ARITSUGU Yanagiba 300mm white II steel blade with wood cover
Aritsugu Company
400 years of family business creating the finest quality knives and cooking utensils. Since 1560, 18 generations of the Aritsugu family have continued to pass along the forging techniques preferred by the imperial family. It started with Japanese Samurai Sword maker, Master Aritsugu Fujiwara. This knife was bought at Tokyo Aritsugu. Located on Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, well-known as world biggest fish market. Aritsugu provides top chefs in Japan hand crafted knives and cooking utensils.
Blade Length; 11 1/2inch (300mm) Handle Length; 5 1/8 inch (142mm) Total Length; 17 inch (442mm) Knife weight is 8.1oz. The end part of the back width is 4.5mm(3/16（nch) wide.
HANDLE; Magnolia with Water Buffalo horn bolster. BLADE; Hongasumi style blade which is harder steel blade on the blade of the edge, and entire flat concave back side, and soft iron on the body of the bevel side blade. Those different steel and iron combinations make the blade edge harder on quenching and tempering processes accurately, and easier to sharpen the blade, and the knife stronger, and make it easier on the processes of knife making to make less off grade blades such as cracking the blade or splitting the blade or bending the blade.
This knife is called Yanagiba knife which is used for slicing sashimi, peeling vegetables, and cutting most of soft ingredients. The blade is made out of Yasuki Shiro II ko (white II steel) which is very suitable for Japanese chef knives. Shiro II Ko Steel is pure high carbon steel , so it is rust, but if you want very sharp edge, white II steel is the one. White II steel forging temperature is very limited like 730 degree Celsius to 760 degree Celsius, so to make white II steel blade knife is not easy as the other steels, and it is important blacksmith skill and experiences.