This set includes: Model 7222 180mm (7") Santoku; Model 7229 80mm (3.15") small paring knife; Model 7221 135mm (5.3") Petty/Utility knife. They come individually boxed in nice yellow boxes.

If you like the damascus layered steel look but don't like the artificially high prices by domestic knives and kitchen stores, this set is a truly excellent choice. It also makes a fantastic exotic and unique gift. You get a super sharp and long-lasting VG-10 steel cutting core (this is a very hard steel, with a Rockwell hardness of approximately 60), with a 17-layer hammered steel surface and a beautifully finished and strong handle. The handles are made of Pakkawood, which has that nice wooden feel and look (it's made of wood fibre), but it is impregnated with resin/epoxy so it won't absorb water or warp or crack -- an excellent material!

This set is excellent for home use, as you get the very popular all-purpose santoku, the small paring knife, and the handy petty/utility knife which is great for precision dicing (think ginger, garlic and other small items).

Review (of the santoku) from my professional chef customer R. Abanes from Delta, BC: "Paul, I received the Sakai Takayuki knife last Friday. My friends & I immediately put it to work (prepping veg, fish & line duty). Everyone who saw it was impressed with its beauty, I'm very impressed with its surgical accuracy. Thank you so much for your impeccable service. You have my recommendation to anyone who's in the market to buying a knife (even if its not Japanese they're looking for)."

Note: I put all the images together here at full size so you can see them better, but of course the petty and paring knives are smaller than the santoku in real life.

These come individually packaged in beautiful gift boxes.

The edges on all these are ground 50/50 right/left so they're fine for right or left hand use and don't require any special angles so they're easy to sharpen by hand or with any good sharpening gadget.

I'd recommend the fine ceramic hone (see below) for regular/daily maintenance of the edge. As with any knife, use the hone regularly and you'll keep the edge in good shape for a LONG time before you need to think about doing any serious "re-sharpening" or real grinding and refinishing of the edge.