Takada no Hamono 240mm Gyuto Aogami 2 Mizu Honyaki - Ebony & Horn Octagonal Handle

This water quenched aogami 2 honyaki series is hand forged at Nakagawa Hamono (formerly Shiraki Hamono) by the super talented blacksmith Nakagawa-san and hand ground with a graceful thin convex grind and beautiful finish bringing out the more subtle aogami hamon line by Mitsuaki Takada at the Takada no Hamono workshop.

They have fine cutting feel with excellent edge life and edge formation, and represent an exciting new generation of Sakai craftsmen putting out top quality work. We are super excited to be working with Takada no Hamono. Takada no Hamono water quenched aogami 2 honyaki is superb, tough, nice to sharpen and with great edge life.

Mitsuaki Takada has spent many years as a grinder in Sakai and specializes in double bevel hamaguri style convex grinding. He worked for Ashi Hamono for many years, and is very skilled at grinding thin double bevel knives with excellent cutting feel.

Takada no Hamono opened in 2018, in the old style of a small wood frame house converted to a workshop, there are dozens of atelier like this in Sakai but Mitsuaki’s is the first of it’s kind to be opened in many, many decades.

Water quench honyaki is a very difficult process especially with aogami, not all knives sold as water quench honyaki truly are such. Water quenched honyaki is more brittle than oil quench which is in turn more brittle than san mai 3 layered blades.

These knives demand skilled use and will not tolerate mistreatment. For instance, smashing garlic with the side, hacking at hard items or dropping the knife will most likely break it. For that reason these are not guaranteed against breakage.

This is a reactive carbon steel. It should be mentioned that extra care is required, as the knife is not stainless and should be dried immediately after use. It will develop a dark patina with usage, but any orange rust should be removed with a light abrasive.

These knifes come from the maker with lacquer on the blade for corrosion protection during shipping. It can be removed using acetone or lacquer thinner (follow manufacturers instructions for use).

Enter "Please remove lacquer" in the +Special Instructions on the Cart page if you would like to have this lacquer removed prior to shipping. This could delay shipping by up to 5 days.

These knifes come from the maker with lacquer on the blade for corrosion protection during shipping. It can be removed using acetone or lacquer thinner (follow manufacturers instructions for use).

Enter "Please remove lacquer" in the +Special Instructions on the Cart page if you would like to have this lacquer removed prior to shipping. This could delay shipping by up to 5 days.