Hideo Kitaoka Damascus Yanagiba 200 mm

Hideo Kitaoka is both a third generation blacksmith, and a founding member of the Takefu Knife Village in Echizen city, Fukui prefecture, Japan. Starting his apprenticeship under his father and grandfather from a very young age, Kitaoka-san has spent decades specializing in and perfecting single bevel knives, and working solely with Aogami and Shirogami steel. With surprisingly levels of fit and finish, and fantastic grinds, we don't think you can find a better single bevel for anywhere near the price of these affordable, high performance works of art!

The Takefu Knife Village is a cooperative workshop in the Echizen region of Japan. It is the home to a long list of blacksmiths that we work with and many young and upcoming apprentices learning the trade. The area has a 700 year long history of smithing with roots in agricultural tools turned cutlery powerhouse.

The Yanagiba is a single bevelled knife, traditionally used for slicing fish and proteins. The long blade allows for effortless one stroke cuts, where the considerable weight of the blade will do most of, if not all the work. It is important to note that yanagiba are very thin behind the edge, and should not be used for rough tasks. Single bevel knives are mainly made out of carbon steel, and can be sharpened extremely sharp, therefore are preferred by professional sushi chefs. This is a task specific knife, typically ranging between 180mm and 360mm in length.