Tanganryu 105mm Hammered Damascus Petty (With Saya)

The Tanganryu series features a VG-10 core, clad in stainless hammered Damascus steel. A long time ago, when I was still cooking professionally, I used knives from Ryusen. Ryusen used to be one of the most popular OEM makers in Japan, as they had an excellent reputation for the knives they produced. More recently, they have stopped all OEM work to focus on their own brand. With this shift in philosophy, they have redoubled efforts to constantly make improvements to their various series (profiles, grinds, fit and finish, forging, heat treating, etc.). This is extremely apparent in their most recent offerings. They have done an excellent job at both researching on their own, as well as eliciting in-depth feedback from professional chefs and customers. Their business philosophy is such that they are open to new and better ways of doing things at every step of the way. When visiting Echizen on one of our Japan trips, we met with Ryusen Hamono, the maker of Blazen knives. Their commitment to excellence in grind quality, fit and finish, and consistency in each line they made was most impressive. Likewise, it was clear they took great care and pride in each step of the knife making process, which they do entirely in-house. From the forging to the heat treating to the product design and packaging, they had smart, well thought out processes in place. We are proud to be Ryusen’s sole official dealership for the Americas.

The Tanganryu series is relatively thin (not quite a laser, but close), with a medium/lightweight. While they aren’t super lightweight in hand, they aren’t heavy, and despite is western handle appearance, the in-hand feel (along with the weight and balance) is much more similar to that of a Japanese style handle. The hammered damascus finish is beautifully done, with a very high polish and exceptional fit and finish. Though it is primarily aesthetic, the hammered texture does help in food release. The blade profile, choil shape, and handle design have all been improved from previous runs to make the knife more comfortable in use. The choil shape sweeps away from the handle and the spine and choil are very nicely rounded and polished. The handle is crafted from a beautiful piece of maple, brought to an exceptionally high level of finish, and the shape makes the pinch grip extremely comfortable. No detail has gone unnoticed. The VG-10 core is exceptionally well heat treated, as they use molten salt baths in the process, which we agree is an excellent way to go about heat treating this steel. This series also comes with a black wood saya, featuring internal magnets to help keep the saya in place. This series won the 2016 Good Design Award.