Tsunehisa Kiritsuke AS Kuro-uchi Red 210mm (7.1″)

Tsunehisa Kiritsuke AS Kuro-uchi Red 210mm (7.1″) is a great hand-forged knife with a black Kuro-uchi protective patina and hammer dents. The blade design will suit anyone looking for a medium-sized, versatile knife for vegetables, fish and meat. It will excel at chopping vegetables on the cutting board. The choice of steel also makes it very easy to sharpen. It has a very thin blade profile, characterized by the classic, western-style handle which offers excellent grip and is suitable for both right and left-handed users. 

BLADE SHAPE:
Kiritsuke is a multi-purpose blade shape, characterized by a long, flat blade and a special tip, also called a reverse tanto or kiritsuke tip (“K-tip” for short). The long blade will work great for preparing larger pieces of meat, slicing fish and chopping vegetables, while the tip can be utilized for intricate, precise work. 

GEOMETRY:
The cutting edge is sharpened to a 50/50 angle and stays sharp even after hours of constant use.

STEEL:
The centerpiece of this knife is Hitachi’s Super Blue Steel (Aogami Super), which is the very top quality of traditional Japanese steels. The Kuro-uchi (black) patina on the upper part of the knife gives it a unique and rustic appearance. This knife was heat-treated to around 63 HRC. It is a very hard steel,  meaning that it will retain a super-fine sharpness for a long time. In addition, due to the high carbon content (1.4-1.5%), the knife is very easy to sharpen.

Among the high carbon steels, Aogami Super is also the least sensitive to rust. It also contains 0.4% vanadium as an admixture for micronized metal grains, which gives the steel more toughness. Aogami Super is rated as the most advanced carbon steel. The outer layers are of softer, stainless steel, giving the knife extra rust protection.

BLADE FINISH:
Kuro-uchi finish, the unprocessed (black) part on the top side of the blade has already developed a dark patina, which protects the blade and gives it a traditional Japanese look. The knife bears visible impressions of the hand-forging process (round hammer dents on the blade), which gives it a beautiful finish and also prevents food from sticking to the blade. 

HANDLE:
Western-style handle offers excellent grip and is suitable for both right and left-handed users. The not-so-common feature is the color of the pakka wood handle. Red is not a choice many Japanese blacksmiths decide fitting on their knives, but we feel it was a good choice. The knife definitely stands out but not in a flashy way. The bolster is stainless and provides a smooth and comfortable transition between the handle and the blade.

The knife is slightly heavier and therefore suitable for anyone who is used to heavier knives but wants sophisticated Japanese sharpness.

BLACKSMITH:
Tsunehisa is 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.