Jiro Tsuchime Wa Sujihiki 270mm Tagayasan Handle (#487)

Jiro-san is a blacksmith and knife maker from the Nagano region and an artisan in every sense of the word. He is a one man operation, meaning every part of his blades have been handcrafted by Jiro-san from start to finish. Because of this the number of knives that he can produce is slim, each of them unique, numbered and with certificate.

These are made with Shirogami no.1 carbon steel which is one of the purest carbon steel used in today’s knife making. The forge welding is done by himself, the process of combining the harder core with the softer iron cladding. By doing this all in-house he can control every step of the process and forge with ideal temperatures. Not using pre-laminated steel is a rarity and this is showcased by the spine thickness of his knives because pre-laminated steel is not available with this thickness.
Jiro-San polishes and sharpens the knives be himself on his favourite combination of synthetic and natural whetstones. The results are incredibly even and finely polished bevels which are not only beautiful but add considerably to the performances the blade.

This is a carbon steel knife. That means this knife is made of non-stainless steel. There is no or an insufficient amount of chromium and/or nickel to protect this steel against oxidation. Steel such as this will react to moisture and oxygen. That on itself is not a bad thing, you might even argue it’s a great thing. The knife will form a wonderful patina, it will sharpen easily and the edge life will not disappoint.

The care for a carbon steel knife such as this is not very elaborate, and very comparable to any other knife. Always store your knife clean and dry, no dishwasher, don’t let it air-dry and avoid extremely hard products like frozen foods or bones. With carbon steel you want to dry your knife also during cooking, never leave it moist or wet for too long. Often a quick wipe a dry cloth or towel is more than enough. A carbon steel knife can rust if not taken care of properly. Rust can removed but it is of course something we want to avoid.

Please note that there are many different carbon steels, just like stainless steels, each with its own properties and characteristics. Each should be judged individually.