillet of a hamo, aka conger eel, in order to break the small bones that run throughout it.

We are proud of our Gesshin Kagekiyo series. These knives represent some of the highest levels of craftsmanship and quality we have seen. The blacksmiths, sharpeners, and even lacquer-ware craftsmen are all amazingly skilled, as can clearly be seen by simply looking at them. In fact, all of the craftsmen are certified craftsmen or dentou-kougeishi (a very prestigious honor). These knives have amazing fit and finish, spectacular grinds, some of the most beautiful handles and saya we've seen on Japanese knives, and amazing geometry. They are really thin behind the edge, have great distal taper, and wide bevels, making them easier to thin and sharpen. The lacquer craftsmen uses real lacquer on these, not synthetic lacquer as more commonly used. Even the boxes are beautiful lacquer-ware. We hope you guys are as excited as we are. 

These mizu-honyaki (water quenched honyaki) are representative of some of the finest work we have seen. They feature ebony octagon handles, as opposed to the lacquerware handles we normally put on this series. Mizu-honyaki knives can be a bit more brittle and time-consuming to sharpen, but they also often represent the best work that the craftsmen offer. This particular one also features mirror polished faces. 

Tsukasa 240mm White Steel Migaki Wa-Gyuto

Tsukasa 210mm White Steel Migaki Wa-Gyuto

The Gessshin Hide Honyaki Wa-Gyutos are a special project we have been working on with the maker of our Gesshin Hide line of knives. The Gesshin Hide knives we carry have some of the most perfect grinding I have ever seen with hand made kitchen knives. This project started when Sara and I went to visit the makers of Gesshin Hide. In thier shop I saw some really cool honyaki wa-gyutos sitting around. The ones I saw were unfinished, but they prompted me to ask about about doing a custom project to make some similar ones. After some discussion we picked Shiraki-san to forge these blades. He is well know as one of the top blacksmiths in Sakai, and is particularly talented when it comes to Blue #1 steel. A few months later, the knives were finished, and now here they are.  To say these are amazing would be an understatement.

This wa-gyuto project began when we went with the maker of our Gesshin Hide knives to visit one of the blacksmiths he often works with.  For a long time now, I have been saying that the maker of our Gesshin Hide line and his father are by far the best knife sharpeners I have met.  A while back, we started the Blue #2 Hon-Kasumi Wa-Gyuto series, and this is an evolution of that line.

We have re-worked the profile and grind, creating a thinner knife with less belly.  Also, we are adding various steel options as we go- Blue #2, White #2, and Ginsanko.  By working with a few different blacksmiths, we have been able to match steel types and heat treatments with those who do them best.  Throw that together with great customer feedback and extensive testing, research, and development on our part, and this knife series is what you get.

This Gesshin Heiji 270mm Wa-Gyuto is made from Heiji's special Semi-Stainless steel. It is hardened to about 63hrc. It comes with a burnt chestnut octagonal handle and ho wood saya.

The Blazen series features an SG2 core (a powdered stainless steel), clad in softer stainless steel. A long time ago, when I was still cooking professionally, Blazen was one of my first serious Japanese knives. Even back then, they were known for exceptional edge retention and a great distal taper. Since that time, they have gotten better. When visiting Echizen on one of our Japan trips, we met with Ryusen Hamono, the maker of Blazen knives. Their commitment to excellence in grind quality, fit and finish, and consistency in each line they made was most impressive. Likewise, it was clear they took great care and pride in each step of the knife making process, which they do entirely in-house. From the forging to the heat treating to the product design and packaging, they had smart, well thought out processes in place. Ryusen used to be one of the most popular OEM makers in Japan, as they had an excellent reputation for the knives they produced. More recently, the have stopped all OEM work to focus on their own brand. With this shift in philosophy, they have redoubled efforts to constantly make improvements to their various series (profiles, grinds, fit and finish, forging, heat treating, etc.). This is extremely apparent in their most recent offerings. They have done an excellent job at both researching on their own, as well as eliciting in depth feedback from professional chefs and customers. Their business philosophy is such that they are open to new and better ways of doing things at every step of the way. We are proud to be Ryusen's sole official dealership for the Americas.

The Blazen series has a decently tall blade height, a very thin tip, is thin behind the edge, but has some weight to it, due to the spine to edge and distal tapers. They cut rather well and have amazingly good edge retention. While the steel is hard, the heat treatment method they are using works extremely well and creates an edge that sharpens easily and takes a very nice edge. The spine and choil are polished, and the level of polish on the handle and bolster is indicative of the level of care that goes into each knife. Also, every Blazen knife comes with a black saya, featuring magnets internally to help keep the saya in place, with or without a pin.