Best chef knife ....

I think that's why a sushi knife would be ideal as a gift. It's something that only very specific people would ever purchase on their own and obscure enough that they won't draw comparisons to other makes/brands. Unless the friend is a sushi chef or knife aficionado, it's very doubtful they'd have a handmade sushi knife in their kit.

I wish I had a place like that around me. Have you tried their sharpening services? The prices seem very reasonable.

 

I have a Shun set that I won at a charity auction (LINK) sans boning knife, and i'd tipped both the paring knife and the Santoku as well as wanted one other knife sharpened. Took them there, and they re-tipped the two and sharpened all three. They did a great job!! Now I'm a bit more careful on the tipping part, and they sharpen back up real easily just with a couple of runs through on the honing steel.