About Masakage Mizu -

The rustic Mizu series really shows off the beauty that traditional carbon steel is known for. Translating to ‘water’ in Japanese, this collection’s name is inspired by the deep bluish-black ‘kurouchi’ finish. I’ve always loved carbon steel because it cuts like a dream, and when you use the knife, you can almost feel the heart and soul of the blacksmith in your hand.

I know from experience how little money young chefs and cooks have for good tools, so the Mizu series was created to provide a traditional Japanese blade that was accessible to them–or anyone else on a tight budget!

Takumi Ikeda-san, the nephew of legendary blacksmith and Takefu Knife Village co-founder Katsushige Anryu-san, began his knifemaking apprenticeship in 2007. In January 2021, Anryu-san officially passed the reins of Anryu Hamono to Ikeda-san. By that point, Ikeda-san was already a master and doing most of the forging at Anryu Hamono. With some serious traditional skills under his belt and a fresh outlook on knifemaking, Ikeda-san is already doing the family legacy justice.

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.