Sakai Kikumori Nakagawa Shirogami 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. 

Shirogami is rated at 3, 2, & 1; increasing in carbon content as the number gets smaller. Typically, shirogami 3 is tough with a shorter edge life than shirogami 2, and shirogami 1 has the best edge life with the least toughness. However, in the hands of Nakagawa-san, this shirogami 1 is given better toughness which offsets its more brittle nature. This is definitely a sharpener's steel that works well at a very fine finish. It is a real pleasure to sharpen Nakagawa-san's shirogami 1. It has a longer lived edge than his shirogami 2 and performs well at very fine finishes-  it’s a true blank slate that’s great for a huge variety of finishing stones, especially 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. 

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 240mm Gyuto Shirogami 1 Kurouchi Ho Wood with Saya - a general use kitchen knife in a size thats big enough for cabbage and piles of herbs, but not too big to make it unwieldy for single piece veg like onions, carrots and peppers. It's length also makes it double as an efficient slicer of boneless meats.

Sakai Kikumori Nakagawa 150mm Petty Shirogami 1 Kurouchi Ho Wood with Saya - utility knife  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: Shirogami 1
Handle: Burnt Chestnut
Hand Orientation: Ambidextrous
HRC: 63-64