I think wedding registries are kind of hilarious, particularly for people who get married young, like I did, and have no idea what’s really necessary to keep a household running without contributions from five other roommates. When I got married I registered for a run of the mill, moderately priced knife block set at Target and I’ve been tolerating it humorlessly ever since. So, I’ve never had really “good” knives – knives that are worth having professionally sharpened or washing by hand. What’s worse is I’m an adult now, who has cooked professionally and who now frequently cooks at home. I know how important it is to have quality knives and how much safer you are when you cut with blades that are sharp and strong.

As luck would have it, knives are bit of a specialty here on Tanegashima. So these recent purchases will do double duty for me as a keepsake from our time here, and a solid knife set that will carry me through the next couple of decades at least.

Bonus: they’re affordable. These are the standard carbon steel home-cook grade knives, hand-made on this island, averaging about $35 each, (when you can buy them from the maker) and deliciously sharp. There’s a professional range of knives as well, that cost between $80 and $200 a piece.

The knife below is for hacking heads off fish, but I’m thinking it will perform similarly well on hard winter squashes or whole, large birds.

The knife makers here also make scissors that are supposed to be perfectly balanced and engineered in a way that causes them to become sharper with use. So, witchcraft?

These are my new babies. Welcome to the knife drawer guys! Also, guess what my entire family is getting for Christmas?