Gyuto knife, Aogami 1 with soft iron / Aogami 2 Damascus and Kurouchi finish - Manaka Kisuke

SHAPE: Gyuto. Japan's answer to the chef's knife with a thinner profile. Gyuto translates to cow sword. 

STEEL: Aogami (blue paper) 1 steel. This is very similar to white paper steel but with tungsten and chromium added to it which helps with edge retention and slows down rusting. The difference between blue 1 and 2 is the amount of carbon present with 1 being the highest. Due to the non stainless nature of this steel care must be taken to dry the knives properly after use.

FINISH: Damascus or suminagashi. This type of finish is made by creating a Kitaeji; which is produced by repeatedly folding/stacking then compressing two different steels - soft iron and Aogami 2 - until they create a laminated pattern. This can then be manipulated in various ways to produce the maker’s desired pattern effect. This material is then clad around the core metal of the blade as an elaborate protective layer for the core steel - thus giving the knife a beautiful and striking appearance.

Kurouchi. This is a traditional, rustic finish achieved by leaving the furnace scale from the forging process on the blade rather than polishing it off. It has the advantage of reducing the reactivity of the surface of the knife and gives the blade a stylish, matt black finish.

HANDLE: Octagonal Karin handle with triple silver spacer and buffalo horn ferule and end cap.

LENGTH: 240mm blade length.

MAKER: Manaka Kisuke

SAUNDERS SAYS: "This is a wild knife. I have waited a while to get my hands on this stuff and it doesn't disappoint"