The G2 Cook’s Knife is produced by the, rightly, award-winning Japanese company, Yoshikin based in Niigata prefecture. In 1978, the company commissioned the product designer Komin Yamada to produce a kitchen knife that would fuse Italian aesthetics, German durability and Japanese precision. First seen in 1983, and sold in huge numbers from 1985, Yamada’s Global range was adopted enthusiastically by professional chefs and amateur cooks worldwide. Today, countless Chinese factories produce copycat designs that, sadly, are not a patch on the originals. Buyer, beware.
Global knives are exceptionally good at what they do, whether chopping, slicing or dicing. They retain their exceptional sharpness for a very long time and are studiously hygienic because they are easy to clean. Beyond this, though, they are, like Samurai swords, a pleasure to look at and to hold. Their trademark dotted handles are instantly recognisable both in kitchen shops, and in kitchen drawers stuffed full of ragbag assortments of mismatched cooking tools.