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TOTIKO KNIVES

Totiko professional kitchen knives

Totiko, a reliable lifetime companion to be treated with care.

Just luxury knives? More than that: Totiko knives are a real extension of the chef’s arm! Thanks to our professional kitchen knives, chefs will be able to share their love for food unconditionally, with perfect cuts to enhance even the simplest of the ingredients and create aesthetically pleasant dishes, without wasting product.

Totiko knives are manufactured with strong attention to hygiene: we opted for steel and inert, non-porous fiberglass handles of the highest quality, incredibly resistant. The result? Heat-resistant, waterproof ergonomic handles, for higher comfort and virtually unlimited lifespan

Types of knives

Usuba

Straight, single-bevel knife. The term ‘usuba’ literally means ‘thin’ (usu) ‘blade’ (ba). Designed to cut vegetables, it allows to obtain precise, thin cuts, avoiding unpleasant oxidation.

Totiko Usuba knives can be single bevel or double bevel. The first ones are the most widespread in professional fields (e.g., in restaurants), while the latter are most commonly used in domestic environment. Double-edged knives are also called ‘ryōba bōchō’. The blade length of these kind of knives spans between 16 and 22 cm.

Deba

Holding it in one’s hand, a Deba knife (literally ‘protruding blade’) reminds of a heavy knife similar to a cleaver. Deba knives made their appearance in Japanese kitchens during the Edo period, before the reforms and the modernization process promoted by Meiji emperor, and they are designed for slicing and filleting fish. Handled with a hammer grip, Deba knives are used to remove fish heads with a clean cut, while their single-edged blade allows them to slide on the bones. They can also be used to cut crustaceans’ carapaces. Nowadays, they are widespread multipurpose knife, forged with a single piece of steel. The blade tang is inserted into the handle while still incandescent, thus ensuring extraordinary resistance over time. Not suitable for cutting big meat bones.

Yanagiba

Willow-leaf knife, it ranks among those knives used to prepare sushi and sashimi. Its blade is exceptionally long by Western standards (in some cases exceeding 360mm) and it is forged with one single type of steel. Thin, single-edged, it is highly polished to reduce any friction and cut effortlessly. As a matter of fact, Japanese chefs believe that if food undergoes excessive stress during cutting, this will negatively affect the quality of the fish to be served. That’s why a proper cutting should be carried out with one single movement: the operation involves resting the heel of the blade on the fish with the tip pointing upwards at almost 45 degrees, and then slicing downwards along the flesh.

Santoku

The name ‘santoku’ means ‘three virtues’ or ‘uses’. It is not clear whether it refers to the kind of food – fish, meat, vegetables – or to the types of cut these knives are intended for – that is, mincing, slicing, or cutting into pieces. Or, again, it may refer to the fact that it encompasses all the functions of the three traditional knives, i.e., deba, usuba and yanagiba.

Double-edged, its shape is inspired by Western-style knives. Lightweight and easy to handle, it has gained great success in kitchens all over the world, taking over the old traditional chef’s knives. A must have for all aspiring chefs.

Nakiri

Conceived to cut vegetables, it is thinner and easier to handle if compared to traditional Japanese knives. Thanks to its double edge, it does not swerve sideways, so you won’t need to keep correcting your movements while slicing. It is also easier to maintain. Maybe it is for this very reason that nakiri knives have gained ground in Japanese domestic kitchens, and – just as santoku knives – they are spreading widely in Western countries too. They are often forged according to the ‘awase’ style, a feature which ensures strength, sharpness and flexibility. Ideal for julienne and chiffonade.

Gyuto

Suitable for any use, it is, without any doubt, the most used among kitchen knives. Even though the majority of amateurs enjoying the art of cooking love having a specific tool for each food, this gem is highly versatile and can be used for various tasks, from chopping to slicing – up to dicing – any kind of food. One of the main features of a chef’s knife is its wide and sharp blade. However, this model differs from European-style ones by its V-edge, typical of the Japanese tradition. A unique yet tricky manufacturing process, which can only be carried out manually by expert hands. The end result is excellent, as the back of the blade is not weighed down, as is the case for European blades, which present a U shape.

Boning knives

With their extremely sharp, thin blade, boning knives – as the word suggests – are used to remove bones from meat. Handy and with a curve specifically designed for the purpose, boning knives allow for precise, neat cutting of meat and, above all, prevent wasting food (as it would occur with a standard kitchen knife). All boning knives are similar; they only differ in blade length and tip.

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Paring knives

Paring knives are another essential tool for both domestic and professional use. Small-sized, generally used where a Chef’s knife cannot reach. Conceived as peeling knives, they are excellent for cutting fruit and vegetables on the cutting board, for flawless, quick and accurate peeling.

Easy to control, and therefore suitable for both professional and amateur chefs, their characteristic shape and dimensions are the features that make these knives really stand out. Their smooth blade, ranging from 8 to 11cm in length, can be straight or curved. Curved blades resemble a bird’s beak. Such knives are called Tournier and they are mainly used for slicing, garnishing (fruit carving), chopping, peeling and dicing any type of fruit. Their smooth blade is suitable for slicing soft food: meat, garlic, cheese, mushrooms, fruit. Not suitable for slicing hard vegetables, e.g., carrots.

Totiko Damascus knives

A series of practical Japanese knives combining exceptionally sharp edges, easy to maintain. Their highly ergonomic Western-style handles, suitable for any type of cut, match perfectly with Japanese-style blades. Their optimal specific weight makes these knives the perfect choice for all types of preparation, fully meeting expectations even after a long time.

Highly versatile and characterized by outstanding cutting capacity, our chef’s knives are manufactured with utmost care with semi craft-based production techniques and high-quality material. A manufacturing process which takes more than 60 days to be carried out. The wide blade allows for a better handling. The beautiful hammered finish – where present – is not only an expression of fine craftsmanship, but it also helps to reduce resistance and food getting stuck on the blade. Thanks to its handmade polishing, the blade reveals a magnificent Damascus texture on its surface. The VG-10 steel core is rich in carbon, and has an enhanced crystal structure which is obtained thanks to a precise cryogenic tempering process with liquid nitrogen. This increases strength, flexibility and hardness, giving a sharpness comparable to that of a particularly elastic scalpel. The blade is resistant, long-lasting and sharp. Each one of our knives has handmade finishes carried out in 3 phases using Honbazuke method, by means of which beautiful mirror-polished edges (8-12 degrees each) are obtained.

Handles are meticulously manufactured with Garolite G-10, a high-quality, inert, non-porous fiberglass, incredibly resistant to both heat and humidity. The ergonomic handles are carefully designed for higher control and utmost comfort.

Damascus knives: technical features

Damascus steel blades (33 layers per side) with top-quality VG-10 stainless steel core, rich in carbon and enriched with vanadium for better resistance. Their high carbon content gives them a hardness of around 60 Rockwell, thanks to which exceptional, long lasting sharp edges are made possible. The final sharpening phase is carried out by expert craftsmen according to the Honbazuke technique, the original Japanese method involving the skilled handling of a whetstone.

  • Damascus steel blades (33 layers per side) and Damascus texture
  • Symmetrical blades with special Honbazuke edges.
  • Ergonomic handle made of G-10 fiberglass.