Not so long ago, I was delighted with my knife block filled with European daggers. A lifelong passionate cook, I would grab one or the other of my collection of 11 Wüsthofs at least once a day.

Since I was gifted a spectacular Japanese knife last holiday season, those once-pleasing knives have been collecting dust.

Nothing I have ever worked with approaches the beauty, balance, sharpness and precision of the Ryusen Hamono Tanganryu 8.25-inch Gyuto Damascus number.

It has a curly maple handle with a stainless steel bolster. The V10 steel blade features a blended finish of Tsuchime (hammered) and mirror polish. The same family has been making these in Echizen, Japan, since 1901, using techniques with a 700-year history.

This puppy will cut through anything as though it were air.

When th

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