Traditional design, folded steel, wooden handles...remarkably light, and lethally sharp*. The carbon steel is not stainless, and will rust and stain if not cleaned and dried properly, but interestingly it turns out that rust (in small doses) is actually quite good for you- it's iron, after all. For anyone interested, there are lots more available: big heavy choppers, long thin sashimi slicers, even noodle cutting knives. Home made soba anyone?

*Please be careful. We take absolutely no responsibility for accidents in the kitchen (or anywhere else, for that matter.)

Care and cleaning: before using for the first time, wash with warm water and a small amount of washing up liquid (hand wash only). Dry thoroughly, protect with a fine coat of Camellia oil, and store individually (the blades are very thin, and can chip if handled badly.) Use wooden chopping boards, and take care not to cut through food into the board too hard. It all sounds a bit of a bore, but these knives are such a joy to use it is well worth the small effort.
Keep them sharp! A blunt Japanese knife is no better than any other blunt knife. Our trusty Swiss Istor sharpeners work well, but so do wet stones and most other techniques. Tadafusa, the maker, suggests sharpening every 2 weeks or so.