There’s a reason why Japanese knives are coveted and respected in a different way compared with other knives: the shape and material are different and allow for easier and more precise cutting.

In the case of Hogsmith Enterprises‘ Shokunin knife, the Japanese AUS-8 steel blade gives the knife its ideal hardness that sharpens to a razor finish. The blade is given a tsuchime or hammered finish and the handles are made of sustainably-harvested rosewood and recovered pakkawood.

Hogsmith Enterprises currently produces an apron line but it started out as a shop that sells cutting boards, iron pans, and knives. Coming up with the Shokunin knife was a way of getting back to their roots of producing chef’s tools. “The hardest part was restraint. We stuck with the basics and made sure the knife still had a meditative simplicity to it,” says owner and chef Joey Herrera.

Originally published in F&B Report Vol. 15 No. 6