HIKARI CHEF KNIVES
Years of working with exceptional Japanese knives led us to build a knife around maximum performance.
BTN brings together extreme-edge-retention CPM S90V, refined cutting geometry, premium materials and meticulous workmanship. Every part of the knife was developed around the same goal: exceptional cutting performance, edge life, balance, fit and finish.
THE CURRENT COLLECTION
Gyuto, Bunka, Nakiri and Petty knives built around high-performance steel, refined geometry, premium materials and careful finishing.
OUR BACKGROUND
Hikari Chef Knives specializes in high-end Japanese kitchen knives. Our catalog includes work from makers and brands such as Shiro Kamo, Takeshi Saji, Nigara Hamono, Naohito Myojin, Sukenari, Tetsuhiro, Satake, Ogata Shungo, Katsuto Tanaka, Seki Kanetsugu, Suncraft and Zanmai, among many others.
Working with such a wide range of knives gave us years of direct experience with different steels, profiles, grinds, hardness levels, construction methods and sharpening characteristics. It also gave us a very high benchmark for how a serious kitchen knife should cut, feel and perform.
That experience is also what made BTN such a natural fit for us. The goal behind the knives is clear: bring together exceptional steel, geometry, materials, workmanship and finishing in a truly exceptional kitchen knife.
THE BTN PROJECT
Performance was the starting point for every decision. Steel, heat treatment, blade profile, geometry, grind, balance, construction, handle materials and fit and finish were developed as parts of one complete knife.
For the Gyuto, we started with the side profile – the two-dimensional outline – of Shiro Kamo’s three-layer SG2 Gyuto, one of the best all-purpose chef-knife profiles we have worked with. Its proportions, tip position and board contact gave us an excellent foundation on which to build the BTN design.
From that outline, we developed the blade around cutting performance. Thickness, grind, food release, balance and edge geometry were refined through prototypes, testing and repeated feedback. BTN can use different grinds and constructions, with each version developed around the same performance-first philosophy.
Performance does not stop at the cutting edge. Handle materials, balance, transitions, polishing, fit and finish and the small details of each knife received the same attention. Several rounds of prototypes and revisions helped turn the original concept into the knives we produce today.
CPM S90V
CPM S90V is exceptionally rare in kitchen knives. Its very high vanadium content gives it extraordinary wear resistance and places it near the top of modern stainless knife steels for abrasive edge retention.
Independent comparative testing rates S90V above premium steels such as ZDP-189, M390, SG2 and MagnaCut for edge retention. It also retains a stronger toughness balance than several steels at the extreme wear-resistance end, including ZDP-189, S125V and M398.
In our own sharpening experience, BTN S90V at around 62 HRC responds readily to regular Japanese waterstones. Material removal is straightforward and, in practical sharpening, we have found it comparable to SG2 and substantially easier than the hard, glassy feel of ZDP-189.
THE COMPLETE KNIFE
S90V is a major part of BTN, but the performance comes from the complete knife: steel, heat treatment, geometry, construction, balance, handles, finishing and the attention given to each piece.
CPM S90V provides the exceptional wear resistance and edge retention at the core of the current BTN range.
Profiles, thickness and grinds are developed around smooth cutting, effective food release and confident control at the board.
Handles, blade finishing, transitions and assembly are treated as integral parts of the knife rather than secondary details.
BTN has gone through multiple cycles of prototypes, testing and revision, with changes made wherever they produced a better finished knife.
HANDMADE PRODUCTION
BTN knives are handmade in Vietnam in a small workshop led by Nam. Production is deliberately small-scale, allowing close attention to blade geometry, grinding, finishing, handle fit and the details that separate a good knife from an exceptional one.
The workshop has the equipment and experience to work with demanding steels such as CPM S90V and to execute the thin, precise geometry required for high-performance kitchen knives. Each knife goes through extensive hand work rather than being produced as a high-volume factory product.
We have worked closely with the workshop through prototypes, testing and revisions, and have also visited the production firsthand. The result is a knife made with the level of care, precision and finish we expect from a premium product.
Nam studied engineering in Hanoi before establishing his knifemaking workshop. His experience includes kitchen knives, folding knives, advanced steels and technically demanding blade work.
That technical background, combined with skilled hand grinding and small-batch production, is what makes the workshop particularly well suited to producing the BTN knives we offer.
HIKARI CHEF KNIVES
