The Aiko Damascus Knife Set: What's Included & Prices

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Updated September 2026 · 8 min read · UK Japanese-steel knife specialists

The Aiko is our best-reviewed Damascus range — 4.94 out of 5 across 120 reviews — and the easiest way into a proper Japanese-steel set. Every blade is built on a hard VG10 stainless core clad in 67 layers of Damascus, with a resin-and-burl handle in one of three colours.

You can buy it as a set of 3, 4, 5, 6 or 9 pieces, from £169.99 to £409.99, or as single knives from £64.99. That flexibility is the point: you are not forced to buy nine knives to get the good steel.

Below is exactly what is in each set, what every blade in the range costs on its own, which size most kitchens actually need, and how the Aiko compares to the rest of our Damascus knives.

What the Aiko range actually is

Not a single product — a range. Nine blade shapes, three handle colourways, and five set sizes drawn from them. Every knife shares the same construction: a VG10 core clad in 67 layers of stainless Damascus, hand-polished to a feather pattern, with a handle of stabilised burl wood and coloured resin.

That matters more than it sounds. Most knife sets force a decision between "buy the whole thing" and "buy nothing". The Aiko lets you start with one £64.99 knife, live with it, and add the rest later at the same quality — which is usually the smarter order. We make the general case for that in knife set vs single knife.

Every Aiko arrives boxed, single knives included, so it needs nothing more than wrapping paper to work as a present. Worth knowing if you are buying the 3-piece for someone else.

The steel, and what the 67 layers are for

The cutting is done by the core: VG10, a hard, high-carbon stainless steel that takes a very keen edge and holds it well past the point where a softer European blade has given up. Everything you feel when you use the knife comes from that core and the thin grind it supports.

The 67 layers wrapped around it are cladding. They produce the rippling feather pattern, and they add a little corrosion resistance and food release — but they are not what makes the knife sharp. We are straightforward about this in is Damascus steel worth it?, and the full metallurgy is in our VG10 steel guide.

Aiko blades are also nitrogen-cooled after forging, which the maker uses to balance hardness against flexibility, and finished with a hand-polished edge. Handles are ergonomically shaped stabilised burl and resin — hard-wearing, and comfortable in a pinch grip.

What's in the set, blade by blade

These are the nine shapes in the range, in the order they appear as you move up through the set sizes. Prices are for the knife bought on its own, and are current at the time of writing.

Blade	Bought alone	What it's for
8" Chef Knife — start here	£84.99	The do-everything blade. If you buy one Aiko, buy this.
9.3" Chef Knife	£94.99	Big-batch prep and large joints; wants a big board.
6.7" Santoku	£79.99	Thin, precise slicing; the chef knife's nimbler cousin.
6.7" Nakiri	£84.99	Straight edge, all vegetables, clean push cuts.
7.6" Bread Knife	£79.99	Crusty loaves, and tomatoes without squashing them.
7.5" Cleaver	£89.99	Squash, swede and other root vegetables that resist.
5" Boning Knife	£69.99	Working meat off the bone, skinning fish.
4.3" Utility Knife	£64.99	Small board jobs — shallots, chillies, herbs.
3.2" Paring Knife	£64.99	In-hand work: peeling, hulling, coring.

If you are unsure whether you want the santoku or the nakiri — they look similar and are not — we compare them directly in nakiri vs santoku.

Which Aiko set size should you buy?

Set	Price	Who it suits
3-piece	£169.99	A first proper set, or a small kitchen.
4-piece	£199.99	Adds the blade the 3-piece leaves you wanting.
5-piece — best balance	£239.99	Covers everything most home kitchens do daily.
6-piece	£299.99	Keen cooks who want the specialist shapes too.
9-piece	£409.99	The complete range — professional or serious home use.

Our honest steer: the 5-piece at £239.99. It covers the shapes that get used, and it avoids the thing that happens with big sets — two or three knives that live in the block for a decade because you never quite need them.

If you already own a decent chef knife, do not buy a set at all. Buy the one Aiko shape you are missing and put the difference towards a whetstone. That will improve your cooking more than a fourth knife will.

Black, red or blue?

Same blade, same VG10 core, same price. The only difference is the resin in the handle. Pick whichever you would rather look at every day.

Looking after them

Short version: hand-wash, dry immediately, never the dishwasher. Detergent dulls the finish and the knocking about chips a hard edge — both problems, not one. Keep the blades off glass, stone and ceramic boards, and store them where nothing touches them.

When the edge finally goes, sharpen on a wet whetstone at about 15° per side rather than reaching for a pull-through. Our guide to sharpening on a whetstone covers the method, and the full care guide covers everything else.

Frequently asked questions

How much does the Aiko knife set cost?

Aiko sets start at £169.99 for three pieces and run to £409.99 for the nine-piece. In between are the 4-piece at £199.99, the 5-piece at £239.99 and the 6-piece at £299.99. Individual Aiko knives are sold separately from £64.99, so you can start with one and add to it.

What steel are Aiko knives made from?

A VG10 core — a hard, high-carbon stainless steel — clad in 67 layers of stainless Damascus and nitrogen-cooled after forging. The layers give the feather pattern; the VG10 core does the cutting and holds the edge.

Which Aiko set size should I buy?

For most home kitchens the 5-piece at £239.99 is the sensible landing point: it covers the chef knife, santoku, bread knife and the small blades without paying for shapes you will rarely reach for. Go to the 9-piece if you want the cleaver and boning knife too.

What is in the 9-piece Aiko set?

A 9.3 inch chef knife, an 8 inch chef knife, a 7.6 inch bread knife, a 7.5 inch cleaver, a 6.7 inch nakiri, a 6.7 inch santoku, a 5 inch boning knife, a 4.3 inch utility knife and a 3.2 inch paring knife.

Do Aiko knives come in a box?

Yes. Every knife and every set we sell arrives boxed, so an Aiko needs nothing more than wrapping paper to work as a present. If you want a gift built specifically around a knife plus the tool that keeps it sharp, our Minato and Haruta box sets pair a chef knife with a sharpening steel.

Does the handle colour change the knife?

No. Black, red and blue are the same blade, the same VG10 core and the same price. The difference is purely the resin and burl handle. Pick on looks; nothing about the performance changes.

How do you sharpen Aiko knives?

On a wet whetstone at roughly 15 degrees per side, like any other double-bevel Japanese-steel knife. Work up from 1000 grit until you raise a burr, refine on 3000, then take the burr off. A honing steel between sharpenings keeps the edge true but does not sharpen it.

Can Aiko knives go in the dishwasher?

No. Harsh detergent dulls the finish and knocking against crockery chips a hard edge. Hand-wash in warm water, dry immediately and completely, and store the knives so nothing touches them. That is the whole maintenance routine.

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