Katto knives.But where do the blades REALLY come from?

Katto is a British knife brand founded in 2018, with its workshop based in Sheffield. Katto claim they use AUS-10 high-carbon stainless steel sourced from Seki, Japan, with the knives finished and assembled in Sheffield. AUS-10 is a common steel whose ore originates from Australia. It has widespread use in Chinese knife manufacturing also.

Heavily pushed by influencers on Instagram, from our experience the blades are not hand forged. They exhibit all the characteristics of mass produced stamped blades ( tell tale uniform “faux hammered marks” see our article on this ) with unusually thick spines and tapers for a supposed Japanese manufactured knife.

From a sharpening perspective, we rate the steel a respectable 7/10. The blades have relatively substantial spines and fairly generous tapers, although the geometry immediately behind the cutting edge is adequate when new.

The issue comes with repeated sharpening. As the cutting edge gradually moves further into the thicker part of the blade, Katto knives can become increasingly thick behind the edge. After several years of use and sharpening, we therefore recommend professional thinning to restore their original cutting efficiency.

They sharpen and service well, but in our opinion they are expensive for the grade of steel and cutting geometry you're actually buying. At this price point, we believe there are considerably better-performing knives available for less money.