Hitohira Tanaka Kyuzo 165mm Petty Aogami 1 Kurouchi Yakusugi Cedar

Hand made in Sakai, rustic kurouchi finished iron clad aogami 1 forged by dentoukougeishi master smith Yoshikazu Tanaka and expertly ground by Kyuzo, a sharpener that is very well regarded for his wide double bevel work. Tanaka-san’s treatment of aogami is very highly regarded, he manages to incorporate both toughness, ease of sharpening with excellent edge formation with long edge life. We have been fans of Tanaka-san’s for a long time and are very happy to find this collaboration with Hitohira and Kyuzo.

The cedar and horn handle with the kurouchi finish give these a great rustic Japanese country feel.

Tanaka uses charcoal to quench when treating the knife, which does not produce a Kurouchi dark finish. So in order to produce the finish, which is both aesthetically pleasing and useful in protecting against rust, sharpener uses a special and secret technique that has been used in Sakai for a long time and etches the surface of the knife.

Kyuzo’s father Heihachi is one of the busiest sharpeners in Sakai. Heihachi’s workshop room and corridor were always filled with knives waiting to be sharpened. Although Kyuzo initially worked under his father to learn the foundation of rough sharpening, eventually he became a student of Kambei, known as one of the best sharpeners in Sakai because he knew best how to sharpen wide double bevel knives. After a few years of training, he built his style based on both his father and Kambei’s respective styles. Today, Kyuzo is one of only a few people who can sharpen wide double bevel with really good Shinogi-line in Sakai, one of the most challenging techniques in sharpening.

This way of finishing creates the dark and beautiful Kurouchi finish found on this special line. While both types of Kurouchi finishes can fade over time, the etching technique used by sharpener may fade faster.