Tsunehisa Aogami #2 Kawahagi 95mm (3.7″)

This small bizarre-looking knife is a traditional Japanese hunting/skinning knife specialized for wild game and particularly boars. Nowadays this knife is returning to our kitchens with a whole different purpose.

Let us introduce you to what we termed a ‘finger blade’. Have you ever wondered what would be like if you had a small blade instead of your index finger?* Admittedly, it’s an unusual question, but think about it, the closer you hold your finger to the tip of a knife the more precisely you can direct the tip and blade. Well, by using this knife, this is the closest you’ll ever get. Tsunehisa Aogami Kawahagi knife is incredibly practical for a multitude of different small tasks like cutting small veggies or herbs, opening avocado, cleaning and filleting small fish. The curved spine of the double bevel blade (for explanation read the Blade Construction: Geometry article) is intended for exerting extra pressure and accuracy with your finger.

The blade is hand forged using the san mai method (see article Blade Construction: Lamination for more). The core is made out of Aogami 2 steel (also called Blue Steel 2 – for more go to Steel: the heart of Japanese knives), which will develop patina over time (if uncared for properly it can also rust). The advantage of such a steel is that it has a very fine, gentle sharpness, is easy to sharpen, and stays sharp for a very long time. The use of Ballistol or Cammelia oil is recommended for the care of such blades. The carbon steel core is clad in layers of softer steel for additional protection. Read more about how to take care of high carbon knives and patina in our Knife maintenance blog post. 

The traditional Japanese (wa) handle is oval in shape. It’s made out of cherry wood and has a black plastic bolster. Both the blade and the handle are symmetrical and can therefore be used by both right- and left-handed users. 

*Think Edward Scissorhands, not Freddy Krueger! 😉

Fun fact: When we first got this knife the whole SharpEdge team (individually) started referring to it as the avocado knife. We have no idea why, maybe the shape of the blade subconsciously reminded each of us of a halved avocado with its stone removed… What was your first thought when you saw this knife?

About Tsunehisa:
Tsunehisa knives are a brand that combines a variety of high-quality knives from various knife centers of Japan such as Tosa, Seki, and Sakai. Their philosophy is that each region has its own steel and different manufacturing processes. For example, Tosa is best known for its Ginsanko and Aus-8 steels, Seki is famous for making excellent blades from the V-Gold group of steels, and Sakai for its single beveled Honyaki knives.