Kotetsu

Thin, light and graceful, the Kotetsu range are an instant favourite. Wrapped in the day's local newspaper and safely encased in a stylish black storage box with a red inlay and a small note from the blacksmiths explaining that this range is how they prize art and functionality; efficient cutting tools over ones that are simply beautiful.

(These are both). I make knives all week long. On weekends I cook for my family Cooking gives me new ideas for my knives: weight, blade, sheen etc. So they're better in the kitchen. Beauty is important to me. But integrity and function are more so. I aim to make the best working knives, with this principle: "Art over beauty"

Takayuki Shibata