Santoku knife, Shirogami 1 with stainless steel cladding, nashiji finish, western handle, Maboroshi range- Fujiwara

We The Fujiwara family have been making edged tools for 140 years. They started as sword producers but as demand decreased after WW2 they turned their attention to chef knives. Master Teruyasu Fujiwara is the fourth generation to work in this family run business. He is a pioneer of cladding carbon steel in stainless steel that is commonplace today. He also unusually does every part of the knife making process himself.

RANGE: Maboroshi

SHAPE: Santoku. Named after the three best things to do with this knife - slicing, dicing and mincing. It is the classic veg prep knife with both good breadth and width.

STEEL: Shirogami (white paper) 1 steel. This steel has the highest amount of carbon out of the paper steels so will get crazy sharp easily. Due to the non stainless nature of this steel care must be taken to dry the knives properly after use. It is worth noting that this knife has been clad in stainless steel meaning only the exposed core edge will discolour making maintenance a lot easier.

FINISH: Nashiji or pear skin finish. This matt and mottled finish helps with food release and looks very rustic.

HANDLE: Western handle in Pakkawood.

LENGTH: 165 or 180mm in length.

MAKER: Teruyasu Fujiwara - Tokyo, Japan

BEST FOR: A slightly familiar western feel but definitely Japanese sharpness

SAUNDERS SAYS: "I normally am a wa Handle kind of guy but the western is a goer for me. A fantastically weighted knife."

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