Hitohira TD Blue #2 Stainless Clad Kurouchi Petty 135mm Padauk Handle

The Hitohira TD series consists of sturdy handmade knives from Sanjo, Niigata. All the knives we carry in the TD series are hand forged which makes for a noticeable improvement in steel quality. Very good prices for hand-forged knives. They come in kurouchi, tsuchime, nashiji and sometimes migaki finished stainless cladding on either Blue #2 or SLD core steel. Like many Sanjo made knives, they have spines that are somewhat thicker towards the neck, making for a nice grip and a little more weight. Very well made and dependable knives.

Petty knives (Utilty) have a similar profile as the Gyuto but smaller, commonly ranging from 12 to 15cm. A shape most often used next to any larger all-purpose blade (gyuto & santoku) although there are many households where this is the go-to knife. Very suitable for the smaller cutting tasks such as cleaning, portioning and peeling fruits and vegetables and cleaning smaller cuts of meat or fish. 

Pairing knives are more used for in-hand tasks such as peeling, trimming, scoring and cleaning and fruit or vegetable. 

This is a carbon steel knife with a soft stainless steel cladding. Most Japanese knives have a 3-layer construction called “San Mai”, hard and high quality steel sandwiched between two layers of soft steel. In this case the soft steel (cladding) is a stainless steel and only the core is made out of carbon (non-stainless) steel. You’ll have all the advantages of a carbon edge e.g., sharpening ease and edge retention, but without having to worry about oxidation on the rest of the blade.
Still it is important to store your knife dry and clean, never let it air-dry after washing, no dishwasher and avoid extremely hard products like frozen foods or bones ect.