Master Shiro Kamo is one of the great makers of Japan and founders of Takefu knife village. Using traditional techniques to forge modern steels he has become a pioneer in his field. We are very proud to sell his knives.

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: 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. It differs from the other blue paper steels with the addition of Vanadium and Molybdenum.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 around 65 rockwell making it very hard and capable of retaining an edge for a very long time. 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: Kurouchi. This is a black scale that is left on the knife from the forging process.

HANDLE: Teak handle with a contrast ferrule.

BLADE LENGTH: 165mm.

MAKER: Kamo - Takefu, Echizen, Japan

BEST FOR: If you want the traditional look and great useability, this is the knife for you.

SAUNDERS SAYS: "A very covetable range of knives where the quality and craftsmanship is amazing at this price point."

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