NAGOMI Regular Peeling Knife 90mm

This NAGOMI Regular 90mm is a Japanese paring knife built for the small, close work that a big blade makes awkward. Peeling, trimming, coring, segmenting citrus, deveining prawns. It is the knife you pick up ten times a day without thinking about it.

NAGOMI is made by Mitsuboshi Cutlery in Seki, a city that has been forging blades for more than seven hundred years and remains the heart of Japanese knife manufacturing. Mitsuboshi has been at it for over 140 years. The name Nagomi means harmony, and the Regular series is built around that idea: knives that do their job without fuss, at a price that does not ask you to think twice.

A paring knife is the smallest blade in a working kitchen and the one most people underestimate. At 90mm it is short enough to control entirely in the hand, off the board, working against your thumb. The blade is straight and pointed, so it handles both peeling and precise tip work. If you already own a gyuto or a santoku, this is the knife that fills the gap they cannot reach.

Steel and Construction

The blade is 440A molybdenum stainless steel, hardened to 58 HRC. This is a monosteel knife, forged from a single piece with no cladding, which keeps it simple and keeps the cost down. 440A is a properly stainless, corrosion resistant steel that takes a good working edge and is forgiving to sharpen. At 58 HRC it will not hold an edge as long as a harder Japanese steel, and it is not trying to. It is tough, easy to bring back, and hard to damage. For a knife that lives in a drawer and gets used constantly, that trade is the right one.

The handle is a western style Pakka wood handle, which gives it a bit more weight in the hand than a traditional wa-handle. Many people prefer that on a small knife, where the extra heft steadies the blade.

Maintenance and Care

Straightforward. Wash it by hand and dry it after use. The 440A is fully stainless so it will not patina or rust with normal use, but it is not dishwasher safe. Keep it off bones and frozen food. Sharpen it on a whetstone when it starts to drag, and because the steel is softer it will come back quickly with very little effort.

Best for: anyone who needs a small, dependable paring knife for peeling and detail work, and anyone building a first Japanese knife set who wants a sensible companion to a larger blade.

Kitchen Samurai Ease of Use Rating: 10 out of 10. Fully stainless, forgiving hardness, easy to sharpen, and almost impossible to get wrong. The most approachable knife we sell.

HRC: 58

Made in Japan.

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