Massdrop x Apogee Takumi Nakiri 7" Vegetable Knife

Our latest collaboration with Apogee is the nakiri: a 7-inch vegetable-cutting extraordinaire designed to complement the other knives in the Takumi series. Crafted with a thin AUS-10 stainless steel blade, a nearly straight edge, and a squared-off tip, it excels in chopping and mincing vegetables. When used properly, it’ll make quick work of potatoes, eggplant, carrots, zucchini, and much more. Constructed from grippy and heat-resistant G-10, the handle is comfy and stable. It’s fitted with a decorative mosaic pin made from glass, copper, and brass to emphasize the traditional Japanese aesthetic. Plus, if your knife does get dull, Apogee will sharpen it at no charge as part of its lifetime warranty for members in the US and Canada.

If AUS-10 steel sounds familiar, that’s because its little brother AUS-8 is a common steel in modern pocket knives. Thanks to a higher carbon content, AUS-10 can be made harder (61 HRc on this knife), which results in better edge retention and less frequent sharpening. This Japanese steel is also much less prone to chipping than VG-10, the most common steel in Japanese knives. Made with a total of 45 layers—including 22 layers of SUS420 and nickel silver on each side and a core of AUS-10—this knife is performance driven. Aesthetically it’s no slouch, either: The blade is impact-welded with a rippling wave pattern reminiscent of historical damascus steel. In addition to its visual appeal, the ripples help food slide off the blade.

Designed with a thin blade, rounded tip, and nearly straight edge, the nakiri doesn’t look like a typical kitchen knife—but the unusual look serves a very specific purpose on this traditional Japanese design. First, the blade’s thin construction allows it to slice through vegetables quickly, without splitting them (in fact, the nakiri bōchō name translates to “knife for cutting greens” in Japanese). The nearly straight edge means the nakiri can cut all the way through to the cutting board without the horizontal push and pull you’d need with a typical chef’s knife. And when you’re cutting with speed, you won’t have to worry about piercing yourself—or your veggies—thanks to the nakiri’s squared-off tip. Furthermore, the tip is slightly rounded for a natural rocking motion while chopping and mincing, and the tall blade allows more clearance for knuckles when cutting directly above a board.