Description

Kei Kobayashi SG2 damascus santoku 170mm is a multitasking blade. The name santoku means three virtues (san=three and toku=virtue). Its compact size allows us to easily work with meat, vegetables and fish.

History and curiosity

Kobayashi-san owns a sharpening business in Seki and has been sharpening knives for other blacksmiths for years. When Kei Kobayashi, the current president, took over, he decided that they should make their own brand of knives using the years of skills, techniques and knowledge they had accumulated. This is how Kobayashi knives were born. They are made of SG2 stainless steel.

These knives are super thin, making them the very definition of a razor cut. That finesse allows them to easily slice through meat and vegetables as if the food wasn’t even there. This also makes them excellent for anyone who prefers a lighter, thinner knife.

This series of knives was made with one of my favorite types of steel, SG2. SG2 is a stainless steel powder resulting from new metallurgical technologies. Its hardness of approximately 64 HRC gives us an extremely durable edge and extraordinary cutting power, while remaining easy to sharpen. The blade has a nickel damascus steel coating, to give it an aesthetic that will not go unnoticed.

The handle

This slightly dark blade has been combined with a handle with brighter colors. We chose a dyed and stabilized boxelder burl, resin spacer and Juma ivory snakeskin ferrule.

Technical sheet

Brand: Kobayashi

blacksmith: Kei Kobayashi

finish: nickel damascus

steel: SG2

hardness: 64 HRC

blade length: 17.1cm

blade height: 4.9cm

heel thickness: 1.5 mm

tip thickness: 0.2 mm

weight: 122 g