Gyuto knife, Aogami super, ss-clad, 210mm, Tsuchime and Kurouchi finish - Kato

The Knives are made by Yoshimi Kato the now owner of Kanehiro Hamono, who was trained by his father alongside Yu Kurosaki.

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

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. The blue steel core has then been wrapped in stainless steel making maintenance easy.

FINISH: Tsuchime. This is a hand hammered finish that is not only beautiful but also functional. The small depressions stop food sticking to the knife. This finish comes in many different forms from the traditional round hammer marks to more modern patterns. 

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.

We also have a very limited run of only Kurouchi finish.

HANDLE: Western Micarta handle.

LENGTH: 210mm in length.

MAKER: Yoshimi Kato - Takefu, Echizen, Japan

BEST FOR: Veg prep

SAUNDERS SAYS: “These are lovely skinny knives so will really excel at large scale veg prep." 

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