Kiritsuke Knife, Aogami 2, Wrought Iron cladding, Metal Flow range, Damascus finish - Tetsujin Hamono

This gem of a knife line was produced by the collaboration between the  blacksmith Tamura Toru and the sharpener Naohito Myojin.

SHAPE: Kiritsuke gyuto. This is basically a Gyuto with a funky drop tip on it. Sometimes they can have a flatter profile more suited to slicing but generally they are very similar to Gyutos

STEEL: Aogami (blue paper) 2 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. This steel differs from Blue 1 in its carbon content, Blue 2 being slightly less. 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 usually made by creating a Kitaeji; which is produced by repeatedly folding/stacking then compressing two different steels 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.

In this case, the unique Damascus patterns were achieved by folding layers of wrought iron, where the imperfections of the metal create the differences in colour.

HANDLE: Octagonal ebony wood handle with white buffalo horn ferule and end cap. This is combined with two silver spacers.

LENGTH: 210mm and 240mm in length

MAKER: Tetsujin Hamono, Tosa

SAUNDERS SAYS:  "An immaculately forged and finished knife"