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Gihei 165mm Santoku ZDP189 Keyaki Handle

$621.28
$621.28
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Gihei 165mm Santoku. ZDP189 stainless powder steel blade. Keyaki (Zelkova) wood octagon handle with buffalo horn ferrule.

Gihei knives are forged and hand ground in Tsubame Sanjo, Niigata at their small family business. Gihei works with some old style steels like shirogami and aogami and also works with new alloys such as ZDP-189.

ZDP-189 is a tungsten powder steel made by Hitachi with a very high carbon content 3% (!) and a high chromium content; 20%. It can be made very very hard without becoming brittle but Gihei brings this steel to around 65 HRC (it can be hardened to 67...) which leaves their knives with a both good hardness and good sharpen-ability. It holds an edge very nicely and cuts well as it dulls, we were very impressed with this series during our trials.

Handle is Japanese keyaki / zelkova wood, a beautiful densely grained wood often used for fine woodworking. It has a great grip wet and wears nicely.

Brand: Gihei
Smith: Atsushi Hosokawa
Producing Area: Tsubame Sanjo, Niigata
Profile: Santoku
Size: 165mm
Blade Type: Semi-Stainless Steel
Steel Type: ZDP-189
Handle: Keyaki Wood w/ Buffalo Horn Ferrule
Total Length: 301mm
Handle Length: 126mm
Handle to Tip Length: 175mm
Blade Height: 46mm
Edge Length: 162mm
Thickness: 2.3mm
Weight: 120g
Hand Orientation: Ambidextrous
HRC: 65

*Measurements are taken from random sample
Actual measurements may vary.

This is a semi-stainless steel knife. The blade has higher corrosion and stain resistance than carbon steel knives but will slowly oxidize with use over time. Hand wash and towel dry. Do not put it in the dishwasher. Do not air dry.



Twisting, scraping and heavy use as well as use on hard and very dense objects can lead to edge damage. Using a quality wooden cutting board will keep a sharper edge for longer. Cutting surface materials like glass, ceramic and bamboo will make the edge go dull quickly and should be avoided.

We recommend hand sharpening on whetstones. We have found that most Japanese knives perform best at a finer finish starting around 4000 grit. Avoid pull through sharpeners and non-water cooled mechanized sharpening. Ceramic honing rods are preferred.

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