Torii Series

Torii is our Japanese-shape series: nine hand-forged blades in 7Cr17MoV high-carbon steel, each on an octagonal maple wa-handle. The blades are hammer forged rather than stamped from sheet, which is what “hand-hammered” means here — there is no hammered surface finish on a Torii knife, just a clean grind and a thin, hard edge. Every blade is hand sharpened and oiled before it ships.

Building a Japanese kitchen knife set

Most kitchens do not need nine knives. The Three Gates Set is the honest starting point: one long blade, one mid-size blade, one small one, which covers close to everything a home cook cuts. The Four Gates Set adds a fourth shape for people who cook a lot of vegetables or a lot of fish. The Nine Gates Set is the full series, and it makes sense if you are furnishing a kitchen from scratch rather than filling gaps.

If you would rather pair two shapes, the duos do that deliberately: the Gyuto & Utility Duo for a long-and-short combination, the Chef & Utility Duo for a Western-profile equivalent, and the Kiritsuke & Petty Duo for precision work. Individual shapes run from the 10" Sakimaru and 9" Kiritsuke down to the 7" Nakiri and 6" Petty.

Every Torii set ships with a 99-day home trial and our free lifetime guarantee. Cook with it for three months; if it is not the sharpest set you have owned, send it back.

How many knives does a Japanese knife set actually need?

Three covers a home kitchen: a gyuto or chef knife for the bulk of the work, a santoku or nakiri for vegetables, and a petty or utility for anything you do in your hand. Everything past that is specialisation, not necessity.

What is 7Cr17MoV steel like to live with?

It is a high-carbon stainless steel — hard enough to take a genuinely thin Japanese edge, but forgiving about moisture in a way that a plain carbon steel is not. Hand wash, dry it, and it will not stain on you.

Can I buy Torii knives individually and build up a set?

Yes. All nine shapes are sold separately, so you can start with a chef knife and add the shapes you find yourself missing.

Guides: Introducing the Torii series · Japanese chef knife guide · Nakiri, bunka, gyuto and sujihiki explained