Masakage Koishi AS Kurouchi Santoku 170mm

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The brand Masakage takes inspiration from Masakage Yamagata, a skilled general known for his excellence in multiple disciplines of war, reflecting their knives’ all-around superior performance.

Concerned with the decline of Japanese blacksmithing due to aging artisans, Masakage was founded in 2007 by Takayuki Shibata, one of Japan’s best knife sharpeners. His aim was to help the Master Blacksmiths of Takefu Knife Village showcase their craftsmanship and to preserve and promote the craft. All Masakage knives are hand forged by various blacksmiths then hand sharped by Shibata-san for an incredible cutting performance.

The Koishi collection is forged by reknowned blacksmith Yoshimi Kato from Aogami Super Carbon Steel hardened to 64 HRC. This collection has the highest edge retention within the Masakage lineup. Named Koishi (meaning "pebbles"), the knife features a Kurouchi Tsuchime finish, evoking the texture of river stones while enhancing food release.

Aogami Super offers an excellent cutting performance due to its fine grain structure and high hardenability, allowing this knife to get sharper and stay sharper for longer. However, it runs into a major downside - rust. That's where the stainless cladding comes into play. While the cutting edge is carbon steel, it is sandwiched between 2 layers of stainless steel which as its name implies, is highly rust resistant. The end result is a knife that cuts like a carbon steel but with much less maintenance.

Blade Type: Santoku
Core: Aogami Super (Blue Super) Carbon Steel
Cladding: Stainless Steel Cladding
Handle: Cherry Octagonal Handle with Black Pakkawood Ferrule
Spine Thickness at Heel: 3.7mm
HRC: 63 - 64
Weight: 130g
Blade Length: 170mm
Overall Length: 310mm