Japanese knives

[footfootfoot]

Very Cool. I've had this knife for about 35 years. It's a great knife and is in sad shape owing to its misuse at the hands of housemates and others over the years. I don't bother with keeping it razor sharp and polished anymore, but the edge it could take is better than any other knife I've used. I keep the henkels around for most general cutting. The only problem with this knife is that it is made for right handed people and I'm a lefty. The back of the knife is flat.
You can see the laminate mark and when the knife is polished it is even more pronounced. The softer steel is gray and has a dull sheen. The harder steel gets as shiny as chrome. When it is that polished it is really easy to keep it from rusting if you don't cut lemons pickled in slat and then let the knife sit in the bottom of the sink all day...

The edge is very brittle and will chip like glass if struck obliquely.

If you are the only one using the knife it is easy to keep it in tip top condition.