The nakiri’s rectangular, flat-edged blade is meant for the push/pull chopping of vegetables. Since the entire flat edge of the knife kisses the cutting board at once, you won’t turn the vegetable into an accordion. Brunoise, julienne, French fries, sliced onions, oblique carrots-this is where nakiris excel. In fact, make onion soup the first day you have a nakiri. The first few cuts will feel odd, but you’ll get the hang of it. After slicing the 10 onions needed for the soup, you’ll be searching the kitchen for another onion to cut just for fun. These knives are addictive.

The Takeda Hamono NAS Aogami Super range is forged from Aogami Super Blue Super carbon steel, one of the highest performing traditional Japanese knife steels, manufactured using advanced alloying with high levels of carbon, tungsten, molybdenum, chromium, and vanadium. The high carbon content allows the blades to achieve exceptional hardness, typically around 62–64 HRC, delivering outstanding edge retention and the ability to take an extremely fine, razor sharp edge. Tungsten and vanadium contribute to the formation of hard carbides, improving wear resistance and cutting longevity, while molybdenum enhances toughness and stability during heat treatment.

Each blade is traditionally hand-forged by Shosui Takeda using san mai construction, with a hard Aogami Super core protected by softer cladding layers to balance cutting performance, durability, and strength. The NAS range is renowned among professional chefs for its exceptional sharpness, unique forged finish, and the combination of advanced metallurgy with centuries old Japanese blacksmithing techniques.

Weight: 125g

Handle Material: Wa handle - Magnolia wood, Buffalo horn ferrule

Handle Length: 130mm (5.1")

Blade Length: 136mm (5.3")

Blade Depth: 56mm

Thickness at spine: 2.6mm

Thickness at tip: 0.2mm

Cutting Edge: Double 50/50

Blade Material: Aogami Super (Blue Super) (Carbon steel)

Hardness (Rockwell scale): 63 - 64