Don’t you hate it when you get ready to do some cooking and Paul Hogan comes out of nowhere ridiculing your cookware with taunts of “Ya call that a knife?”

Me too.

That’s why next time I’ll be ready with my new Nickel Damascus Chef’s Knife forged by famous Echizen blacksmith Takeshi Saji using techniques that span the globe. Now that’s what I call a knife!

Saji is a third-generation blacksmith from the Echizen region in Fukui Prefecture, an area long known for its excellent craftsmanship in various disciplines. Although he is currently the youngest certified blacksmith in Japan he brings plenty of age-old know-how into his works. However, this particular series of knives is done in a western chef’s style in terms of angles and contours, in a perfect blend of traditions in which East meets West.

Moreover, these knives are forged in the Damascus style based on the legendary swords of the Middle East and West Asian regions. Although the exact method of making those blades has been lost, experts are getting closer to reproducing it. Nevertheless, the term “Damascus” is still used to describe the rippled effect in the blades that makes your knives look like gateways to another dimension.

Each knife is an elegant combination of Japanese sharpness with Western durability and Middle Eastern strength. Their blades are tempered from VG-10 Nickel Damascus and are available in a variety of types.

Chef’s Knife (with antler handle)
24-centimeter (9.5-inch) blade – 28,000 yen (US$231) / 21-centimeter – 22,400 yen / 18-centimeter – 19,200 yen / 15-centimeter – 17,600 yen

Chef’s Knife (with green Micarta handle)
18-centimeter – 19,200 yen

Chef’s Knife (with black Micarta handle)
18-centimeter – 19,200 yen / 15-centimeter – 17,600 yen ($145)

Petty Knife (with antler handle)
13.5-centimeter – 17,600 yen

Petty Knife (with green Micarta handle)
13-centimeter – 17,600 yen

Steak Knife (with antler handle)
13-centimeter – 18,800 yen

Steak Knife (with ironwood handle)
13-centimeter – 18,800 yen

Not only strong and long-lasting, these knives are certainly eye-catching. However, we don’t recommend waving them around in crowded places where eyes may catch them. That could turn awkward.

So the next time Crocodile Dundee or any other Australian with a knife superiority complex steps up to you, just pull out your Nickel Damascus Chef’s Knife and banish them to the Phantom Zone.

I don’t know if these knives can actually do that, but they look like they can and at those prices they should be able to.

Source: Ehamono via Japaaan Magazine
Images: Ehamono