[SET] Tojiro Shippu Knife Set

TOJIRO SHIPPU Knife Set is a wonderful way to bring happiness to any cooking enthusiast that likes the traditional Japanese looks. It includes the most important knives in any starting collection:

• a multi-purpose santoku, which will be able to tackle the majority of produce – meat, fish and vegetables,
• a smaller petty knife, essential for all the delicate tasks, such as peeling, paring and other precise work.

These two knives have been forged out of VG-10 steel. Known for its edge retention and corrosion resistance, it’s one of the most widely used stainless steels by Japanese blacksmiths. The looks were kept simple, with a traditional magnolia Wa handle and subtle damascus finish.

Words ‘knife’ and ‘gift’ should not be in the same sentence, according to some superstitions. Presenting a loved one with a knife is believed to be bad luck, and could “cut” the friendship between the recipient and the giver. This is easily fixed, though, with a simple symbolic gesture of the recipient, who is supposed to exchange the knife for a coin to feed the superstition and avoid any bad luck. Read more about knives as gifts here.

BLADE SHAPES:
Santoku: The Japanese word Santoku roughly translates to “knife of three virtues” and refers to the wide variety of ingredients that the knife can handle: meat, fish and vegetables, or to the tasks it can perform: slicing, chopping and dicing – the emphasis being on the number 3 (San).

Petty: Petty knives are intended for all those smaller tasks where larger knives are deemed unwieldy. A must-have knife in every kitchen, it can be used for peeling, paring, decorating, cutting out cores of apple quarters, removing eyes from potatoes, etc.

STEEL:
VG-10 (V for Vanadium, G for “gold” as in “gold standard”) is made by Takefu Special Steel Company, a relatively small steel company that around 60 years ago managed to find just the right balance of different elements to create the most popular Japanese knife making steel today. VG-10 steel is stainless steel with relatively high Carbon (C) content (1%), 15% Chromium (Cr), 1% Molybdenum (Mo), 0.3% Vanadium (V) and 1.5% Cobalt (Co). The combination of Cr, Mo, and V forms a lot of hard carbides, making the steel abrasion resistant which translates to long-lasting, smooth sharpness.

LAMINATION:
The core layer consisting of VG-10 steel was sandwiched between two layers of softer steel. This technique is called san-mai and is used to protect the hard (but delicate) core from outside factors and physical impacts, which could lead to breakage.

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

BLADE FINISH:
The knives’ blades are adorned with a subtle damascus finish.

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

ABOUT THE BLACKSMITH:
TOJIRO is one of the top 5 largest Japanese kitchen knife manufacturers. They are renowned across Japan and internationally for their top-quality knives for a reasonable price. TOJIRO’s focus on advanced technologies, together with their insatiable dedication for constant improvements of their knives and materials, makes TOJIRO’s knives a must-have in any kitchen. TOJIRO’s main focus? Sharpness!

A big bonus is their great team, which we are always very eager to meet and talk to! 😊

Box dimensions: 393mm (15.5″) x 142mm (5.6″) x 37 (1.5″) mm
Box weight: 520g (18.3 oz)