• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Lambs' Ears and Honey | A Food & Travel Blog
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About Me – Lambs Ears and Honey
  • Work With Me
  • Wish You Were Here
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
go to homepage
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • About Me – Lambs Ears and Honey
  • Work With Me
  • Wish You Were Here
×

Home » Food » Artisans and producers » Koi Kitchen Knives – Performance, Bling and South Australian Produced

Koi Kitchen Knives – Performance, Bling and South Australian Produced

01/02/2021 by Amanda

Share

Share
Pin
Tweet

Discover the difference between Japanese and Western kitchen knives – and discover Koi Knives, beautiful, South Australian-made excellence.

Koi kitchen knives

 

I know I have something of a fondness for fine kitchen gadgets and have talked some of them up on these pages, but I’ve always known how indispensable excellent kitchen knives are. I’ve been using an entirely reliable set of German knives for many years now, but was recently given two  Koi kitchen knives to have a play with. Total kitchen bling, these beautiful knives are produced right here in Adelaide, using imported Japanese blades with finely crafted aged Australian timber and resin handles.

I know Japanese kitchen knives have become enormously popular amongst chefs and experienced cooks, and I’ve often wondered what the differences might be between them and Western knives.  With two gorgeous precision knives to get to know, and the opportunity to chat with a knife professional, here was my chance to find out.

Two Adelaide friends, Ramon Elzinga and Shannon Dolman, are the guys behind Koi kitchen knives. Ramon has always had an artistic interest in Japan, at least in part borne of stories his parents had shared from their time living there.  Shannon had experience working with his father in the family spring factory – an incredibly useful asset as their combined interest began to hone in on 😉  knives, giving him access to the practical side of knife manufacture. 

 

They began the business as a hobby in 2018, experimenting with different steels from many international regions, but quickly focused on the steel used in Japanese knives. The Japanese use steel with a higher percentage of carbon, making it more than twice as hard as that used in Western knives. The practical advantages of this are obvious – a harder blade is able to be worked to a much finer edge. This makes for a sharper knife, and a knife that will hold that sharp edge for longer.

Japanese cooks use kitchen knives differently from Western cooks. They tend to use chopping cuts, making each cut in one motion, instead of the rolling method more commonly found in other countries, and each knife is purpose-designed for a specific task. All cooks need sharp knives, but Japanese cooks require their knives to be utterly razor sharp to facilitate the deliberate and precise chopping techniques employed in their kitchens.

Koi kitchen knives

 

The blades for Koi kitchen knives are all imported from Japan, but fine-tuned and sharpened right here in Adelaide. The handles are made from aged South Australian timbers and they select from more than 90 different woods, some of which have been deliberately exposed to ants. Ant eat away at the softer parts of the timber, leaving the hardest bits, creating interesting channels in which the jewel-coloured resin is poured. Each knife is superbly beautiful, and each is totally unique.

Ramon very generously gave me one of the Koi Gyuto chefs knives and the Bunka utility knife and I can say, hand on heart, that I’ve never used kitchen knives so exceptional in my life.

kitchen knives

 

Koi knives are a joy to hold – but the two I have couldn’t be more different. The Bunka is perfectly weighted and hefty, making chopping hard vegetables a breeze. The Gyuto is much lighter making it a perfect knife for more generalised slicing and cutting. The blades on each are wickedly sharp, and both are the most beautiful knives I’ve ever seen, with a bit of bling on the handles and extensive, intricate detailing on the blades.

At $295 each, I strongly suspect that these knives are underpriced. I’ve been so taken with them that I went online and ordered more over the weekend – when it comes to my preferred kitchen knives, I think I’m turning Japanese.

 

 

 

 

 

Subscribe to Lambs' Ears and Honey

Enter your Email

Related posts

  • The seasonal challenge of cheese – meet the Woodside CheesewrightThe seasonal challenge of cheese – meet the Woodside Cheesewright
  • Why Do We Need Bees? Find Out at Mt. Pleasant Farmers Market World Bee DayWhy Do We Need Bees? Find Out at Mt. Pleasant Farmers Market World Bee Day
  • Adelaide Food Festivals – Check out the Adelaide Food FringeAdelaide Food Festivals – Check out the Adelaide Food Fringe
  • Gewurzhaus in Adelaide – A Gourmet Spice StoreGewurzhaus in Adelaide – A Gourmet Spice Store
  • South Australian Olive Oil – Rio Vista Olives Brings Home GoldSouth Australian Olive Oil – Rio Vista Olives Brings Home Gold

Share

Share
Pin
Tweet
Previous Post: « Preserving with Those Barossa Girls – It’s Not Just About Bottled Fruit!
Next Post: Adelaide Food Festivals – Check out the Adelaide Food Fringe »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Peggy Bright

    February 01, 2021 at 4:56 pm

    These look sensational. Would love to own one. Maybe!

  2. Amanda

    February 01, 2021 at 8:22 pm

    Check out their website – like I said, I believe these knives are underpriced!

  3. Rosemary

    February 02, 2021 at 11:46 am

    Such a gorgeous knife! I’ve never seen anything like it. Sure would love to try one.

Primary Sidebar

Don’t run the risk of missing a post! Subscribe to Lamb’s Ears and Honey

Search This Website

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

COMMENTS, FEEDBACK, QUESTIONS?

I love to hear what you think so please leave a comment or ask me a question!

Archives

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Recent Posts

why do we need bees

Why Do We Need Bees? Find Out at Mt. Pleasant Farmers Market World Bee Day

bathroom, dairy flat lodge

Luxury Farm Stays and Regenerative Agriculture – At Dairy Flat Lodge the Lake House Daylesford Team Up the Ante

lambs' ears cookbook club

Lambs’ Ears Cookbook Club – April Selection

Sumac

Sumac – A Syrian Food Journey

Footer

Featured Recipes

pistachio, cranberry and orange biscotti
Recipe for Turkish bread

Featured Posts

kangaroo island food, sunset dinner
new cookbooks for christmas - anatolia
bali zoo, elephant mud fun
COPYRIGHT © 2021 LAMBS' EARS AND HONEY