Yoshihiro Yauji B2 Damascus Yanagiba 330 mm

Yoshihiro Yauji-san is a young blacksmith who works out of the Takefu knife village in order to produce his knives. In fact, if you ever take a trip to the Takefu Knife village visitor centre you can see his workspace from the recently constructed gift shop. After many years of working as an apprentice under Hideo Kitaoka he struck out on his own in 2019. Yauji-san is an extremely talented craftsman who forges, sharpens and polishes all of his own blades. 

The Knife

The Yanagiba is a traditional, single beveled, Japanese fish slicing knife, primarily used to slice and skin boneless fish fillets. They feature a long, slender blade, allowing the user to make long drawing strokes for the perfect slice. Being single beveled, they angle in from only one side of the blade and thus are super sharp. Minimizing cellular damage to raw fish before consuming it preserves the freshness, texture, and flavour of the fish. The Yanagiba does just that, making it the preferred tool for Japanese sushi chefs when slicing sashimi.