Description
After 5 years of running this business we have finally got this masters knives. He is one of the great makers of Japan and has been awarded the distinction of living treasure. He is also one of the makers who set up Takefu knife village.
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: Kurouchi. This rustic finish is achieved by leaving the forge scale on that forms during the knife's production. It not only looks great but gives some protection against rust.
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 finishes comes in many different forms from the traditional round hammer marks to more modern patterns.
HANDLE: Desert Ironwood Western Handle
BLADE LENGTH: 210mm, 210mm and 240mm.
MAKER: Saji - Takefu, Japan
BEST FOR: Owning something that not many other people do.
SAUNDERS SAYS: "Crikey, those handles."
These knives are hand-forged so there may be slight variations in measurements and finishes.
ANY QUESTIONS...
We dispatch orders Monday - Friday with our post collection time at midday. Next day delivery orders need to be placed before 9am to guarantee dispatch. We are able to provide tracking information for orders which will be provided once your order has been dispatched. Full details of the different shipping services are available here.
DO YOU DO GIFT WRAPPING?No problem at all. Everything is beautifully packaged so it will look all present-y and special, and you can also add gift wrapping to your order. Put any gift message in the notes section. We will leave out the shipping note to protect the gift-giver's modesty. Job done. Sit back and wait for the rounds of effusive thanks!
Orders purchased through the website can be collected from either shop. Please select which store you would like to collect from and wait for email confirmation that your order is ready before coming to collect. Stock differs between the warehouse and in-store so it can take up to three days for your order to be fulfilled.
DO YOU SHIP INTERNATIONALLY?Yes. Please see the shipping page here for further info.
WHERE DO YOU SHIP FROM?All items on the website are located in the UK and shipped from the UK.
WHAT IF I WANT TO RETURN IT?
Our returns policy is 30 days for any item in an unused saleable condition. Please look at our full policy here.
General Knife care instructions
There are a basic set of rules that you should adhere to. If you come into store, we will discuss these with you at length alongside other tips and tricky to get the best from your knife. We also give you a little card as a reminder and which also gives you your first sharpen free of charge.
- ALWAYS CUT ON A WOOD OR PLASTIC CHOPPING BOARD: Because continually hitting the edge of your knife onto a hard surface will blunt it and risks chipping the edge. This should go without saying as glass chopping boards will not only blunt your knives but are also a complete abomination. Also try to avoid cutting directly on plates. If you are super keen, try a hi-soft chopping board (we sell these in store) or a hinoki board.
- RINSE AND DRY AFTER USE: If it is carbon steel, you don't want to keep it wet as this will risk rust developing. Keep a tea towel next to your board and just wipe off the knife from time to time. Don't be an animal, clean your knife.
- NEVER PUT IN THE DISHWASHER OR LEAVE TO SOAK: Putting knives in the dishwasher blunts them. Yes, chefs, this includes giving it to the KP to run through the pot wash. Don't do it! All you need to do is hold the knife tip down under the tap, rinse it off and dry it. Knives don't really get that dirty and you want to avoid water getting in and around the handle. Any soaking or dishwashering also damages the glues in the handle. This is the absolute unquestionable indisputable no no.
- AVOID TWISTING OR PRYING MOTIONS: If you put stress on a fine edge of a knife it will chip. This might not happen straightaway but the risk of damaging the knife is definitely there. Things to avoid include hacking into butternut squash, hitting into the stone of an avocado, chopping through a chicken carcass, or, god forbid, trying to open oysters. If in doubt, don't do it. Have a rubbish second rate cheap knife and do any gnarly jobs - where you are reliant on brute force rather than precision sharpness - with this. Steel doesn't just randomly fall apart or shatter but if you stress the edge it will eventually chip.
- CARBON STEEL WILL DEVELOP A PROTECTIVE PATINA AFTER USE. WIPE AFTER USE OR AFTER CUTTING ANYTHING ACIDIC TO AVOID RUST FORMING: a protective patina is a dark grey in colour. It is not orange. Rust is orange. As the patina develops, the surface will become less reactive and the knife easier to care for. If you have by accident allowed it to rust, don't worry, this can be removed.
- DO NOT SHARPEN ON A METAL STEEL: This should read, don't "TRY" to sharpen on a metal steel. Steels don't remove metal and sharpen knives, they just realign the edge. Don't go at one with your knife in a swashbuckling fashion, this is likely to chip the knife at worst and, at best, will remove the metal unevenly, therefore making it harder to sharpen. Steels should be used gently and sparingly, if you aren't sure what you are doing with one, don't!
- STORE IN BOX OR ON KNIFE RACK: As you might be gathering by now, knife against anything hard is potentially damaging. This includes letting it rattle round in your cutlery drawer. We also aren't big fans of concealed knife blocks as you don't really know where you are sticking it. You can't go wrong keeping it in its box or, if possible, a wall mounted knife rack with some sort of cushioning (rubber or wood).