Specifications

• Style: Gyuto Knife
• Length: 210mm (8.2″)
• Weight: 6.03 oz
• Special Feature: Stainless Kurouchi / Carbon Steel Core, San Mai
• Blade Steel Type: Aogami (Blue) Super / AS
• Handle Material: Wenge Wood with Buffalo Horn Ferrule
• HRC: 64
• Bevel Angle Ratio: 50/50
• Cover: Not included

Yoshimi Kato Aogami Super

Yoshimi Kato knives are hand forged, ground, and finished in Takefu in Fukui, Japan by Yoshimi Kato, licensed as a certified craftsman. All Aogami super knives in this line are clad in mild stainless steel, which helps mitigate food reactivity. The alloying elements found in Aogami Super further reduce its reactivity compared to the simpler white and yellow steels. These knives are ideal for anyone who is enticed by the idea of carbon steel knives but is wary of the maintenance requirement.

All Yoshimi Kato knives have a rounded choil for a more comfortable grip, a nice distal taper with a thin tip for precision cuts and an excellent grind. We recommend thinning and treating the bevels on each side of the knife as you would a single bevel; sharpening them as you go to maintain the knife’s geometry over time.

San Mai

San-mai (lit. three sheets) is a style of manufacture common for Japanese knives. A more practical translation is “three layers”, referring to the core hardened steel being jacketed with soft steel. These style of knives may seen being referred to as “clad” or “kasumi”, which has some overlap with a similar style of manufacture called Ni-mai or “two layers”. Ni-mai is commonly found in single bevel knives where the soft steel is only on one side of the knife with a small portion spilling over to the other side.

About Yoshimi Kato

Yoshimi Kato knives are produced in Takefu knife village in Fukui Japan by a blacksmith collective headed by Yoshimi Kato, the son-in-law of Hiroshi Kato. Yoshimi Kato has stepped in to fill his father-in-law’s shoes and has done so admirably, producing knives with a high level of attention to detail. Yoshimi Kato produces some of the most desirable carbon steel knives available in the United States today and we’re excited to be carrying them.

Gyuto Knife

The Gyuto (lit. Cow Sword) is an adaptation of the French chef knife profile for the Japanese market. While the name cow sword would imply that this knife is meant only for meat, its versatility is the same a santoku and can be used as a general-purpose knife for any task. Many would consider a gyuto or chef’s knife to be the one essential knife for any kitchen with all other knives being secondary. Compared to a German style chef’s knife, a gyuto will have a somewhat flatter profile: this profile lends itself well to push-cutting which is common for Japanese chefs, as opposed to rock-chopping. Gyuto also tend to be thinner at the edge as well as the spine than most European chef’s knives and as a result, have the less lateral toughness and care should be taken not to torque the blade while cutting to minimize the risk of chipping.