Sujihiki knife, Aogami Super carbon steel, Kurouchi Tsuchime and damascus finish - Akifusa

The Akifusa range of knives represent exceptional value with top notch fit and finish usually found on much more expensive knives.

SHAPE: Sujihiki. A slicing knife similar to the yanagiba sushi knife but with a western double bevel. Very adept at cutting in one continuous movement causing minimal damage to the protein.

STEEL: Aogami (blue paper) super 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 super part indicates the highest amount of carbon steel - at up to 1.5% - out of the blue series steels. This has then been hardened to 63-64 rockwell making it very hard and capable of retaining an edge for a very long time. 

FINISH: Kurouchi and tsuchime. The kurouchi Finish is a scale left on from the forging process. Damascus or Suminigashi. This type of finish is made by repeatedly folding two different steels until they create the twisted and folded pattern. Generally speaking this is then used as a cladding so doesn’t affect the knife physically except for the looks.

HANDLE: D shaped rosewood handle with a pakkawood ferrule. Theoretically this is a right handers handle but I know loads of people who happily use them left handed. 

LENGTH: 240mm in length.

MAKER: Akifusa - Sanjo, Japan

BEST FOR: Those wanting one of the best cutting steels on the planet at an acceptable price.

SAUNDERS SAYS: "The fit and finish on these knives is phenomenal and they are fun to sharpen if you find sharpening fun."

These knives are hand-forged so there may be slight variations in measurements and finishes.