Traditional European chef’s knives are big, heavy and awkward because they evolved from Middle Ages daggers, which were designed for personal defense, not kitchen work. There’s good reason its so hard to prep a tidy dice.

Our solution was to look toward Japan, where there’s a long history—and huge range—of smartly designed kitchen knives grown out of swordmaking. By design, Japanese knives are thinner, lighter and task specific—separate blade styles, for meats, fish, vegetables, etc. Based on these knives and our own cooking experience, we developed an all-new modern chef’s knife that’s remarkably easy to use. It’s the Milk Street Kitchin-to, part cleaver and part vegetable knife. It can handle small jobs such as slicing garlic but also makes heavy-duty jobs a breeze. With the Kitchin-to, you let the knife do the work!

This is a Limited edition, premium run of our tried-and-true Milk Street Kitchin-To knife. It features a high-end Japanese AUS8 steel blade specially treated with a non-stick “Tsuchime” hammered surface and a gorgeously grained cocobolo wood handle. And it comes with a custom saya, or knife guard, to keep your blade keen and protect it in storage. Consider it an heirloom-quality tool to pass on to the next generation.

What if we told you there is a Japanese knife specifically designed for vegetable prep that will make your cooking safer, easier and faster? It is vastly better than the all-purpose European chef’s knife, which is clunky, heavy and too thick to precisely slice and dice onions, cut carrots into perfect coins or reduce chard into feathery ribbons.

The solution is the Milk Street Nakiri. It’s light, thin and sharp, with a design that resembles a mini cleaver—2 inches deep with a squared-off tip. The very thin blade, just 1.5 millimeters at the top, tapers down even thinner toward the end so it slices through even tough ingredients effortlessly without sticking. The broad blade shields your fingers when you chop and works as a bench scraper to transfer chopped veggies to the simmering pot. The blade’s heel gently curves to accommodate your fingers when choking up tight for control.

This is a limited edition, premium run of our tried-and-true Milk Street Nakiri knife. It features a high-end Japanese AUS8 steel blade specially treated with a nonstick “Tsuchime” hammered surface—foods slide right off—and a gorgeously grained cocobolo wood handle. Consider it an heirloom-quality tool to pass on to the next generation.

The one kind of knife missing from most Western kitchens is one of the most used in Japan—a midsized, multipurpose utility knife bigger and stronger than a paring knife but smaller and more manageable than a chef’s knife. Why Western cooks typically don’t have such a knife is beyond us, so we took months to design our own. The result is the Kitchin-kiji—the ultimate all-purpose utility knife that will speed up your prep. It’s perfect for all the “in-between” jobs, small enough for detailed handwork like slicing garlic and shallots, trimming mushrooms or cutting fruit. Plus, we designed it with a broad, stiff blade to be large enough that it won’t twist, and the larger handle fills the hand for a confident grip.

This is a Limited edition, premium run of our tried-and-true Milk Street Kitchin-kiji knife. It features a high-end Japanese AUS 8 steel blade specially forged with a non-stick “Tsuchime” hammered surface and a gorgeously grained, ultra-durable cocobolo wood handle. Consider it an heirloom-quality tool to use and pass on to the next generation of cooks in your family.

What if we told you there is a Japanese knife specifically designed for vegetable prep that will make your cooking safer, easier and faster? It is vastly better than the all-purpose European chef’s knife, which is clunky, heavy and too thick to precisely slice and dice onions, cut carrots into perfect coins or reduce chard into feathery ribbons.

The solution is the Milk Street Nakiri. It’s light, thin and sharp, with a design that resembles a mini cleaver—2 inches deep with a squared-off tip. The very thin blade, just 1.5 millimeters at the top, tapers down even thinner toward the end so it slices through even tough ingredients effortlessly without sticking. The broad blade shields your fingers when you chop and works as a bench scraper to transfer chopped veggies to the simmering pot. The blade’s heel gently curves to accommodate your fingers when choking up tight for control.

This is a limited edition, premium run of our tried-and-true Milk Street Nakiri knife. It features a high-end Japanese AUS8 steel blade specially treated with a nonstick “Tsuchime” hammered surface—foods slide right off—and a gorgeously grained cocobolo wood handle. Consider it an heirloom-quality tool to pass on to the next generation.

The one kind of knife missing from most Western kitchens is one of the most used in Japan—a midsized, multipurpose utility knife bigger and stronger than a paring knife but smaller and more manageable than a chef’s knife. Why Western cooks typically don’t have such a knife is beyond us, so we took months to design our own. The result is the Kitchin-kiji—the ultimate all-purpose utility knife that will speed up your prep. It’s perfect for all the “in-between” jobs, small enough for detailed handwork like slicing garlic and shallots, trimming mushrooms or cutting fruit. Plus, we designed it with a broad, stiff blade to be large enough that it won’t twist, and the larger handle fills the hand for a confident grip.

This is a Limited edition, premium run of our tried-and-true Milk Street Kitchin-kiji knife. It features a high-end Japanese AUS 8 steel blade specially forged with a non-stick “Tsuchime” hammered surface and a gorgeously grained, ultra-durable cocobolo wood handle. Consider it an heirloom-quality tool to use and pass on to the next generation of cooks in your family.

Traditional European chef’s knives are big, heavy and awkward because they evolved from Middle Ages daggers, which were designed for personal defense, not kitchen work. There’s good reason its so hard to prep a tidy dice.

Our solution was to look toward Japan, where there’s a long history—and huge range—of smartly designed kitchen knives grown out of swordmaking. By design, Japanese knives are thinner, lighter and task specific—separate blade styles, for meats, fish, vegetables, etc. Based on these knives and our own cooking experience, we developed an all-new modern chef’s knife that’s remarkably easy to use. It’s the Milk Street Kitchin-to, part cleaver and part vegetable knife. It can handle small jobs such as slicing garlic but also makes heavy-duty jobs a breeze. With the Kitchin-to, you let the knife do the work!

This is a Limited edition, premium run of our tried-and-true Milk Street Kitchin-To knife. It features a high-end Japanese AUS8 steel blade specially treated with a non-stick “Tsuchime” hammered surface and a gorgeously grained cocobolo wood handle. And it comes with a custom saya, or knife guard, to keep your blade keen and protect it in storage. Consider it an heirloom-quality tool to pass on to the next generation.