Hitachi White #1 Steel and soft iron cladding, forged by Satoshi Nakagawa, one of Sakai City's busiest and most well regarded blacksmiths. Nakagawa-san rose to fame as the protégé of the great Kenichi Shiraki, and in more recent years has taken up the mantle of this esteemed blacksmithing workshop. Nakagawa-san has honed his skills to be able to work with a wide range of steels, profiles and constructions - and has earned his well deserved reputation for forging and heat treating top quality blades.
The grind and finish of this Gyuto has been executed with a great degree of finesse by the legendary Kawakita Hamono, one of the most sought after sharpening workshops in Sakai.
Both makers in collaboration have created a blade which performs effortlessly. The grind features a convexity that starts about halfway up the blade and seamlessly tapers towards the thin cutting edge. The outcome is a smooth performer that is very thin behind the edge yet has the adequate geometry to offer a good degree of food separation and release. A Gyuto that is on the larger side with the capability of processing a variety of ingredients, yet well balanced and very wieldable for delicate cuts. A beautiful Kasumi finish on the blade, paired with a Rosewood handle results in a rather elegant kitchen tool. Nakagawa-san's White #1 core is very responsive on the stones, and can be easily sharpened to a highly refined edge that holds its bite very well.
Steel |
Shirogami #1 |
Cladding |
Iron |
Edge Length |
257mm |
Heel Height |
54mm |
Spine thickness at the Heel |
3.5mm |
Spine Thickness 10mm from the Tip |
0.7mm |
Weight |
255g |
Handle |
Octagonal Rosewood |