Niwaki Nashi Knife Range

Sharpen every few weeks with a Niwaki Combination Stone.

Niwaki Kitchen Knives are made at the Tadafusa Factory in Sanjo, founded in 1948 and now run by the third generation of the Sone family.

Tomoji Sone 曽根 ともじ

UK: (excluding Tripod Ladders)

• Free delivery for orders over £100*
• £4.00: Standard service via Royal Mail Tracked 48; typically 2–5 working days.
• £7.50: Priority service via Royal Mail Tracked 24, DHL, FedEx, or UPS; typically delivered next working day by 6pm (excluding Sat/Sun and UK Bank Holidays) for orders received before 12pm GMT Mon–Fri (excluding UK Bank Holidays).

Global: (excluding Tripod Ladders)

• Free delivery for orders over £/$/€100*
• Price depends on location - adjust the COUNTRY tab in your basket to see the price.
• We use DHL, FedEx, or UPS, and we’ll email you the tracking info.

*Customs fees may apply and are estimated during checkout. Surcharges may apply to some larger or heavier items to some areas.
* Please note Niwaki are not responsible for any import duty, taxes or fees incurred and these will be will be collected by our courier during customs clearance — For EU countries, when possible DHL will provide an estimate on the order confirmation page.

When choosing a Japanese kitchen knife here’s a few things to consider:

Which Knife type?

• All-Rounder: the Gyuto or Santoku - the standard domestic knife in Japan. Get one of these if you’re starting out. Technically, the Santoku has a broader blade, while the Gyuto is more slender, and based on a western chef’s knife
• Veg Knife: Nakiri - good for meat as well. Usuba - this one’s a bit special, it’s single bevelled for traditional Japanese veg prep, wafer thin sheets of daikon radish, that sort of thing
• Small Knife: Petty
• Raw Fish: Yanagiba (single bevelled)
• Carving: Sujihiki
• Filleting Fish: Deba, Mioroshi, Ajikiri (all single bevelled. Deba is the largest and most substantial, Ajikiri the smallest (named after the aji fish, a kind of mackerel) while Mioroshi is an interesting take on the Deba, with a touch of Gyuto thrown in.

Which Range?

• For beginners: think about the stainless steel Tetsuhiro range - they won’t blow you away, but are a great introduction to Japanese knives
• Beyond that: do you want a more traditional Japanese feel (Masashi’s knives and the Carbon range have Japanese style handles) or a heavier, more substantial Western feel - in which case go for the Nashi or Western range

White Paper Steel is the easiest to sharpen but Blue Paper Steel holds its edge longer while SLD and VG-10 are hard wearing and semi rust proof (Tadafusa Kobo, Masashi, Shigeki).

Masashi, needless to say, are the nicest, but the Niwaki Carbon and Niwaki Nashi hit a sweet spot of quality and value, giving you triple layered steel at an affordable price.