The Odiris Manna Knife is a large, cleaver-style chopping knife made in Sri Lanka by Odiris Engineering Company (Pvt) Ltd, a manufacturer that has been producing kitchen tools in the country since 1952. Known by its model designation K6, it is the kind of knife that earns a permanent place on a kitchen board — built for the heavy, repeated work that lighter blades cannot handle.
The blade is polished stainless steel, ground to a fine edge and shaped in the curved rectangular profile that defines the manna knife style. At 384 mm in length and 58 mm in width, it carries enough surface area to work through jackfruit, root vegetables, and cuts of meat without strain. The blade is 2 mm thick — substantial enough to hold an edge through sustained use, yet thin enough to allow precise cuts when needed.
The handle is rubberwood, a dense and durable timber with a naturally dark reddish-brown colour. Three metal rivets secure it to the blade's tang, giving the assembly a solid, settled feel in the hand. The flared bolster at the junction of blade and handle adds balance and keeps the grip controlled during heavier chopping work.
Each knife is supplied in a red branded sleeve printed with the Odiris name and Sinhala script in white — the same livery that has identified the brand on shelves and in markets across Sri Lanka for generations. The packaging carries the inscription 'Made in Ceylon', a designation Odiris has used since the company's founding.
For anyone who cooks regularly with dense produce — plantain, cassava, green jackfruit, whole joints — this is a knife designed around that exact demand. Hand-wash and dry the blade after use to keep it in best condition; as with all wood-handled knives, it is best kept away from prolonged soaking.
