Sakimaru Sujihiki knife, Aogami 1 carbon steel with Iron clad, Damascus finish - Nakagawa Hamono

Satoshi Nakagawa is the young talent trained at Shiraki Hamono. He is working with a range of carbon and speciality steels and producing some really covetable knives. 

SHAPE: Sakimaru. Historically these are single bevelled and used in sushi but this enormous double bevel version would also be at home with meat.

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 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.

HANDLE: Octagonal red sandalwood with white buffalo ferule and end cap, with three silver spacers

LENGTH: 390mm in length.

MAKER: Nakagawa Hamono, sharpened by Naohito Myojin

BEST FOR: Those looking to own a knife from one of the newer talents coming from Sakai.

SAUNDERS SAYS: "Do i need it? No. Do i need it, need it? No. Do i WANT it? Yes."