Yoshikane Hamono 300mm Yanagi Shirogami 1 Ho Horn

Yoshikane hand forged iron clad shirogami 1 carbon steel 300mm yanagi. 

Shirogami #1 carbon steel is an excellent low contaminate high carbon content steel, it is not used that often by Yoshikane so is somewhat rare. Shirogami is very responsive to sharpening stones, taking an extremely fine but biting edge and holding it very well. It is however a reactive carbon steel having only a tiny bit of silica in addition to carbon as it's alloy additives, there is no chromium or other alloy to slow down rusting. 

Hardened to 64 HRC, these knives hold a keen edge for a long time, owing to thier excellent heat treatment and despite this hardness they have a good degree of toughness and are very very easy to sharpen. Being ground with a wide, kiriba primary bevel, they also allow for easy thinning down the road, especially as Yoshikane kireba grinds are especially flat.

This knife is not stainless and will develop a patina with use, but any orange rust should be removed with a light abrasive.

Yoshikane is headed by Kazuomi Yamamoto the fourth generation to operate this family run forging and grinding operation in Sanjo, Niigata which  has been making kitchen knives since 1919. They deserve their good reputation for excellent forging and heat treatments, which make for easy sharpening and great edge life for both single and double bevel knives. This is especially true about the thin grinds provided on their double bevel knives. For middleweight Japanese knives, they cut like a much thinner blade.

Steel Type: Stainless Clad Shirogami 2
Handle Material: Ho wood
Weight: 210 grams
Height at Heel: 39 mm
Cutting Edge Length: 300mm
HRC: 64