5-Piece Chef Knife Set with Octagonal Handles and Turquoise Inlay

What Is Our 5-Piece Octagonal Handle Chef Knife Set?

Our 5-Piece Chef Knife Set with Octagonal Handles and Turquoise Inlay pairs black forge-finished blades at 58 to 60 HRC with Japanese-style octagonal handles in dark hardwood. A turquoise inlay band sits behind each blade, framed by a layered spacer stack, and the set ships in a wooden presentation box.

The handle shape is the reason to choose this set over a conventional western-handled kit. Browse the wider range in our kitchen knife sets collection.

What Is Included in Our Kitchen Knife Set?

• 1 chef knife
• 1 slicing knife
• 1 kiritsuke cleaver
• 1 santoku knife
• 1 petty knife
• 1 wooden presentation box

What Is an Octagonal Wa Handle?

A wa handle is the traditional Japanese form: a straight tapered grip with flat facets rather than a moulded western contour. The blade seats into the handle rather than being sandwiched between two scales.

The eight flats do real work. Because the faces are distinct, your thumb and forefinger can feel exactly which way the edge is pointing without looking, which matters when you rotate the knife mid-task. The shape has stayed in use in Japanese kitchens for centuries for that reason rather than for appearance.

A wa handle is also lighter than a western handle with bolsters and a full tang, so the balance sits further forward. Cooks who like a blade-heavy knife find that helpful for chopping. Cooks used to a rear-weighted western knife will need a few sessions to adjust, and anyone who grips a knife in a fist rather than a pinch grip may prefer the western shape.

What Are the Blade Specifications?

At 58 to 60 HRC the blades take a fine edge and hold it well while staying workable on ordinary stones. Compare the steel options across our range in the knife steel guide.

What Are the Estimated Knife Measurements?

Confirm against the set you receive, since every knife is forged and finished by hand.

What Are the Chef Knife Measurements?

The longest blade in the set handles chopping, slicing, dicing, and general preparation. Compare individual pieces in our handmade chef knives collection.

• Blade length: approximately 8 inches
• Handle length: approximately 5 inches
• Overall length: approximately 13 inches

What Are the Slicing Knife Measurements?

The narrower blade and long edge suit brisket, roast, poultry, and fish, where one clean draw matters more than a rocking motion.

• Blade length: approximately 7.5 inches
• Handle length: approximately 5 inches
• Overall length: approximately 12.5 inches

What Are the Kiritsuke Cleaver Measurements?

The tall blade and angled tip combine cleaver height with a usable point, giving knuckle clearance above the board and a wide face for moving prepared ingredients to the pan.

• Blade length: approximately 7 inches
• Handle length: approximately 5 inches
• Overall length: approximately 12 inches

Use it for vegetables, herbs, fruit, and boneless cuts. Avoid bone, frozen food, and other hard materials, since a blade at 58 to 60 HRC chips rather than bends.

What Are the Santoku Knife Measurements?

The shorter, flatter profile suits push cutting rather than rocking, which works well for vegetables, herbs, and boneless meat on a smaller board.

• Blade length: approximately 6.5 inches
• Handle length: approximately 4.75 inches
• Overall length: approximately 11.25 inches

What Are the Petty Knife Measurements?

The shortest blade gives the most control for peeling, trimming, segmenting citrus, and detail cuts held in hand rather than on the board.

• Blade length: approximately 5 inches
• Handle length: approximately 4.75 inches
• Overall length: approximately 9.75 inches

Measurements are approximate because every blade is forged and ground by hand, so small variations between individual sets are normal.

What Is the Black Finish on the Blades?

The dark surface across the blade flats is the oxide layer formed on the steel during forging, left on rather than ground away. Only the bevel is polished back to bright steel.

The oxide layer is more chemically stable than bare steel, so it slows corrosion across the unpolished area, and the slight surface roughness helps slices release instead of clinging to the blade face.

A forge finish is a working surface rather than a permanent one. It wears back gradually with use, faster if you cut acidic ingredients or scrub the blade hard. Thinning and patchiness over months of cooking is normal rather than a defect. Buyers who want a finish that looks identical in five years should choose a fully polished blade instead.

What Makes the Turquoise Inlay Distinctive?

A band of turquoise sits between the blade and the handle on every knife, framed by a layered spacer stack in black and white. The pale blue stone against near-black hardwood is a deliberate high-contrast pairing, and it is what makes the set recognisable on a rail or in a drawer.

Turquoise carries dark veining through the stone, and the vein pattern differs on every band because each piece is cut from a different section of material. No two knives in the set match exactly.

Treat the inlay as a decorative element rather than a structural one. Avoid knocking the handle against hard surfaces, and dry the joint between stone and wood properly after washing.

How Should You Care for These Knives?

Hand wash each knife with mild soap and warm water, then dry the blade, inlay, and handle immediately with a soft cloth. Dry the seam between the turquoise band and the wood carefully, since water sitting there works into the joint over time.

Wash gently. Scouring pads and abrasive cleaners strip the black forge finish faster than normal use does.

Keep the set out of the dishwasher entirely. Heat and detergent damage the finish, dry out the hardwood, and stress the inlay joint at the same time. Treat the handles occasionally with a food-safe oil so the grain does not shrink away from the inlay.

Cut on wood or a knife-friendly synthetic board rather than glass, stone, or steel, since our cutting board guide covers how much edge damage a hard surface causes. Sharpen when performance drops using our knife sharpening guide. Sharpening works only the bevel, so the forge finish above it is unaffected.

Why Choose Our Octagonal Handle Chef Knife Set?

Choose our set for its five complementary blade profiles at 58 to 60 HRC, traditional octagonal wa handles that tell you where the edge is by feel, turquoise inlay bands unique to every knife, black forge finish on the flats, and a wooden presentation box.

Cooks who prefer a western handle with bolsters and a full tang should compare our 5-Piece Hammered Damascus Chef Knife Set, which pairs turquoise inlay with a contoured rosewood grip. Buyers who want another octagonal handle with a visible layered pattern can look at our 5-Piece Copper Damascus Chef Knife Set.