Christmas knife

[Kevin]

My wife’s job includes a lot of travel. She likes it, and I guess we’ve gotten used to it. I used to travel for an old job I had. 50% travel is a lot.

Anyway, she was in Tokyo, Japan earlier this month. And she brought back a Japanese chef’s knife for me for Christmas.

It’s beautiful. I’m on my phone, so let me see if I can post a few pictures.

 

[Kevin]

I know it’s forged in the style where just the blade’s edge is hardened. But I’m not sure what’s the term for that.

I also can’t tell if it’s Damascus steel or not. The knife is made in Kyoto, but I just don’t know anything else about it.

The blade is 210mm or 8.26 inches. It balances very nicely. The handle must be hollow.

 

[RSIno1]

I know it's forged in the style where just the blade's edge is hardened. But I'm not sure what's the term for that.

I also can't tell if it's Damascus steel or not.

Whereas traditional Damascus is all one alloy the Japanese forge in a layer of different alloy that will become the edge.

 

[GunnyGene]

I know it's forged in the style where just the blade's edge is hardened. But I'm not sure what's the term for that.

I also can't tell if it's Damascus steel or not. The knife is made in Kyoto, but I just don't know anything else about it.

The blade is 210mm or 8.26 inches. It balances very nicely. The handle must be hollow.

The word tama means 'precious', and the word hagane means 'steel'. And no it's not Damacus, but appears to be the folded steel with the harder steel (higher carbon content) sandwiched between layers of a softer steel. This is why the cutting edge is brighter. The lower carbon "blue steel" that makes up the bulk of the blade lends toughness (as opposed to hardness), so you get the best of both worlds - an edge that stays sharp, and the resilience of a lower carbon blade. I would advise not using the knife on anything other than a end grain cutting board, or trying to hack thru bone (which can result in chipping of the cutting edge). If you take good care of it, it will last for generations.

More info:

https://knifebasics.com/japanese-high-carbon-steel-white-steel-blue-steel/
https://samuraiswords.store/tamahagane-steel/
Digging a little deeper, your knife is what I suspected. It is not made using the genuine tamahagane steel or process. Rather it is a brand name and uses completely different steel. Still a nice knife tho, and considerably less expensive than the genuine article.

https://tamahagane.com/collections/...oto-chef-s-knife-180mm-snk-1106-made-in-japan

https://tamahagane.com/pages/about-us

 

[BearBiologist]

Received a $50 gift certificate from a friend. This knife is available @ Sportsman's Warehouse. I like the ulu style for kitchen work and this handle seems more practical..

https://www.sportsmans.com/camping-...wind-ulu-484-inch-fixed-blade-knife/p/p245462

 

[sharpblade7777]

I got these 4 knives for Christmas.