Seki Kyuba RYU Knife Set: Gyuto, Nakiri, Petty
RYU is for those who view cooking as an art form. Its full Damascus pattern isn’t just beautiful – it helps the knife glide through ingredients with ease. The VG10 core ensures exceptional edge retention and corrosion resistance, making your cooking prep a joy. The 33-layer Damascus cladding not only creates a striking visual effect but also adds to the knife’s structural integrity and helps prevent food from sticking to the blade. Whether you’re finely dicing herbs or breaking down a chicken, Seki Kyuba RYU knife will make you feel like you’re dancing in the kitchen.
Lifetime warranty
All three blades, covered for life.
Free UK delivery
Included on every set.
100-day returns
Cook with the whole set. Send it back if it isn't right.
Hand-finished box
Hanko-stamped certificate, 5 yen coin tucked alongside.
What's in the set
Three knives, chosen to cover a kitchen.
The Bestsellers: Gyuto, Nakiri and Petty
This is a 3-piece Japanese knife set including a Gyuto (21cm chef’s knife), a Nakiri (17.5cm vegetable knife), and a Petty (15cm utility knife) — handcrafted in Seki, Japan.
The Seki Kyuba RYU Set, comprising the Gyuto, Nakiri, and Petty, is a comprehensive collection that covers all bases in a modern kitchen. This triumvirate of culinary excellence offers a perfect introduction to the world of premium Japanese cutlery.
Each knife in this set features the signature VG10 steel core with a 33-layer Damascus construction, ensuring exceptional edge retention, ease of sharpening, and overall durability. All blades boast a beautiful hammered finish overlaying the Damascus pattern, which not only adds visual appeal but also helps to reduce food sticking during use. The Gyuto (21cm) serves as your all-purpose chef’s knife, the Nakiri (17.5cm) specialises in vegetable preparation, and the Petty (15cm) handles detailed work with precision.
Available in Mediterranean Blue, Olive Green, and Natural Brown, this set not only performs superbly but also adds a touch of elegance to your kitchen. The handles, crafted from stabilised wood, provide a secure grip and stunning aesthetics.
This carefully curated set is perfect for those looking to elevate their entire kitchen experience in one go. The RYU line, with its 33-layer Damascus construction, offers a step up in both performance and aesthetics compared to the KATA line, making it an excellent choice for serious home cooks and professional chefs alike.
The Blade
The RYU blade embodies the perfect balance of cutting performance, craftsmanship, and elegance. Hand-forged in Seki, Gifu — Japan’s legendary bladesmithing hub — it features a premium VG10 steel core, enveloped in 33 layers of stainless Damascus. This layered cladding not only creates a striking, flowing grain pattern reminiscent of rippling water, but also reinforces the blade’s strength, stability, and resistance to corrosion.
With a Rockwell Hardness rating of 62 HRC, the VG10 core delivers razor-sharp precision and exceptional edge retention, allowing it to glide effortlessly through a wide variety of ingredients. The multi-layer Damascus construction also reduces food adhesion, making prep work smoother and more efficient.
The blade’s full Damascus pattern is enhanced with a subtle hammered finish, which catches the light beautifully while creating tiny air pockets to further minimise sticking. This combination of visual artistry and functional design makes every RYU knife a statement piece in the kitchen.
The Handle
The beautiful handle is made with extremely limited European maple burl dyed in an Natural Brown colour and feature a subtle copper ring under the oak bog wood kakumaki (collar of the handle). The wood has to be dried for two years before it undergoes the process of stabilisation. This ensures the wood is completely waterproof to avoid bacteria growth and is able to last generations.
The blade’s kakumaki (collar) is made with oak bog wood. A wood ranging from 2,500 to 5,000 years in age. Its age and living conditions give it a unique character and rich natural colour variation determined by its age. Giving you a knife with a rich history.
The stabilised premium-cut maple burl is shaped into an octagonal shaped ambidextrous handle to give you a firm grip on the knife. Not only are the handles aesthetically pleasing, they are also perfectly balanced, light and comfortable. This allows for maximum precision and more controlled movements during use.
No two handle colours or patterns are ever the same as the natural properties of each wood block are unique and will absorb the colour dye differently. This will give each knife a beautiful unique look and it can serve as an unforgettable gift.
Because Presentation Matters Just As Much
All our kitchen knives arrive in a handcrafted, minimalist European oak wooden box with a delicate waxed finish. The box is wrapped in our signature Oishya illustration strip featuring the Onna Bugeisha – legendary Japanese female warriors.
Inside, you’ll discover a beautifully designed certificate with two sides, each telling an important part of your knife’s story.
On one side, you’ll find a genuine 5 yen Japanese coin attached with an elegant note. There’s an ancient superstition that giving someone a knife is bad luck because it “cuts” the relationship between giver and recipient. The way around this? Attach a coin of symbolic value to the knife, which the recipient returns as payment.
We chose the 5 yen coin specifically because in Japanese, go en (五円) is a homophone with go-en (御縁), meaning “relationship,” “connection,” and “bond.” By exchanging this coin with the receiver, you’re not just avoiding bad luck – you’re actively strengthening your connection.
The reverse features your knife’s Certificate of Authenticity, documenting genuine Oishya craftsmanship from Japan’s legendary blade-making regions. Each certificate is hand-stamped with our traditional Japanese hanko seal – a mark of authenticity used in Japan for centuries.
The Blacksmith
The spirit of Samurai “Bushido” has never faded away from the history of Japan. The art of greatest sword smiths has been inherited through 780 years till now and it’s present in Japan’s Samurai Knife City, Seki in Gifu Prefecture, where Seki Kyuba knives are made.
High quality katana and kitchen blades are made with Japan’s traditional swordsmith technique and the latest technology, and are famed throughout the world today, especially high end kitchen knives.
Our partnership with one of the most talented and prominent blacksmiths of Japan resulted in Seki Kyuba kitchen knives, that are perfect for those that demand the highest quality. Being part of the Japanese knife community and owning a knife like this is a great honour and pleasure. We welcome you to Kyuba knives world.
The blades
Shared specifications.
| Weight | 1.7 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 45 × 10 × 6 cm |
| Knife Type | |
| Blade Length | |
| Steel Type | |
| HRC | |
| Knife Bevel | Double |
| Hand Feature | Ambidextrous |
| Handle Waterproof | Yes |
| Made in | Japan |
| Maker | Oishya, Seki Kyuba |
| Knife Handle Material |
The hands that make it
Three knives. One workshop. One standard.
Every blade in the RYU set is forged in Seki, Gifu, by the workshop we have worked with for years. Same VG10 steel, same 33-layer Damascus, same hand-fitted bolster. The set is consistent because the maker is consistent.
A VG10 core in 33 Damascus layers, hardened to HRC 62.
The handles are finished in Małopolska, Poland, by the same craftsmen who finish every Oishya handle: a stabilised maple burl body, a bog oak ferrule (the kakumaki), a hand-fitted copper ring, an octagonal profile. Assembled by hand, one knife at a time.
Care, briefly
Three knives. Same three habits.
01.
Hand wash all three.
Never the dishwasher. Sixty seconds at the sink, then a soft towel. Water on hard Japanese steel is the only thing that rusts it.
02.
Wood boards only.
Glass, stone and marble are harder than the steel and dull the edge in a week. End-grain hardwood is the right choice — hinoki cypress if you can find it.
03.
Sharpen on a stone.
Never a honing rod — the steel is too hard, it chips the edge. A 1000/6000 whetstone every three or four months keeps all three keen.
What you receive
In the box.
- The three knives in your set, each sharpened, oiled and wrapped in cloth.
- One hand-finished set box holding all three.
- A Certificate of Authenticity, hand-stamped with the maker's hanko, naming the smith and certifying each blade.
- A 5 yen coin tucked alongside the knives. "Go en" — the Japanese for five yen — is the homophone for luck, connection and bond. Returning the coin to the giver turns the gift into a symbolic purchase, neutralising the old superstition that a knife as a gift cuts the bond between giver and receiver.
- A care card with the sixty-second wash routine and a link to Knife School.
- Your lifetime warranty, registered to you automatically on all three blades when the order ships.
Frequently asked.
Can I swap a knife in the set?
Are all three knives under the lifetime warranty?
How do I sharpen them?
Is gift wrapping included?
How long does shipping take?
What if the set isn't right?
From the people who cook with it
Reviews.
A lovely set with excellent knives. The quality is apparent as soon as you pick them up. Each knife has great edge retention and the handles are comfortable. Delivery took a little longer than expected but the wait was worth it.
These three knives cover everything I need in the kitchen. The gyuto for meat and large veg, the nakiri for fine vegetable work, and the petty for detail tasks. All three are razor sharp with beautiful balance. Worth every penny.
Bought this set as a wedding gift for my daughter and she was over the moon. The presentation box is gorgeous and each knife is a work of art. They’re not just beautiful — they perform exceptionally well. Best kitchen gift I’ve ever given.
