Nigara R2/SG2 馬特三垣土目 135mm 小資

The hammer pattern is simply exquisite. The R2 steel’s edge retention is impressive, even when my wife accidentally cut through avocado core a few times.
I really like the height of the knife, providing plenty of knuckle clearance.

This is easily my favorite petty in my collection.

What can I say, its beautiful, superb craftsmanship, well balanced and feels good in the hand, incredibly thin but strong edge grind, razor sharp of course.I imagine this knife could be used by a general surgeon if need be. I use it primarily for mincing garlic, ginger and similar spices/garnish, etc. Its a petty after all. I'm an avid fly fisherman and also tried it to fillet a few panfish, which were small fresh water sunfish species locally called stumpknockers or pumpkinseed. They are similar to the more common bluegill, but generally smaller bodied, fit easily in the palm of your hand. These fish are typically fried whole, scaled with head and entrails removed with a few vertical cuts on each side. Given the razor thin grind on this petty I decided to try and fillet and skin these small fish instead. Other than the general difficulty of handling such a small fish the knife handled that task with ease. I ended up with perfect boneless and skinless fillets, albeit small, which I sauteed in butter, garlic and sea salt. A bit unconventional perhaps, but a testament to the versatility of these knives.