Seriously. Look at this blade. Hinoura-san is a true artist. By layering copper and brass into his cladding steel, he has created this crazy three-tone Damascus pattern. Hinoura-san is the only blacksmith to win the award for top knife two years in a row at the Seki Custom Knife Show. Both times were for his incredibly distinct-looking Damascus steel.

About the Shape - A Nakiri is a vegetable knife. Underutilized 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 won't 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.

About Tsukasa Hinoura - Tsukasa Hinoura, born in 1956, began practising his trade in 1975. His blades are known for a refined and long-lived edge. His knives are highly sought after in Japan and Europe, and will soon have the same reputation in Canada. Hinoura-san represents the third generation of his family‘s forging tradition. As a young craftsman, his role models were Nagashima and Shigeyoshi Iwasaki of Sanjo. They enjoy an excellent reputation in Echigo and have done a great deal to advance the knife maker’s art in Sanjo.

A province in the northern part of central Japan, historically named Echigo, is by no means just another knife making region. There, the art of forging looks back on 700 years of tradition. The city of Sanjo is situated in this province, in today’s Niigata prefecture. This is where the Hinoura family have been plying the blade making a trade for decades.