Santoku • 175 mm • Blue #2 • walnut handle • for both left and right-handed use

Blue steel, also known as Aogami/Aoki steel

This traditional steel is not named after its colour, but named after the colour of its paper wrapping, in which it is stored in the Hitachi steel factory in Japan. There are three different grades: super, #1 en #2. Blue steels use a high grade of carbon, chrome and vanadium added in their alloy. Aogami super even added extra tungsten. Aogami super is here " Best of both worlds" Blue #1 is for sharpness, Blue #2 for toughness. Blue steels are mostly seen in deba or usuba knives, white steels often in yanagibas. Aogami super is regarded as one of the best traditional steels by Japanese knifemakers, but difficult to work with. Blue steels are difficult to sharpen on a whetstone, but they remain sharp for a longer period, compared to white steels.

Elwin de Veld about Baba Cutlery Works

Baba Hamono had been on my list of places to visit for a long time. When Baba contacted me to do business I knew I had to jump in right away. There are some very important and leading sharpeners in Sakai and Baba Hamono is one of the top 3. It is an honor to do business with these knife makers, who bring tradition and modern craftsmanship together in a unique way.

Knives with a double-sharpened blade and a double shinogi are not new. The refinement with which Baba Hamono finishes his knives can certainly be called unique. The thinning of the blade has been so perfected that there is no unevenness, as you often have with cheaper inferior models. An extremely thin cutting surface provides unparalleled ease of cutting.