Kitaoka Blue #2 Yanagiba 210mm

Born in 1950, knife smith Hideo Kitaoka works in Takefu Village, Echizen, in Fukui Prefecture. He specializes in the production of high quality, traditional Japanese blades. In 1980, Echizen was the first production center for forged blades to be awarded the nationally recognized Traditional Craft Product accolade. Blades have been hand-forged there since the Muromachi period (1392-1573).

This 210mm yanagiba is a short knife for the breed. Yanagibas are used for slicing fish and other proteins and are therefore preferred with a long blade. This knife is perfect for home chefs or instances where space is limited.

Kitaoka forges his knives from Hitachi Blue paper #2 steel hardened to 63-64 HRC. This high carbon Blue steel is white steel with chromium and tungsten added to it. Blue #2 has the same amount of carbon as white #2. The added chromium and tungsten lead to better corrosion resistance and edge retention (as well as deeper hardening). This does come at the cost of being more difficult to sharpen and not taking quite as keen of an edge. Blue steel also tends to be a little more brittle than its white counterpart.

The knife is finished with a nice rosewood octagonal handle with black pakka wood ferrule. Please note that Kitaoka installs the machi on his knives with a gap that is called Tokyo Style. It's not a flaw, it's an aesthetic choice based on a traditional way of installing the handles. See photo #4 for a visual.

Maker: Kitaoka

Steel: Blue #2

HRC: 62-63

Handle: Rosewood Octagonal

Ferrule: Black Pakka Wood

Finish: Satin

Handle Install: Tokyo Style (Gapped Machi--see photo 4)

Weight: 4.2 oz (120 g)

Edge Length: 204 mm

Total Length: 344 mm

Spine Thickness at Base: 3.2 mm

Blade Height at Base: 29.8 mm

Please note: We are only shipping Kitaoka knives in the USA