Kiri

Kiri

Kiri is the quiet one. Where other ranges reach for shine, these blades keep the black skin they came out of the forge with — the kurouchi finish, left deliberately unpolished across the upper half of the blade, pitted with the small craters hammering leaves behind. In Japan this finish was never decorative. It was simply what a working knife looked like when nobody had time to polish it.

Each Kiri knife is forged from AUS10 high-carbon multi-layer steel and hardened to 60±2 HRC, then the lower third is ground back to bright steel and finished by hand to 15° per side. The contrast between the rough black forge skin and the mirror bevel is the whole character of the range, and the line where they meet is irregular on every single knife.

The handles are traditional Japanese wa handles: an octagonal section in dark rosewood, with a black buffalo horn ferrule where the wood meets the steel. An octagon sounds like a small detail until you hold one — it tells your hand which way the edge is facing without you having to look, and it never rolls on a wet board.

Where to start

The 8″ Gyuto is the natural first knife and the one we put on the front of the range. The 7″ Santoku suits a shorter board and an up-and-down cutting style; the 6.7″ Nakiri is for anyone who prepares vegetables by the pile. The 9″ Kiritsuke was traditionally the head chef's blade — take it if you like a long, flat edge and a fine tip. The 5.6″ Petty handles everything the big knives are too clumsy for.

Looking after them

High-carbon steel rewards attention. Hand wash, dry immediately, and never leave a Kiri blade wet — the bright bevel can spot if you do. The black forge finish will patina over the years and that is normal; it is a working surface, not a coating. Hone often, sharpen on a whetstone, and avoid bone, frozen food and pull-through sharpeners.