Sharp picks

Hattori Gyuto 210mm, $398 from Razorsharp
Gyutos are the Japanese’s version of the western chef’s knife and Ichiro Hattori is famous for his hand made knives. He started at the age of 18 when he joined his father's knife company "Masahiro" and has been making knives for the past 60 years. This particular Hattori HD line of knives is hand hammered in his small factory located in Seki City.

Wüsthof Ikon Chef Knife 20cm, $229 from Razorsharp
The bolster of the knife protects the fingers when cutting and balances the weight of the blade. Wüsthof is one of the few brands where the bolster is not soldered on and the whole knife is forged from a single blank of steel. The new knife series Wüsthof IKON have a new bolster design that allows for the entire blade to be sharpened.

Global Santoku fluted edge 18 cm, $159 from Tangs, Robinsons and Pantry Magic.
Santoku means "three virtues". It is a versatile tool that can be used for fish, meat and vegetables. “Santoku knives usually appeal to ladies more than the western cook’s knife as they are less pointy and don’t look as threatening,” notes Jeffrey Goh, owner of Razorsharp.

Excerpt from the December issue of epicure.