Hatsu Tomoe-ha Kitchen Knife by Kairi Eguchi Receives the Silver A' Design Award in Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design

Kairi Eguchi recognized for bakeware, tableware, drinkware and cookware design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 18, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Hatsu Tomoe-ha Kitchen Knife by Kairi Eguchi, designed for Hatsu, has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design category. The award was conferred within the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.

The Silver A' Design Award Explained

The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.

Regarding Hatsu Tomoe-ha Kitchen Knife

Hatsu Tomoe-ha is a kitchen knife that combines the functions of an all-purpose knife and a paring knife in one blade. The blade is laser-cut from rust-resistant stainless steel and then sharpened for long-lasting sharpness. The blade measures 40 mm in width at the base and narrows towards the tip. The handle is made of Hoonoki wood, which keeps the knife light and compact. The handle shape makes force easy to apply, so first-time cooks can use the knife with ease. The small size suits compact kitchens and fits on a cutting board.

About Kairi Eguchi

Established in 2008, KED is a Japanese industrial design studio based in Osaka. With the studio philosophy - “Discover the unknowns.”, KED not only provide standard design service, but also continue expanding its services such as product planning, design strategy, etc. to provide elegant and new approach for a better user experience. With the exhibition experience at Milan’s Salone Satellite for three times, KED signaled the start of numerous overseas exhibitions and projects / collaborations throughout the international design arena.

Award Record

This recognition makes Kairi Eguchi a winner of 3 A' Design Awards. The awards span the editions from 2020 - 2021 to 2024 - 2025 of the A' Design Award & Competition.

About the A' Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design Award

The A' Kitchenware Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good kitchenware designs by best kitchenware brands and designers worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to kitchenware designers, product designers, industrial design studios and kitchenware brands from all countries. Entries typically include pots, pans, cutlery, plates, bowls and glasses. Awarded kitchenware designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/kitchenware

About A' Design Award & Competition

A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com

Press Resources

Winner Page: https://designers.org/163536
A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/163536
Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!163536
Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/300803
Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.kairi-eguchi.com/en/project/hatsu-tomoe-ha

Media Contact

Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953

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Fact Sheet

The Work

Project: Hatsu Tomoe-ha Kitchen Knife
Function: Kitchen Knife
Category: Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design
Discipline: Industrial Design
Industry: Furniture & Home and Food & Hospitality
Colors: Rosy Brown, Gray, Light Gray, Dark Gray and Silver
Images: 4
Client: Hatsu

The Recognition

Laureate: Kairi Eguchi
Country: Japan
Recognition: Silver A' Design Award
Edition: 2024 - 2025
Design ID: #163536

Credits

Image Credits: #1 Kairi Eguchi (Product Designer) Yuma Ono (Assistant Designer), Main Image, 2024. #2 Kairi Eguchi (Product Designer) Yuma Ono (Assistant Designer), Zoom-in, 2024. #3 Tsutomu Ogino (Photographer), Kiwi, 2024. #4 Tsutomu Ogino (Photographer), Carrot, 2024.

Design Details

Unique Properties: Tomoe-ha is a kitchen knife that incorporates the dual usage of an all-purpose knife and a paring knife into one single utensil. It is made for people who are starting to live alone or for those who want to enjoy cooking with their children. Especially in countries with small living quarters like Japan, having a simple yet highly functional mini kitchen knife makes cooking in a limited kitchen space more enjoyable. Tomoe-ha enables the user for an easier daily cooking routine and sustains that lifestyle for a longer period of time.
Inspiration: The Tomoe-ha mini kitchen knife combines the best features of the small Santoku knives (all-purpose knives) and petty knives (paring knives). The Japanese characters used for the name "Tomoe-ha” means ‘having two characteristics in equal measure,’. The characteristics of the small Santoku knife (used for cutting big things) and the petty knife (used for cutting vegetables) represents the idea of Tomoe-ha by incorporating both functionality into a knife that bears a single blade.
Research: The shape of the hybrid blade is the result of comparing the shapes and sizes of various small Santoku knives and a petty knives. In order to be used for both functions, we came up with a blade width of 40 mm at the base and a narrower blade towards the tip.
Challenge: Finding the right balance between an all-purpose knife and a paring knife. In the end, we end up with a blade with a new kind of shape that has not existed before in any kitchen knives.
Realization and Technology: Steel is laser-cut to take its unique shape and then sharpened to turn into a working blade. The blade is made of rust-resistant stainless steel (locally termed as "VG7") for long-lasting sharpness. The handle is manufactured by a woodworks company specializing in making knife handles for Echizen blades. Made from Hoonoki wood, it makes the handle light and compact. The overall shape of the handle makes it easy to apply force, so that even first-time cooks can use this knife with ease.
Operation and Interaction: Tomoe-ha fits the right size to use for cutting fruits and sliced cabbages for quick and easy cooking. It is also small enough to fit on a cutting board, making it easy to use in a compact kitchen, thus making the daily routine of cooking easier for the user.
Project Duration and Location: Manufacturing was done in Echizen City, Fukui Prefecture. Design was done in Osaka, with frequent visits to Fukui Prefecture for quality control.
Specifications: W225×D18×H40mm. Blade length: 130mm
Keywords: Japanese, sharperner, knife, handcrafted, blade