San Kyoto Tamahagane knives bear the name of the steel they are created from. The direct translation of tamahagane is “jewel steel”, which refers to an alloy typically used to make Samurai swords, produced through an intensely traditional artisan method.
Style and manufacture
The San Kyoto 63-ply blade is made by experts repeatedly rolling, folding and hammering the steel many times. This repetitious process removes all the impurities from the steel, and makes the blade harder and more durable. The end result is 62 layers of SUS410 steel around a super-hard VG5 core. All of this is slimmed down from 20mm to a mere 2mm of the hardest, sharpest steel.
Our views and advice to buyers
San Kyoto Tamahagane knives come with different options of handles, but the same superior quality blade. Choose between traditional wood, or the black handles comprised of compressed and laquered linen. Either way, it is hard to find a knife closer to perfection than this, or one that consummately represents both the hi-tech and the incredibly traditional aspects of Japanese knife manufacture. For the purists.
