Atsushi Hosokawa-san and Takashi Hosokawa-san, a father and son, are the two blacksmiths behind Gihei knives. While the Hosokawas enjoy working with traditional high carbon steel, they recognize that many customers prefer a high-performance blade that won’t rust easily. This drove them to seek out a steel that offers the best of both worlds.
HAP40 and ZDP189 steels are extremely unconventional in the world of blacksmithing, yet both are ‘super steels’. Both are extremely hard, to the point that most blacksmiths can’t even forge it to its capacity. The Hosokawas are exceptional for their ability to work with these unusual materials, and the superhuman perseverance it took to master forging them paid off: the hardness and ‘wear resistance’ of these steels allow kitchen knives made from them to retain their edge longer than almost any other we’ve seen. While this also makes them more challenging to sharpen, their exceptional performance is well worth it. Regular honing / polishing on a Fine (5000 or 8000 grit stone), or for best results a good Natural Stone, will result in an edge that remains sharp for a long period, with the ability to slice to a few microns of thinness!! Regular sharpening on a 1000 grit stone and professionally thinning once every few years will ensure a very long life of the blade.
Please Note: The handle color varies from light to quite deep ochre. Not dishwasher safe.
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.
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