Ryusen Hamono is another fantastic maker working out of the Takefu Knife village. They fully embrace the tradition of the region and take great pride in every step of the knife making process. They produce knives with excellent fit & finish, and sharpness that are absolutely beautiful to look at and hold. Winners of numerous design awards and supporters of the Japanese national team at the Bocuse D'or their knives are popular with professional chef's and home cooks alike.
The Tangan-ryu line features gorgeous Canadian maple handles with a full welded stainless steel tang, and ferrule where these knives balance. This balance point is more typical of European style cutlery so if you're interested in Japanese steel with a French/German feel these are a great option. Equally beautiful is the Tsuchime finish and Damascus pattern made from VG-10 stainless steel providing easy maintenance. The fit and finish is as close to perfect as we've seen and no detail has been overlooked, including the packaging for those who appreciate a nice knife box! ;)
From the Ryusen Hamono website...
"— Hammered Damascus kitchen knife pursuing glittering beauty and sharpness to an absolute maximum — Hammered Damascus steel carefully polished by artisans is used. A high-end steel material VG-10 is used as the core (steel), which is sandwiched by 33-layer Damascus steel made by laminating and forging alternate soft and hard stainless steel sheets, achieving long-lasting sharpness. The beautiful hammered surface asperities create an air layer between the food and the blade, making the cut pieces easy to separate from the blade. In creating the Tangan RYU Premium Series, we studied the grip, the weight balance and other factors while assuming various methods of food preparation based on opinions from professional cooks to make improvements into details. These improvements and careful handwork by artisans finally brought about a kitchen knife that alleviates users’ fatigue or pain even during extended periods of use, providing dramatically improved usability. Try this beautiful high-class model that features excellent sharpness, resistance to rust, durability and practicality. [Product receiving the Good Design Award in 2016]"
The Knife
The petty is the Japanese equivalent of the western style paring knife. They're usually a little longer and I could never go back after using one. The idea is all the on board work is done with your gyuto or chef knife and everything in hand is done with the petty. Not limited to capping strawberries, peeling, turning, or coring veggies, and smaller butchery tasks like chicken, small fish, or deboning a pork shoulder.
