New Year is traditionally the time for fresh beginnings around the world. One culture which welcomes New Year in, on the 23rd of this month, is the Chinese; with the Year of the Dragon. Custom dictates that people spend their money buying presents, decorations, material, food, and clothing. It is also the belief that if every family thoroughly cleans their house to sweep away any ill-fortune, it will make way for good incoming luck. Windows and doors are decorated with red embellishments with popular themes of "happiness", "wealth", and "longevity". On the Eve of Chinese New Year, supper is a feast with families. Food will include such items as pigs, ducks, chicken and sweet delicacies. The family will end the night with firecrackers. Early the next morning, children will greet their parents by wishing them a healthy and happy new year, and receive money in red paper envelopes.

As well as this festivity, another Oriental practice is that of knife making; and one of the oldest methods is the Damascus method where the steel is repeatedly folded and welded. Every part of the steel will come to the surface at some point and all the flaws will be hammered out or burnt away. For many years modern knife manufacturers have been trying to replicate this method and create the ultimate cutting edge which is rated using a Rockwell degree scale – the highest being Rockwell 62°. The higher the grade and the harder the steel used for the blade cutting edge, the higher the level of sharpness the cutting edge can obtain and the longer it will stay sharp. However, this is very brittle and more likely to break or chip if dropped, unless made using the Damascus method - which is very expensive.

Knife specialists I O Shen have overcome this problem by sandwiching 2 softer layers of steel either side of Rockwell 62° to produce the ultimate cutting edge – this is called Triplex Steel Technology. The latest know how is used to construct a blade that is not only amazingly sharp but will retain its edge for a phenomenal amount of time, and is less likely to chip or break. In addition to a range of I O Shen knives they also make a dedicated knife for the preparation of root vegetables – a 6.5” Broad Blade Chinese Vegetable Knife. The Recommended Retail Price is £74.95 but, for January only, you can buy this fantastic knife (to do a spot of Chinese cooking maybe) for the incredible price of £37.50. Happy New Year!