Ooo… Ooo, ooo, ooo. There is something about knives that just does it for men in the kitchen. Don’t know what it is, but the sight of a great knife just makes us drool. Maybe it’s that a professional tool makes us feel all chefy, but whatever it is, these babies just take it to the max.

The Japanese certainly know a thing or two about blades. I picked up a Nakiri NA165. It is light in the hand and unassuming, but I sure taught a carrot a lesson it will never forget. I’m certainly no chop master, but this knife cut the most wafer thin slices without me even having to think about it.

The thing is, that knife is pretty much the bottom of the range.

I tried a whole load of tools across their catalog and was sorely tempted by the Suminagashi SU210 at £155. It’s just beautiful. If the Nakari was off cutting carrots without me, the Siminagashi was busy making a fruit platter, sculpting a cucumber swan and then knitting me a sweater while it was waiting for me to catch up. I had to have it… then my wife walked over and I hastily returned the credit card to the safety of my pocket.

I eventually decided to hold out for the new version of the Santuk SE165. They’ve redesigned the handle which now gives a better balance (IMO). It’s out in May and I just couldn’t persuade them to let me have the one piece they have on show — bastards.