Sakai Kikumori Nakagawa Aogami 1 Kurouchi 2 Knife Set

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 knife has a hard carbon steel core with iron cladding for added durability. The entire blade will develop a patina with use, especially with acidic foods. Special attention is needed to keep the blade from rusting. Do not leave wet; hand wash & dry. Never use a dishwasher. Rust can be removed using a light abrasive. Hardwood end-grain or softwood long-grain cutting boards are preferred; avoid bamboo and plastic cutting boards to reduce edge damage. 

This set includes:

Sakai Kikumori Nakagawa 210mm Gyuto Aogami 1 Kurouchi  Burnt Chestnut w/ 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 w/ Saya  - utility use small enough to do some handheld work but longer enough to process on a cutting board.

Brand: Sakai Kikumori
Smith: Satoshi Nakagawa
Producing Area: Sakai
Steel Type: Iron Clad Carbon Steel
Steel: Aogami 1
Handle: Burnt Chestnut
Hand Orientation: Ambidextrous
HRC: 63-64