Yoshikane Nashiji sujihiki 270mm EN

As you know, in Japan the style of making a knife varies depending on the city or region where it is made. We can differentiate the way of Sakai, Echizen or Sanjo among others. Yoshikane Hamono, based in Sanjo City, has more than 100 years of history in knife making and is in its fourth generation of bladesmiths. They make  incredible Japanese kitchen knives with attention to detail. Typically, a blade having a thicker spine at the heel that tapers to the tip of the knife and a higher shinogi (part that marks the transition from the spine of the blade to the main bevel) are some of the traits defining Sanjo.

Yoshikane is famous for his work with Shirogami #2 steel, SKD steel and SLD steel.

Brand: Yoshikane hamono

Blacksmith: Kazuomi Yamamoto

Finish: Nashiji (pear skin)

Steel: SKD with stainless coating

Hardness: 63-64 HRC

Type: sujihiki 270mm

Blade length: 24.4 cm

Blade height at heel: 4.16 cm

Heel thickness: 3.7 mm

Tip thickness: 0.4 mm

Weight: 186g

It is made with an boxelder burl, resin spacer and bog oak ferrule ans bottom cap, also known as morta oak. This example of morta oak dates back around 6000 years.

SKD-12 steel is the Japanese equivalent of A2 steel and is a “high-speed tool steel”. Able to achieve very high hardness and exceptional wear resistance, it is mainly used in factory tools used to work metal. The Yoshikane forge is one of the first forges to have integrated this type of steel into the construction of Japanese knives and is now recognized for its SKD-12 and SLD blades (made from SKD-11 steel). With a chromium content of around 5%, this steel is semi-oxidizable and requires minimal maintenance to avoid rust. The blade has a Nashiji finish, which translates to “pear skin”, for its velvet effect.