Tsunehisa AUS-8 Tsuchime Petty 135mm (5.3″)

Tsunehisa AUS-8 Tsuchime Petty is a small multi-purpose Japanese kitchen knife that can be used for peeling, mincing, paring and decorating food. Unique tsuchime blade finish, stainless steel, and a lightweight Western style handle made of pakka wood (known for its durability and comfortable grip), low maintenance and a price you don’t have to break the bank to buy one makes this petty a real bargain. 

BLADE SHAPE:
Petty knives are intended for all those smaller tasks where larger knives are deemed unwieldy. It can be used on and off the cutting board for peeling, mincing, paring and decorating food.

STEEL:
The heart of this knife is made of Aichi’s AUS-8 stainless steel, which was hardened to around 60 HRC. AUS-8 steel is a popular Japanese steel from the Aichi steelworks that is incredibly resistant to rust, yet simple to sharpen. The steel contains high amounts of carbon (0.7-0.75%) and is also high in vanadium (0.10-0.26%) and molybdenum (0.10-0.30%). It also has a high percentage of chromium (14.5%), making the blade corrosion-resistant and increasing the hardness, durability and the tensile strength of steel mix. 

LAMINATION:
The blade consists of 3 layers of steel – the harder steel AUS-8 (60 HRC) and two layers of softer stainless steel are forged welded together in what is known a san-mai construction. This technique is used to protect the hard (but delicate) core from outside factors, such as rust and physical impacts, which could lead to breakage.

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

BLADE FINISH:
The top part of the blade features a beautiful tsuchime pattern. At the bottom of the blade, we can see a very pronounced, curvy line that goes along the entire length of the blade. This is the line between the core and the two softer, outer layers of steel that serve as an additional protection of the core steel.

HANDLE:
This knife was fitted a yo-style, Western-type handle made of pakka wood, and features a stainless bolster. The handle will fit well in your hands for both the hammer and pinch grip.

ABOUT THE BLACKSMITH:
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.