Masakage Shimo Honesuki

Top notch performance as you'd expect from a knife of this level, the Shirogami #2 steel keeps its edge very well and the thin blade runs through various food types very easily and consistently.

There's no doubt this is a lovely knife. "Shimo" represents a design of frost on a window and indeed the blacksmith Kurosaki san even created a custom X shaped hammer to create the unique shape on the blade.

The overall matt finish matched with the very light octagonal magnolia handle and black pakka wood collar combine nicely overall.

Across the Shimo range, the workhorse profile and excellent edge sharpened by Shibata-san perform very well and the comfortable octagonal pakka wood handles contribute to a light and well balanced knife.

The hard blade will keep its edge for a long time and last longer between sharpening than many other knives although as it's a thin cutting edge there's a compromise to be struck between that sharpness and cutting with care and attention.

The Shimo is not a stainless knife and if not kept dry between uses it will develop a patina across the blade quite quickly. It is a fully carbon knife with a White #2 core and clad in carbon steel so can develop a patina over the entire blade when used.

How to care for carbon steel Japanese knives.