SANTOKU
SANTOKU
A coloured knife set is the rare kitchen upgrade that is both practical and decorative. The blade does the work; the handle is the bit you look at every day. Below we compare the four coloured Damascus ranges we stock on price, review score, handle material and set size, so you can pick a colour that suits your kitchen without guessing at the cost.
Short answer: the best coloured knife set for most UK kitchens is the Aiko Damascus 3-piece set at £169.99 — a Japanese VG10 steel core under 67 layers of stainless Damascus cladding, set in a stabilised burl-and-resin handle, rated 4.94/5 from 120 reviews, and the only range here offered in three colours (red, blue and black) at the same price.
Want the widest colour spread on a single knife? Go Ichika (£79.99 a knife, 5-piece set £279.99). Want the most luxurious finish? Go Chikashi abalone (7-piece set £424.99).
What are coloured knives?
Coloured knives are kitchen knives whose handles are made from dyed resin, stabilised burl wood or iridescent abalone rather than plain black or bare wood. The blade steel is unchanged — on the Damascus ranges below it is a 67-layer stainless cladding over a Japanese VG10 steel core — so colour is purely a design choice, not a performance one.
That matters when you are shopping, because it means you can pick on looks with a clear conscience. VG10 typically hardens to around 60–61 HRC whatever colour sits behind the bolster, and every range here is hand-finished to an 8–12° edge per side. If you would rather choose on cutting performance than appearance, our best Japanese-steel knife sets guide and our best Damascus knife guide cover that ground properly.
Best overall
1. Aiko Damascus — coloured resin handle
Best for: anyone who wants a coloured set that still works as a serious everyday kitchen kit — and the only range here you can get in three different colours.
★★★★★ 4.94 out of 5 · 120 reviews
From £64.99 · 3pc £169.99 · 4pc £199.99 · 5pc £239.99 · 6pc £299.99 · 9pc £409.99
What we like
- Three colourways — red, blue and black — all at the same price, so the colour choice costs you nothing
- Stabilised burl wood set in resin, so the grain shows through the colour rather than sitting flat
- The widest ladder here: buy one knife at £64.99, or build up to a 9-piece in five set sizes
- Highest star rating of the four, on the second-largest review count (4.94 from 120)
What we don't
- The colour is a solid block rather than a pattern — less visually interesting than the Ichika or Chikashi handles
- No sharpening steel included at any set size, unlike the Chikashi 7-piece
- Hand wash only, and not for bones or frozen food — as with every Damascus range on this page
Important: red, blue and black are three separate products, not three variants of one. Pick your colour first, then pick the set size on that product page.
The 9-piece contains a 9.3" chef knife, an 8" chef knife, a 7.6" bread knife, a 7.5" cleaver, a 6.7" santoku, a 6.7" nakiri, a 5" boning knife, a 4.3" utility knife and a 3.2" paring knife. Smaller sets draw from the same nine.
2. Ichika Damascus — coloured octagonal handle
Best for: the most colourful set on the page — every handle is different, and no two knives look the same.
★★★★★ 4.86 out of 5 · 56 reviews
£79.99 a knife · 5-piece set £279.99
What we like
- The most genuinely colourful option — handles run through several colours rather than one
- Octagonal handle profile, which stops the knife rolling on the board and gives a more defined grip than a rounded handle
- Flat pricing: every single knife is £79.99, so you choose on blade shape, not on budget
- A five-knife spread that actually covers a kitchen — 8.5" chef, 8" butcher, 8.5" kiritsuke, 7" santoku and 7" nakiri
What we don't
- You cannot choose the colours. Each handle is unique and the mix varies knife to knife — if you want a specific shade to match a kitchen, buy Aiko or Makito instead
- Only one set size (5-piece), so there is no cheap entry bundle
- A smaller review base than Aiko or Chikashi (56)
3. Makito Damascus — coloured blue resin handle
Best for: a blue kitchen, and for anyone who wants the widest choice of blade shapes rather than the widest choice of colours.
★★★★★ 4.88 out of 5 · 26 reviews
From £69.99 · 3pc £199.99 · 9pc £399.99
What we like
- Nine individual blade options — including a deba and two kiritsuke lengths, which no other range here offers: 8" kiritsuke, 6" kiritsuke, 8" deba, 8.5" chef, 7" nakiri, 6.5" nakiri, 7" santoku, 5" utility and 3.5" paring
- Blue resin over stabilised burl gives a deeper, more marbled look than a flat colour
- Cheapest 9-piece set on this page at £399.99
- Full published dimensions and weights for every knife on the product page — rare, and genuinely useful if you care about balance
What we don't
- Blue only. If blue does not suit your kitchen, this range is out
- Smallest review base of the four (26), so the 4.88 rating rests on thinner evidence than the Aiko's 4.94 from 120
- The 3-piece is £30 more than the Aiko 3-piece for a comparable spec
4. Chikashi Damascus — abalone handle
Best for: the showpiece set, and the best gift on this page — iridescent abalone that shifts colour as it catches the light.
★★★★★ 4.9 out of 5 · 145 reviews
7-piece set £424.99 · chef knife + steel 2-piece £142.99
What we like
- Abalone handles are the most striking finish on this page — genuinely iridescent, not a printed effect
- The only set here that ships with a sharpening steel: the 7-piece is an 8" chef knife, a 7" santoku, an 8" bread knife, a 6" boning knife, a 5" utility knife, a 3.5" fruit knife and a 13" diamond sharpening steel
- Most-reviewed range on the page: 145 reviews at 4.9, and the blade is layered 67 times for unrivalled sharpness and edge retention
- A £142.99 two-piece (8" chef knife plus the steel) if you want the look without the full-set outlay
What we don't
- By far the most expensive option at £424.99 — more than double the Aiko 4-piece
- No colour choice: abalone is what it is
- The 7-piece is the only full set — there is no mid-size bundle between £142.99 and £424.99
Coloured knife sets compared
Prices and ratings correct as of August 2026. All four ranges use a 67-layer Damascus stainless cladding over a Japanese VG10 steel core.
What is the best colourful knife set?
The best colourful knife sets available in the UK are:
- Aiko Damascus — red, blue or black resin handles, 3-piece from £169.99
- Ichika Damascus — multi-colour octagonal handles, 5-piece set £279.99
- Makito Damascus — blue resin and burl handles, 3-piece from £199.99
- Chikashi Damascus — iridescent abalone handles, 7-piece set £424.99
Which colour should you choose?
This is the only decision that is genuinely different from buying any other knife set, so it is worth a minute of thought. Handle colour is the one part of a knife you see every single day, sitting on a magnetic rail or in a block on the worktop.
- Red — the loudest option and the one that reads warmest against oak, walnut and cream shaker units. Aiko red is the range's bestseller for a reason.
- Blue — the safest strong colour. It sits well against grey, white and stainless, and against the marine-blue and sage cabinetry that has taken over UK kitchens. Available as Aiko blue or the whole Makito range.
- Black — technically a coloured resin handle, but the discreet one. Choose it if you want the burl grain and the Damascus pattern to be the only visual events. It also shows finger marks and water spots least.
- Multi-colour — Ichika. Every handle is different, which looks superb as a set on a rail but means you cannot match a specific shade. Buy it because you like variety, not because you are colour-matching a kitchen.
- Abalone — Chikashi. Not really a colour so much as an effect: the shell shifts through greens, blues and purples depending on the light. The most gift-worthy, and the least likely to clash with anything because it is never one colour for long.
Two practical notes. First, darker and multi-tone handles hide the inevitable water marks better than pale ones. Second, resin and abalone both dislike prolonged soaking, so whichever colour you pick, wash and dry by hand. Curious about the alternative handle material we stock? See what Pakkawood is and why these knives use it.
Coloured knife set FAQs
Does the coloured handle affect how the knife performs?
No. On all four ranges the blade is identical in construction regardless of handle colour — a Japanese VG10 steel core with 67 layers of stainless Damascus cladding, hand-finished to an 8–12° edge per side. The colour comes from dyed resin, stabilised burl wood or abalone in the handle only. Choose the colour you like; the cutting performance is the same.
Which coloured knife set is best value?
The Aiko 3-piece at £169.99. It's the cheapest genuine multi-knife set on this page, it's available in red, blue or black at the same price, and it carries the highest rating here at 4.94 out of 5 from 120 reviews. If you want more knives, the Aiko 9-piece is £409.99 — or the Makito 9-piece at £399.99 if blue suits your kitchen.
Can I choose the exact colour of my knife handles?
It depends on the range. With Aiko you choose red, blue or black up front. With Makito the handles are blue. With Chikashi they're abalone. With Ichika you cannot choose — every handle is unique and the colour mix varies from knife to knife, so if you need a specific shade to match a kitchen, pick Aiko or Makito instead.
Are colorful knife sets dishwasher safe?
No. Every range on this page is hand wash only. Dishwasher detergent and heat will dull a Damascus edge and can lift or discolour a resin or abalone handle over time. Wash by hand in warm water, dry immediately, and avoid cutting bones or frozen food — that's what keeps both the edge and the colour looking right for years.
Do colored kitchen knives fade or chip over time?
Not with normal use, if you hand wash and dry them. These aren't painted handles — the colour is stabilised resin cast around burl wood, or natural abalone shell, so it runs through the material rather than sitting on the surface. The two things that shorten a coloured handle's life are the dishwasher and prolonged soaking. Avoid both.
Related guides
- Choosing on performance rather than looks? The best Japanese-steel knife sets in the UK
- Want the best Damascus blade regardless of handle colour? The best Damascus knife UK
- What is Damascus steel?
- How are Damascus patterns formed — do they serve a purpose?
- VG10 steel: a comprehensive guide
- What is Pakkawood, and why do these knives use it?
- Spotlight on the Aiko chef knife set
- How to correctly sharpen VG10 blades
Still deciding on a colour?
Every coloured range we stock sits in one place — browse the full Damascus line-up, or jump straight to sets and singles.
