About Ryusen Blazen Ryu - Of all the makers currently crafting blades in Japan, Ryusen makes some of the cleanest, most consistent, and most comfortable kitchen knives I’ve ever handled. Founded in 1948, Ryusen started producing high-quality stainless steel blades long before others in the industry, working closely with companies like Takefu Special Steel as early as the 1970s.

I’ve been guilty of comparing kitchen knives to sports cars more than once, and this is exactly the kind of knife I’m talking about when I make that comparison: sleek, badass, and incredibly fun to cut with. The handle is tapered to fit your hand perfectly, making the knife an extension of your hand.

When it gets to work, it’s stupidly sharp thanks to a core of super-hard SG2 steel, so the razor-thin edge just blows through whatever ingredients you place before it. It’s actually difficult to put this knife down and move on to the next task.

About the Shape - A Nakiri is a vegetable knife. Under utilized in the Western kitchen, the Nakiri’s flat blade is meant for the push/pull chopping of vegetables. Since the entire flat edge of the knife kisses the cutting board at once, you wont be turning the vegetable into an accordion. Accordion vegetables are still connected like a paper doll after you're “done” cutting them. To truly understand the awesomeness of a Nakiri we recommend making onion soup your first night with the knife. The ease of chopping will blow you away.