Muneishi Kiritsuke Aogami #2 Damascus 210mm (8.3″)

Muneishi Kiritsuke Aogami #2 Damascus 210mm is a multi-purpose Japanese kitchen knife, suitable for preparing meat, fish and vegetables. The blade’s dark kuro-uchi and damascus finish combination contrasts beautifully with the reddish cherry handle.

The blade will glide through food with ease and deliver incredibly smooth cuts, thanks to Aogami #2 steel’s extremely fine sharpness. This knife feels and cuts like a true Japanese blade, and definitely looks the part as well.

BLADE SHAPE:
Kiritsuke knives are double-bevel hybrids between the traditional Japanese knife yanagiba (slicer knife, mostly used for sushi) and the usuba (knife specialized to cut vegetables). This means kiritsuke knives can be used for all sorts of tasks in the kitchen, from making sashimi, slicing through ribeye, to chopping veggies. Traditionally, kiritsuke knives were only allowed to be used by the Executive Chef of the restaurant, but we’ll look away if you’re not (yet) the head chef.

STEEL:
Aogami #2 is a very popular steel in Japanese knifemaking and one of the finest high-carbon steels, meaning the knives forged from it will have excellent edge retention and also sharpen very easily. At the same time, it is less resistant to corrosion, meaning the blade can develop a patina, while longer exposure to water or other corrosives could also lead to rusting. This is improved to some extent with the addition of chromium and tungsten, but it’s still a high-carbon steel that should be maintained accordingly (⚠️ read more about knife maintenance here). Aogami #2 steel is composed of carbon (C) 1.1 %, chromium (Cr) 0.5 %, manganese (Mn) 0.3%, and tungsten (W) 1.5%.

Learn more about knife maintenance here.

LAMINATION:
High-carbon steel is hard, but brittle for this same reason. This makes the blades more prone to breakage and chipping. To prevent that, blacksmiths “sandwich” the blade’s core, made from Aogami #2 steel, between two layers of softer steel. This improves the blade’s flexibility and toughness.

GEOMETRY:
It has a double bevel (symmetrical) blade.

BLADE FINISH:
Kuro-uchi (kuro meaning “black”) finish and a damascus finish create a rustic appearance.

HANDLE:
Traditional oval Japanese (Wa) style handle made out of cherry wood with a red pakka ferrule.

About Muneishi:
Muneishi smithy was founded in 1955. Hirotaka Muneishi, the second-generation knife smith, is renowned for manufacturing forestry knives such as axes and machetes for the local woodsmen. Kosuke Muneishi, the third-generation blacksmith and now the head of the company, has since branched out to making kitchen knives. He mostly uses Aogami Super steel and performs all the steps himself: tempering, forging, hammering and sharpening knives. His knives have very nice grinds, good profile, and are very affordable.