Sakai Kikumori Nakagawa Aogami 1 Kurouchi Knife Set - 2 Pieces

We are proud to be the sole North American retailer of this collaboration between Sakai Kikumori and Nakagawa Hamono. In a conversation between Bernal Cutlery’s Lisa and Josh and Sakai Kikumori, Kawamura-san at Kikumori asked what we would like to see. Shirogami 1 and aogami 1 kurouchi gyutos from Nakagawa came to mind. 

These knives represent a blend of the rustic and the refined. They have a dark forge-scale ‘kurouchi’ finish and exceptionally thin grinds to support the superb forging. Nakagawa-san's smithing is characterized by thorough heat treatment with excellent heat control during forging.  The result are knives that have remarkable edge formation and edge retention while remaining tough. 

Aogami 1 is a low contaminate carbon steel with tungsten as a main alloy ingredient. Sometimes, Aogami 1 is overshadowed by its sibling, aogami super, which has a higher alloy content that includes vanadium for long edge life. However, aogami 1 has better edge formation and typically works better at finer finishes than the busier aogami super. Nakagawa-san’s aogami 1 has a nice blend of edge life, toughness for a hard steel and most of all, excellent edge formation. Nakagawa-san’s aogami 1 has a bitey feeling even at finer finishes that can often leave aogami steels feeling sterile or slidey. Nakagawa’s aogami 1 also works very nicely with a variety of natural stones.

These have a natural (as opposed to chemically applied) kurouchi finish which will include some hammer marks and rougher cosmetic grinder marks. When cared for properly, the kurouchi will gradually fade and be replaced with a patina from use. 

When new, the burnt chestnut handle may transfer to your hands.

Sakai Kikumori was started in 1926 and draws on Sakai's 600 year history as the major center of traditional Japanese cutlery manufacturing. They work with a large variety of Sakai's best smiths, sharpeners and small factories to offer a wide variety of knives ranging from traditional to modern.

This set includes:

Sakai Kikumori Nakagawa 210mm Gyuto Aogami 1 Kurouchi  Burnt Chestnut with Saya - general use great for single piece vegetables like onion, carrot, peppers and the medium sized cabbage or eggplant while still being long enough to be a good slicer on boneless meats.

Sakai Kikumori Nakagawa 150mm Petty Aogami 1 Kurouchi  Burnt Chestnut with Saya  - utility use small enough to do some handheld work but longer enough to process on a cutting board.