Kenshiro Hatono is a young and very talented smith who has been working as an apprentice under Katsuyasu Kamo in the Takefu knife village for the past 6 years. He has recently started to deliver the first batch of knives made under his own name and we are beyond excited to have these incredible blades available in our shop. If you've been waiting to get your hands on a knife from Shiro Kamo, we highly recommend considering these as well. They have a taller blade than the offerings from Shiro Kamo which allows Hatono-san to put some killer grinds on them. Nice and then behind the edge which gently transitions to the thin spine, giving these knives an incredible cutting feel.
The Shape
The petty is the Japanese equivalent of the western style paring knife. They're usually a little longer and I could never go back after using one. The idea is all the on board work is done with your gyuto or chef knife and everything in hand is done with the petty. Not limited to capping strawberries, peeling, turning, or coring veggies, and smaller butchery tasks like chicken, small fish, or deboning a pork shoulder.
The Gyuto is the Japanese equivalent to the western style chef's knife and is without a doubt the most versatile knife shape available. This particular gyuto is known as a kiritsuke style gyuto as it has a k-tip or reverse tanto tip. This is more an aesthetic style difference and doesn't change it's use cases much but we do find this style of tip excels at more intricate work like brunoise shallow and garlic, plus it looks pretty cool. This Gyuto has an excellent grind and transitions gradually from cutting edge to the thin spine; this coupled with it's relatively light weight put's it firmly in the lazer category.
This knife is made from 3 layers of steel using a technique called Sanmai (Forge welding). It involves laminating a piece of Carbon steel with two pieces of Stainless steel giving the knife all the benefits of the carbon steel (Edge retention, ease of sharpening, cutting feel) and the Ease of Maintenance from Stainless steel. 2-3 millimeters of the carbon steel is exposed at the edge of the knife and is susceptible to rust and discouloration if not properly maintained.
Simply Wipe the knife with a damp cloth immediately after use to keep it from rusting or discouloring.
Never put your knife in the Dishwasher. The extreme heat will ruin the wooden handle.
Highly acidic ingredients (Onions, Tomatoes, Citrus) Will cause rust and oxidation to happen faster, thus the user must ensure the knife is wiped clean immediately after working with such an ingredient.
Should any rust form it can be removed using a rust eraser or a mixture of Baking soda and water to simply scrub it clean.
