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HATSU TOMOE-HA

Industrial Design
“巴刃”or “Tomoe-ha”, a new minimalist knife brought up by a traditional craftsman and a product designer.

伝統工芸士とプロダクトデザイナーが考える新しいミニマルナイフ[巴刃(ともえは)].

SHARPNING FOUR / F-TRAD

The brand "癶(HATSU)" aims to set a new standard for Echizen hammered blades, one of the traditional crafts of Fukui Prefecture. We were in charge of the concept and design of the new minimal knife for the knife brand launched with Yuji Toya, a traditional craftsman (knife sharpening specialist).

A slightly smaller version of the all-purpose kitchen knife (santoku knife), the ko-santoku version (130 mm blade length) has a blade width of approximately 40 mm, making it possible to cut leafy greens and other foods with stability despite its small blade width. On the other hand, the petty knife, with a blade width of approximately 25mm, is useful for peeling and decorating. For this new concept, we have developed a hybrid blade shape between a small santoku and a petit knife, with a blade width of 40 mm at the base of the blade and a narrower blade toward the tip, so that large objects can be cut stably, while still being able to cut decoratively and peel off the skin.

The name of the blade is “巴刃”, read as “Tomoe-ha”. The character for “巴(Tomoe)” refers to the state in which several different elements are equally present with each other. With the aim to have equal elements of a ko-santoku knife and a petite knife, we designed a utility knife that is easy to use in various ways, with its lightness and small size typical of Echizen Uchihamono blades.


福井県の伝統工芸のひとつの越前打刃物のニュースタンダードを目指すブランド「癶(HATSU)」。伝統工芸士(研ぎ師)の戸谷祐次氏と立ち上げたナイフブランドの新しいミニマルナイフのコンセプトとデザインを担当しました。

三徳包丁の少し小ぶりなサイズの包丁、小三徳(刃渡り130mm)は刃幅が約40mmあり、小さい刃渡りながらも葉物などを安定してカットすることができます。一方で皮むきや飾り切りなどの時に活躍するのがペティナイフで刃幅は約25mm、細い刀身が特徴です。今回癶では新しいコンセプトとして、刃元では40mmある刃幅を先端に向けて細くすることで大きなものも安定的にカットでき、それでいて飾り切りや皮むきにも対応する小三徳とペティナイフのハイブリッド刃の形状を考えました。

名前は「巴刃(ともえは)」巴という字は複数の異なる要素が互いに等しく存在している状態を指します。小三徳とペティナイフの要素を等しく持つことを目指し、越前打刃物らしい軽さと、その小ぶりな包丁は小回りが利き、一本あれば色々使いやすいユーティリティーナイフをデザインしました。

Brand Produce/ Yuji Toya (Sharpning Four)
Art Director/ Kairi Eguchi (KAIRI EGUCHI STUDIO Inc.)
Product Designer/ Kairi Eguchi (KAIRI EGUCHI STUDIO Inc.)

Photo(1-4)/ Kairi Eguchi, Yuma Ono (KAIRI EGUCHI STUDIO Inc.)
Photo(5-6)/ Tsutomu Ogino (TOMART:PhotoWorks)

Handle Prototyping/ 辻川知樹 (TSUGU FURNITURE)
Handle Manufacturing/ 山謙木工所

F-TRAD Produce/ TSUGI
HATSU TOMOE-HA
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HATSU TOMOE-HA

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