Makoto Kurosaki Santoku VG-10 Kodama 165mm (6.5″)

Makoto Kurosaki really outdid himself with this knife. It’s one of the most aesthetically pleasing pieces, mostly due to the mesmerizing damascus pattern. The beautiful green pakka wood ferrule (combined with the warmth of the rosewood) makes the knife stand out even more. The knife is thin and well-balanced, making it ideal for any kitchen task you may encounter in either home or a professional kitchen.

BLADE SHAPE:
Santoku is a universal knife that excels at all types of cutting and chopping tasks on a cutting board. The Japanese word santoku roughly translates to “knife of three virtues” (san means “three”) and may refer to the wide array of ingredients that the knife can handle (meat, fish and vegetables) or to the tasks it can perform (slicing, chopping and dicing).

🚩 Due to the thinness of the blade, we recommend using the correct cutting techniques and a suitable cutting board (wooden or plastic) to prevent damage to the knife.

STEEL:
VG-10 (V for Vanadium, G for “gold” as in “gold standard”) is made by Takefu Special Steel Company, a relatively small steel company that around 60 years ago managed to find just the right balance of different elements to create the most popular Japanese knife making steel today. VG-10 steel is stainless steel with relatively high Carbon (C) content (1%), 15% Chromium (Cr), 1% Molybdenum (Mo), 0.3% Vanadium (V) and 1.5% Cobalt (Co). The combination of Cr, Mo, and V forms a lot of hard carbides, making the steel abrasion resistant which translates to long-lasting, smooth sharpness.

LAMINATION:
The core layer consisting of VG-10 steel was sandwiched between layers of softer, pliable steel that had been forged together to create a rippling damascus pattern. This technique is called san-mai and is used to protect the hard (but delicate) core from outside factors and physical impacts, which could lead to breakage.

GEOMETRY:
It has a double bevel (symmetrical) blade.

BLADE FINISH:
The knife features an exquisite damascus pattern that resembles the flow of the waves crashing on the shore. The pattern consists of wavy lines near the shinogi line that symbolize the flow of the wave, which then crashes into the shoreline and disperses into small droplets of water, forming a raindrop-like damascus along the spine of the blade. This finish is unique to each knife. Also interesting is the fact that the damascus pattern doesn’t stretch all the way to the spine or below the shinogi line. The blacksmiths usually accomplish this by laminating different thicknesses of single damascus layers. The blade is then ground at a very specific angle for this pattern to present in this way and is then deeply etched and polished to remove oxide layers and form a 3-dimensional look.

HANDLE:
Japanese (Wa) style handle is octagonal and made out of light rosewood with an eye-catching green pakka wood ferrule. It is symmetrical and therefore suitable for both left and right-handed users.

ABOUT THE BLACKSMITH:
Makoto Kurosaki is Yu Kurosaki’s older brother, stationed at Takefu knife Village in Echizen. He and his brother spent their internships under the tutelage of Hiroshi Kato and the other masters of the Takefu Cooperative, meaning they had the great privilege of learning from the legends of contemporary Japanese blacksmithing. The result of the knowledge gained can be seen in all of their finished products. Makoto is a cutting edge sharpener and knife designer. He began his blacksmithing career following in the footsteps of his brother into the world of knife forging but decided to create his own path by diverting into knife sharpening. He developed his own brand recently – based on collaboration with local blacksmiths (including his brother) who forge blades of his design, which he then grinds and sharpens.