First Impressions
There's quite a lot to process when first opening the box and checking out these fairly unique single bevel knives, they're entirely made by hand and the forging and finishing process is easy to see and they're finished with an ever so slightly hollow grind to provide a good cutting experience.
Beauty
The knives in this line are made in a very traditional manner and finished in an unfussy and simple style and fitted with a D shaped oval handle and perhaps there are more visually striking finishes available on other knives.
Mr Ishikawa focuses his craft on creating useful tools for his customers but if traditional looks and style are what you seek then these belong in your toolkit.
In Hand
As a right handed single bevel knife, the aim is to create a precise cutting experience and they certainly are precise with no steering issues and they're comfortable in hand although the handle ferrule is one place where money has been saved in construction and isn't always an entirely smooth fit and may be something you'd replace later if it bothered you.
The blue #2 collection does have a slightly wider spine above the heel and more pronounced taper than the white #2 collection of these knives.
Please note - The general use knives in the range are fitted with a marble ferrule while the nakiri has a black plastic one instead.
Durability
The triple forged Blue #2 clad in soft iron is hardened to around 61-62HRC and is a solid and durable carbon steel choice that is easy to sharpen and maintain.
Depending on your core steel preference, you can also check out the White #2 versions of the knives.
Ease of Care
While carbon and soft iron clad, these knives aren't enormously reactive and so as long as you're comfortable sharpening and maintaining a single bevel knife they're a good workhorse range to enjoy and just follow our normal carbon steel care instructions and consider a carbon steel knife care kit for long term care.
Our Verdict
This is an interesting line of knives we are delighted to stock as Mr Ishikawa only makes small quantities for international customers and given the process for making them is quite labour intensive even compared to normal Japanese knives it's great to experience them.
The knives are imperfect, the finish can be a little uneven in places and the handle is a low cost stock magnolia one you might want to go as far as replacing over time but the experience of using the knives is that of a precise cutting workhorse that holds an edge well and are a collection of no-fuss tools suitable for both home and professional use by right handers.
It is expected that you would want to finish the final sharpen on the primary bevel yourself with these knives which evens out the imperfections we highlight above but on some knives, we offer a finished option which have been professionally finished by Tom at Sheffield Sharpening Shed.
He has flattened the bevel and worked out all the unevenness, finshed on a medium Aoto stone, hand sanded the whole knife to bring back the finish to a higher standard then polished the spine and choil and all completed with a micro bevel at 3k grit.
Unusually for us, we also wanted one of these knives to be put through its paces in a professional kitchen and so our thanks to chef Toby Willows for spending time with a nakiri, he wraps up by saying
First impressions, the fit and finish is average, no frills good quality knife. My favourite thing about this knife is the amount of bite it has. It’s like nothing I’ve experienced before, it sharpens really nicely!
Although I’m used to using a honing rod at work to touch up the edge in between sharpenings, obviously as it’s a single bevel you can’t really use own, so I keep a strop handy. Although the edge retention is fairly good so don’t see it being an issue.
In terms of the veering of when cutting with a yanagiba for example doesn’t apply here. It’s extremely precise and a joy to use. It’s a great work horse and has no problem going through 25kg of onions.
Stock handle isn’t great, but it’s to be expected of a traditional style Japanese knife. But would definitely buy one!
