Tsukasa K2 110mm Santoku Shirogami #2 Moroccan Thuja Handle by Windmühlenmesser

This 'K Series' 110mm cooking knife is made with a Shirogami #2 core with stainless cladding. Handle is a Maroccan Thuja, hand-made and polished at the Robert Herder Windmühlenmesser workshop.

Hand forged, finished and sharpened in Sanjo Niigata Japan by third generation knife maker Tsukasa Hinoura. Hinoura-San uses no modern machinery in the production of his knives, from the forging of the jigane to the final whetstone finish, traditional materials and techniques are employed. Hinoura-San is famous for his heat treatments as well as the beauty of his forging. So much of what a knife does comes down to geometry and heat treatment, both of which are amazingly refined in this series. A distal taper and fine long bevel make for smooth cutting and great edge life.

Carbon steel requires care to keep from rusting; it should be dried immediately after use and never left soaking or wet. Carbon steel gets sharper and holds its edge longer than stainless.

Robert Herder Windmühlenmesser knives are made in Solingen, Germany, and are still utilizing old hand-work techniques. Their fine, hand-ground blades are extremely light and thin and offer a great cutting feel that is not possible with chunky, mechanized-ground blades. There is no excess steel on the blades, making them lightweight and thin, and the slight convexity makes for reduced friction and sticking during cutting. Windmühlenmesser has worked hard to establish an extensive apprenticeship program at their workshop, preserving old techniques that have nearly disappeared from Solingen.