Hitohira Kikuchiyo Manzo White #3 Deba 150mm Walnut Handle with Saya

Kikuchiyo is a blacksmith based in Sakai. He was under tutelage of a legendary blacksmith in this region for well over two decades before taking over his masters forge. He’s known for his high quality White and Blue steel blades but is particularly recognized for his excellent stainless Ginsan (Silver #3) and Honyaki blades. He is an expert of temperatures and is able to achieve the correct hardness and gumminess through his technique. He always works with great ambition and efficiency hoping to develop his skills as a craftsman, modeling each of his knives on the image of his master’s forge.

For this series these excellent blades are paired with Manzo’s great and consistent single bevel sharpening. Manzo is a sharpener in Sakai who exclusively sharpens single bevel knives. His sharpening style is characterized by a deep Ura (concave backside) and flat Kireha (primary bevel). In his opinion the deep ura contributes to a better geometry, performance and longer lasting performance throughout the life of the blade, even with repeated sharpening. A plus side of a deep ura is that you rarely get to see scratch marks across the ura when sharpening the back side yourself. Manzo sharpened knives are further refined with subtly chamfered back and choil, a good polish and good ‘out of the box’ edges.

The traditional Japanese fish filleting knife. A very old knife shape used for breaking down fish and often poultry. Very efficient in filleting due to their single bevel geometry designed to be strong, reduce friction and have a very keen edge. While it takes a small adjustment in technique the results are often much better compared to using a western filleting knife. Strong enough to cut through fishbones and a much sharpen edge resulting in higher quality cuts essential for taste, texture and quality of the produce. 

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.