Kikuichi for Milk Street 5" Petty Knife

If you’ve only ever used small, Western-style paring knives, Kikuichi’s 5-inch petty knife will feel revelatory. Japanese knives are lean, durable, and more precise than their Western counterparts. The extra length and taller blade on this knife makes it more adept than shorter knives for a broader range of tasks, yet it is still incredibly lightweight for better control. This is the ideal picnic or camping knife; it is also great for everything from dicing small vegetables to breaking down roasts for stew meat or making sandwiches for school lunches.

Family-owned Kikuichi is the oldest continuous knife maker in Japan and uses methods from the samurai era, inherited from imperial blade-maker Shiro Kanenaga through four generations. Each of their products is handmade in the Japanese guild tradition, passing through the hands of at least four specialized artisans, so the finest attention to detail is given to every step in the knife-making process. We partnered with the company to bring you this knife with a custom-colored handle; we love the visibility the pop of orange provides, making the knife easy to locate on a cluttered counter or in the dish drain. (But please don’t put them in the dishwasher, which will damage high-quality knives.)

• Weight: 3.42 oz/97 grams
• Blade: AUS10 Molybdenum High Carbon stainless steel, HRC 59, Bevel Angle Ratio 50:50
• Handle: Resin
• Care Instructions: Always hand wash and dry knives.