Petty knife, shirogami 1, migaki finish - Nishida

Nishida-san is one of Japan’s up and coming blacksmiths. He has been blacksmithing for 12 years and started making hunting knives. Unusually for Japan, he undertakes all of the knife making processes himself including forge welding the steel together to make a layered blade.

SHAPE: Petty. One of the smallest knives in a chef’s arsenal and good for well small things.

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. It is a very reactive steel so best kept dry. These blades are also clad with soft iron which is also susceptible to rust.

FINISH: Migaki or polished finish. The blade is polished after forging, giving a clean, bright look that shows off the line between the hard steel edge and the soft iron cladding.

HANDLE: Octagonal Walnut handle with a Pakkawood ferrule.

LENGTH: 100mm or 130mm in length.

MAKER: Daisuke Nishida - Minamiseki, Japan

BEST FOR: Those wanting medium to heavy weight knives that are very traditionally forged

SAUNDERS SAYS: "These knives are really beautiful and, at only 35 years old, I think Nishida-san is someone to watch in the future."

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