Takahashi Kajiya Nakiri 160mm

Takahashi Kajiya is located in Izumo, an area in modern-day Shimane Prefecture long associated with steel production in Japan. Behind the Takahashi family home are the remnants of a forge that dates back to the Muromachi period, somewhere around the fifteenth century.

Mr Takahashi values the old ways and he crafts his knives accordingly, hammering them out entirely by hand on his anvil. 

The appeal of Mr Takahashi's nakiri lies in its tall blade, moderate length and angled tip, which offers extra utility over the classic blunt-ended style. Nakiri knives have very little curve in the blade and are best suited to push-cutting, which you'll be comfortable with if you eat a lot of vegetables. This particular nakiri has a little extra weight over most of the same length, twenty grams or thereabouts, if you like a little density in your blade you'll like the way this knife feels.

The blade construction of this nakiri is warikomi, similar to a Japanese sword but reversed. Here the harder steel forms the core with Yasuhagane steel being the bread in a white#2 steel sandwich. The convex grind looks inconsistent but that's Mr Takahashi's chosen style. The edge is true, sharp and resistant to chipping. Note that the carbon steel is not rust resistant so normal wiping and drying rules for Japanese knives apply here also.

Sharpening is straightforward, lie it flat on the whetstone and go. A whetstone up to around 800 grit is all you need.

As a hand-worked knife individual examples will vary in finish and very slightly in size.