NAGOMI Regular Sujihiki 217mm

The sujihiki knife is Japan’s dedicated slicing blade, and the NAGOMI Regular 217mm is one of the most accessible entry points into serious Japanese slicing knives available in South Africa today.

NAGOMI is a knife brand by Mitsuboshi Cutlery, a manufacturer with over 140 years of history based in Seki, Japan, one of the world’s most renowned cutlery producing cities. The brand was born from a collaboration between Mitsuboshi’s fifth generation president Takahisa Watanabe, a descendant of sword smiths, and his wife, whose firsthand feedback from home cooks drove the development brief. The result is a knife built to deliver professional grade sharpness in a format that is genuinely practical and easy to maintain for everyday use. Every knife is finished by hand by skilled craftsmen and inspected using precision instruments before leaving the workshop.

NAGOMI translates to “harmony” in Japanese, and that philosophy shapes the entire range. Rather than chasing extreme hardness like many contemporary Japanese knives, NAGOMI is designed to balance sharp cutting performance with resilience and ease of care. The Regular line is the core of the range, offering clean, functional design with a pakka wood western handle, flush finished rivets, and a refined profile suited to a wide range of kitchen tasks.

The sujihiki knife is designed for long, single stroke slicing cuts. The narrow blade profile and extended length allow the knife to glide through proteins and fish in one clean pull, minimising tearing and preserving the texture of the ingredient. At 217mm it sits in a versatile part of the range, shorter and more manageable than a traditional 270mm sujihiki but long enough for breaking down fish, slicing roasts and portioning proteins with precision. It is an excellent choice as a first sujihiki knife or as a reliable slicing blade alongside a more general purpose Japanese knife.

Steel and Construction

The blade is ground from a single piece of 440A molybdenum stainless steel with no cladding, giving it a clean, uniform appearance from spine to edge. Rather than pursuing maximum hardness, Mitsuboshi chose 440A for its combination of corrosion resistance and toughness, then developed a proprietary heat treatment and edge finishing process to extract sharper, more lasting performance from the steel than is typical for this alloy. The edge is finished by hand by craftsmen with over 20 years of experience, with the geometry verified under precision instruments and microscopy before sign off. The pakka wood western handle is produced in house with flush polished rivets, so there is no step or ridge where the blade meets the handle.

Maintenance and Care

The NAGOMI sujihiki knife is one of the most approachable Japanese slicing knives to maintain. The stainless steel construction means rust is not a concern under normal kitchen conditions. Hand wash and dry after use. The steel is purposely kept at a moderate hardness so it responds well to light maintenance including stropping on a leather strop or a few passes on a fine whetstone. For routine upkeep, occasional stropping or light sharpening on a whetstone is all that is needed to keep the edge performing well. Avoid cutting bones, frozen food or hard shelled ingredients to protect the edge.

Best for: Fish, salmon, roasts, proteins, precise slicing work, everyday home prep

Kitchen Samurai Ease of Use Rating: Everyday All Rounder, the ideal first sujihiki knife for home cooks who want genuine slicing performance without a steep learning curve

HRC: 58

Made in Japan

Free shipping on orders over R1,500.