Saji R2 Ironwood Santoku 180mm

The JKC R2 Ironwood Collection knives not only bewitch the eye with their intricately complex beauty but also provide a breathtakingly silky cutting action. The JKC 101 Layers Ironwood Collection is the result of a liberty hall approach where all the usual cost, labour and time limitations were removed. It did not take long for us to settle on Masami-san as our maker. He is a master nokaji of extraordinary talent from the famous knife-making area of Takefu.Masami-san works in his own workshop, as well as in a fascinating place called Knife Bridge, which is operated by the knife makers guild of Takefu. We already sell knives from the famous Takefu Knife Village Association made by another nokaji working in this co-operative – namely Saji, Sirou Kamo and Kitaoka.

Knife Bridge consists of a large; two story room with about a dozen workstations, each with its own fire furnace for working with steel. High above the working craftsmen is a long runway-like bridge, upon which guests can walk and view the amazing knife making process.

Having met, and worked with some of the best blacksmiths in Japan, we were so impressed with the work of Masami san that we decided to commission him to create JKC’s most awesome collection of knives; the remit being very simple, all the usual limitations to be removed. He was to have total freedom to use whatever materials and methods available to create the most stunning knives possible.

With the aim of creating a blade that could outperform any knife we currently sell we settled on new steel from Kobe Steel Company (Kobelco) called R2 and asked TSS to especially laminate a 50 layer soft steel bar so Masami san could sandwich a layer of the hard R2 in the middle of two of these layers to create a base material of 101 layers.

Also, where common wooden handles last only a few decades when used constantly in a wet professional kitchen, these handles are crafted from extremely hard Ironwood so they can outlast the extremely demanding life of the busy chef.

SANTOKU (San – 3 & Toku – benefit):

This is the classic Japanese chef’s knife.  It is flat from the handle end for about ½ way to the tip and then gently curves to a point. It is ideal for straight vertical chopping, horizontal slicing and roll cutting.

Function – Multi-purpose chef knife. For Slicing, Dicing and Mincing of vegetables, meat and fish.

Normal length – 165mm to 180mm (smaller 140mm are available in a few collections)

Tip: The 170mm/180mm is the most popular multipurpose knife.