Sakai Kikumori was established in 1926, they take extreme pride in the fact their area of the country is world famous for knife making.

They work with local craftsman to supply us with everything from traditional single bevel knives for sushi perpetration, to double edged "western" knives, and are also famous for their water quenched honyaki knives. In April, 2011, Kawamura Hamono received the certification of “SAKAI WAZASHU” by the Sakai Chamber of Commerce, recognizing their contributions to the local economy.

This fantastic line of knives is constructed our favourite way, with an Aogami Super cutting core that is clad with stainless steel. This means you get the awesome cutting feel and easy sharpening of blue carbon steel but it has a stainless steel outer cladding so it’s not so hard to take care of. This type of construction is called san-mai, which when translated means 3 layers sandwiched together.

A highly sought after steel by knife makers for being more forgiving in the forging process than white carbon, blue carbon is not as pure as Shirogami, but adds tungsten and chromium for rust resistance and makes it more resistant to wear. There are 3 common types of blue steel: Blue #1, Blue #2, and Aogami Super or super blue steel. Aogami super is much more rich in chemical composition and includes vanadium & molybdenum. This helps boost its edge retention and is said to be a bit tougher than #1 & #2.

These knives all come fixed to an octagonal burnt chestnut handle. We love this handle for its comfort level and simplistic beauty. The technique of burning the chestnut wood also lends itself to protecting the wood and gives it antibacterial properties.

Steel: Aogami Super

HRC: 63~64

Cladding: Stainless Steel

Handle: Octagonal Chestnut w/Buffalo Horn Collar