【Craftsmanship and Attention to Detail】
Characteristics by Material
The materials of kitchen knives can be roughly divided into stainless steel-based and carbon-based (usually called steel).
Both stainless steel-based and carbon-based steel types vary in terms of their performance and unit price, but stainless steel-based knives are said to be rust-resistant, while carbon-based knives will always rust.
[Rough types of stainless steel and carbon steel (usually referred to as steel)]
- Steel type (for Japanese kitchen knives and knives for professional use)
- Yasugi steel (made by Hitachi Metals): Blue paper No.1/2, White paper No.1/2/3, Yellow paper No.3 (the lower the price, the cheaper)
- Non Yasugi steel : SK-4/5 stainless steel
- For Japanese kitchen knives; Yasugi steel (made by Hitachi Metals) Gingami No.3, Aogami Super etc.
- For Western kitchen knives: AUS6A/8A
- Takefu Special Steel: VG-01/10 etc. Yasugi Steel (made by Hitachi Metals) SLD etc.
Aogami Steel
Aogami Steel" is a high-grade steel made by adding chromium (for toughness and hardenability) and tungsten (for wear resistance) to white paper. It boasts very high hardness and long cutting time. Because of its high hardness (HRC60 or higher), many blades made of this steel stay sharp for a long time.
It is more expensive than yellow paper and white paper, and is used for high-grade knives.
Shirogami Steel
Shirogami Steel is a carbon steel made from iron sand with fewer impurities.
It is a common steel used for kitchen knives, machetes, and many other blades, but its quality is high, and the fewer impurities it contains, the more difficult it is to control the hardening temperature and the more skilled the craftsman must be.
It is very popular among craftsmen and may be easily handled by ordinary households.
SLD Steel
SLD steel contains as much chrome as stainless steel, as well as a large amount of carbon, molybdenum vanadium, and other elements. Therefore, it is less susceptible to rust than carbon steel (white steel and blue steel).
It is a special alloy steel with hardness and tenacity, so it cuts well and keeps its sharpness for a long time.
ZA18
ZA18" is a newly developed cobalt stainless steel blade steel.
It has high hardness and excellent abrasion resistance, so it has excellent sharpness and long-lasting sharpness. It also has a higher chromium content than other blade steels and is particularly superior in rustproof performance.
Differences by cross-sectional shape
There are two types of kitchen knives: double-edged and single-edged.
Double-edged
The angle of the blade is even on the front and back sides, so it can cut straight when cutting a block of food.
This makes it easy for an amateur to handle, but requires skill when sharpening, as both sides must be sharpened evenly.
Single-edged blade
When cutting large pieces of food, if you cut the food with force directly downwards, the blade may bend to one side because the front and back sides of the blade are not even. Suitable for thin slicing.
The majority of kitchen knives in the world are double-edged, while Japanese knives, especially Japanese knives for main work, have the peculiarity of being single-edged.
The use of single-edged knives requires somewhat more knowledge and skill.
Since single-edged knives are always used in Japanese cooking, single-edged knives that are not produced in foreign countries are especially needed in overseas Japanese restaurants.
Depending on how they are used, single-edged knives, while more prone to chipping than double-edged knives, are said to be sharp in several times more senses.
