The name Kiri is apropos in this 165mm santoku from Masakage because the beautiful Damascus cladding resembles fog or mist which is what Kiri means in Japanese. The cladding surrounds a core of VG-10 steel hardened to 61-62 HRC. Care for the Kiri is easy as both the core and cladding layers are stainless steels. Characteristic of Masakage knives is their outstanding grind and high level of fit and finish, and this knife is no exception. The handle is magnolia wood with a striking red pakka wood ferrule. The Kiri line of knives is made in Takefu Village by master blacksmith Hiroshi Kato.
Brand: Masakage
Blacksmith: Kato-San
Location: Echizen, Japan
Construction: San Mai, Hammer Forged
Cladding: 49-layer Stainless Damascus
Core Steel: VG-10
HRC: 61+-
Handle: Magnolia Wood Oval
Ferrule: Red Dyed Pakka Wood
Engraving: Hand Engraved
Edge Grind: 50/50
Weight: 4.0 oz (112 g)
Edge Length: 172 mm
Total Length: 313 mm
Spine Thickness at Heel: 2.8 mm
Blade Height: 46.5 mm
Reviews
2 review(s) WRITE A REVIEW (Reviews are subject to approval) Beautiful aesthetics and performancePosted By: Ryan R
2 people found this review helpful
This knife is not only beautiful but it performs extremely well. The fit and finish are excellent, it is very light and nimble and came with a pretty nice edge. I say pretty nice because one section had a slight burr left on it. That was easily fixed however and I don't consider that a big deal in any way. After touching it up I can say with confidence this knife is taken to the 61+ HRC it's advertised at. It is extremely thin behind the edge and the tip on my example is insanely thin, so thin that I would think twice before putting much stress on it going through harder materials. That being said it handled a butternut squash just fine and man did that beautiful convex grind fly right through that thing. Food release isn't the best but I knew that going in. Overall I'm quite impressed and wouldn't hesitate to buy another Masakage or any knife made by Kato-San. The only thing that gives me slight concern is how thin the tip is, while giving excellent potential for fine work I feel it's a little on the fragile side.
2 people found this review helpful
This knife is not only beautiful but it performs extremely well. The fit and finish are excellent, it is very light and nimble and came with a pretty nice edge. I say pretty nice because one section had a slight burr left on it. That was easily fixed however and I don't consider that a big deal in any way. After touching it up I can say with confidence this knife is taken to the 61+ HRC it's advertised at. It is extremely thin behind the edge and the tip on my example is insanely thin, so thin that I would think twice before putting much stress on it going through harder materials. That being said it handled a butternut squash just fine and man did that beautiful convex grind fly right through that thing. Food release isn't the best but I knew that going in. Overall I'm quite impressed and wouldn't hesitate to buy another Masakage or any knife made by Kato-San. The only thing that gives me slight concern is how thin the tip is, while giving excellent potential for fine work I feel it's a little on the fragile side.
Superb Santoku!
