A Japanese knife as a perfect gift

How many times have we been in doubt about the right gift for a loved one? Not any more!

Although in the culture of the Far East it is not recommended to give a blade as a gift because of the connection with cutting off good relations, they also could not resist the perfection of such a gift, so they devised a "trick" that allows them to gift knives without problems. Just ask for one coin from the person receiving the gift and in the eyes of the strict superstitious spirits it will be a fair exchange.

Now, no joke, a knife is a gift that, unlike other transient things, will be remembered forever because it will serve forever. When you give someone a Japanese knife as a gift, they will remember you every time they use it and will enjoy using it even more. However, there are a few guidelines that you should follow as a guide to buying this type of gift.

What shape should I give? According to past experience, if you are not sure that your loved one needs a certain type of knife, it is best to go for the most universal knife option. First of all, the Gyuto, Santoku or Bunka forms are thought of here. You can't go wrong with them because there isn't a gastro enthusiast who wouldn't love to have a +1 in their collection.

You should avoid giving away a knife that can cause difficulties for the end user. This primarily refers to whether the knife is made of carbon or rust steel, which most people do not know how to maintain or simply do not like. A quick way to avoid this is to buy a stainless steel knife. We live in a time when steel technology allows us to have that super-hard structure in stainless knives as well, such as those made of VG10, SG2 or Ginsan steel, which we all strive for and which gives a perfect long-lasting sharpness. So the right step would be to choose one of these steels.

Knife dimension. Let's consider the situation where we have two users, one of average build, 180cm tall, and the other extremely tall, 210cm tall. If both users were to use a santoku knife with a blade length of 170mm, one of them would have the case that the knife is simply not proportionate to his height. Can you guess which one? Of course for a user who is 210 cm tall. A good guideline for finding the right size is that the standard knife size fits a person of standard build. The standard size of the santoku knife is 170 mm and it will perfectly suit a person of standard build. Take a look at the list of standard size values, and according to it you can judge without fail which dimension perfectly fits the lucky owner of your next gift:

• Santoku - standard size 170mm
• Gyuto - standard size 210mm
• Bunka - standard size 180mm
• Petty - standard size 120mm
• Sujihiki/slicer - standard size 240mm
• Yanagiba - standard size 240mm
• Thickness - standard dimension 160mm

The durability of the knife would be the next factor we should consider. Japanese knives can be extremely delicate and in that sense would not be the right choice for a user who expects exceptional durability during use. If we are giving a gift to a person who will soon own his first Japanese knife, the advice is to choose a slightly more robust knife that will respond well to more difficult tasks.

Budget. As the price is certainly one of the factors during any purchase, it will be the case here as well. Although we don't skimp on our loved ones, sometimes we are not able to buy them the most expensive thing from the store. Don't worry, there is a solution for that too. Usually, people buy themselves larger, more versatile knives, and somehow always avoid buying themselves the smaller Petty knife that is absolutely necessary. That's where you perform. Petty knives are generally cheaper because of the less steel used.

Of course, as always, we are at your disposal to contact us to help you choose.

With the right choice and a little care when packing, which we will be happy to do for you, a Japanese knife will make a perfect gift.