"CRAFT TOURISM ECHIZEN"　Steak Knife that Surprised Chefs Around the World

steak knife

Did you know that a steak knife with a four-year waiting period was born in Echizen City?

When you insert the edge of the blade, the meat is cut smoothly without feeling the resistance of the ingredients, and a smooth and beautiful cross section appears.

It is said that more than half of the judges who used the knife in international cooking competitions took it home because of its sharpness that they had never tasted before.

Such an episode spreads in a blink of an eye, and a certain company attracts attention from all over the world. Let's take a look at the story of how the steak knife was born.

german exhibition

Find a way out from Japan to overseas

Headquartered in Echizen City, Fukui Prefecture, where Echizen cutlery is produced, Ryusen Hamono is a cutlery manufacturer that handles kitchen knives, knives, and cutlery. Founded in 1953, the founder Hitoshi Masutani, a polishing craftsman, aimed for consistent manufacturing. In the era of the second generation, Mr. Hiroshi Masutani, he was the first cutlery production area in Japan to be designated as a "traditional craft", contributing greatly to the spread of recognition of Echizen cutlery.

The current president is Koji Masutani, the third generation. The steak knife was invented by him, but it hasn't always been smooth sailing.

“When I became president, due to the effects of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, even though I made products, they didn’t sell well, and I felt that there was a limit to how much I could sell in Japan. Our booth started from the corner of the venue, but we were serving about 100 buyers a day.”

Mr. Masuya, who had no connections overseas, actively participated in exhibitions. Although the number of people who understood the merits of Echizen cutlery gradually increased, it did not lead to concrete transactions. Just when I was feeling the dilemma of not getting results for the amount of effort I put in, I met a chef who would change the future of Ryusen Hamono.

Chef Noriyuki Hamada

What you are looking for is a knife that is both sharp and safe

That is Mr. Noriyuki Hamada, head chef of Hoshinoya Tokyo. I asked Mr. Masuya to use "the steak knife with the best sharpness" for the newly opened main dining room at "Hoshino Resorts Karuizawa Hotel Breston Court," where I was the executive chef at the time.

With the technology of Ryusen Hamono, the sharpness is something that we are good at.

However, Chef Hamada rejects the finished knife sample. It was an unexpected response, saying, "It cuts meat well, but it's too sharp and hurts the inside of your mouth."

Reunion after 35 years

A fateful reunion with a classmate

Sharpness and safety, what should I do to reconcile the two conflicting conditions? Mr. Masuya, who was completely stuck on a dead reef, has a powerful helper.

Hiroaki Watanabe, a classmate of Mr. Masuya in elementary and junior high school, who works on product design in Tokyo.

By chance, we met again for the first time in 35 years, and when I casually consulted him about steak knives, he decided to support the production.

Mr. Watanabe designed an asymmetrical shape that is easy to use for both right-handed and left-handed people. By making the tip of the knife curved rather than sharp, it is also safer, as it does not damage the plate or the inside of the mouth.

Mr. Masuya then reconsidered the materials and came up with the idea of stacking multiple layers of soft and hard steel. Different materials have a file-like structure, creating a single piece that cannot be cut just by hitting the ingredients, but can be cut smoothly by pulling lightly.

Mr. Masuya looks back on those days.

“Until now, knives have followed the traditional shape, but I realized that the design needs to change with the times. It was a great realization for future manufacturing.”

unprecedented

Echizen craftsmanship recognized around the world

The best steak knife that combines sharpness and safety, completed over the course of about two years. Although it was not in time for the opening of the restaurant, which was the initial goal, Ryusen Hamono's steak knives were adopted as the exclusive knives for the Japanese team at the "Bocuse d'Or International Cooking Competition" where Chef Hamada participated as a representative of Japan. Became.

In the competition, the result was 3rd place, the highest ever for a Japanese artist. Furthermore, about half of the judges from 24 countries who used Ryusen Hamono's steak knives were so impressed by the sharpness of the knife that they took it home, an unprecedented event.

From this day on, the name of Ryusen cutlery became known all over the world, and now it is used by restaurants all over the world, including Japan. There is a limit of 150 steak knives that can be made in a month, so there were times when orders would have to wait up to four years.

“Of course, we want to improve production efficiency.However, Echizen cutlery is only possible when a swordsmith stretches and folds a block of steel by hand. I would like to work on manufacturing that can be delivered as

▼Ryusen Cutlery Co., Ltd.

https://ryusen-hamono.com/