Gyuto knife, Aogami (blue paper) steel, kurouchi finish, octagonal walnut handle - Shigeki Tanaka

Shigeki Tanaka trained in Takefu which is an area we are very familiar with knife-wise. After training for 3 years he moved to his family forge in Miki city. From here he has gained an excellent reputation for making exceptional value knives using traditional techniques.

SHAPE: Gyuto. Japan's answer to the chef's knife with a thinner profile. Gyuto translates to cow sword.

STEEL: Aogami (blue paper) steel. Similar to white paper steel but with tungsten and chromium added, which helps with edge retention and slows down rusting. Due to the non stainless nature of this steel care must be taken to dry the knife properly after use.

FINISH: Kurouchi. This is a traditional, rustic finish achieved by leaving the furnace scale from the forging process on the blade rather than polishing it off. It has the advantage of reducing the reactivity of the surface of the knife and gives the blade a stylish, matt black finish.

HANDLE: Octagonal Japanese-style (wa) walnut handle with a black ferrule

LENGTH: 180mm in length.

MAKER: Shigeki Tanaka - Miki city, Japan

BEST FOR: Everything apart from bones.