Masakage is a company that operates out of Takefu Knife Village. This small enclave of blacksmiths, sharpeners, and other craftsmen is located in Echizen, which is part of the Fukui Prefecture of Japan. The cooperative was founded by a group of leading blacksmiths to share their knowledge, skills, and equipment for the betterment of all the participants. Over the years the cooperative has grown and is now one of the centers of knife making in Japan.
VG-10 stainless steel is the core of this blade because of its ability to take and hold a very fine edge while being very easy to maintain. The inner VG-10 is covered with a multilayer cladding of a softer stainless steel that has been forge welded into a damascus billet. The fine details of the layers are revealed by grinding and etching the blade. The resulting pattern reminds one of clouds, so it's named Kumo, which means clouds in Japanese.
Like all of Ikeda-san’s blades, this
gyuto has beautifully executed grinds that get very thin behind the edge. The blade is quite thin over all, while the profile has a fairly gentle continuous curve with very little flat spot. It would particularly suit a person who favors a rocking style of cutting. The wonderful looking blade is perfectly matched to a finely crafted octagonal rosewood handle with a pakka wood ferrule.
Weight: 6.0 ounces
Blade Length: 244 mm
Overall Length: 410 mm
Spine Thickness at Base: 2.8 mm
Blade Height: 51.7 mm