Yusaku Blue #2 Kurouchi Tall Nakiri 180mm

Yusaku Blue #2 Tall Nakiri 180mm is made by a young up-and-coming blacksmith we have recently discovered. His name is Kousuke Muneishi and he is a 3rd generation blade maker heralding from Tosa. His grandfather started the Muneishi Cutlery Mfg company in 1955 to produce farming and forestry tools. His father took over the management of the business and continues making these specialized cutting tools using mainly Aogami #2 steel.

Now, grandson Kousuke has begun making kitchen cutlery to expand the family business and add to his blademaking skills. We are very impressed with these first efforts and have high hopes of a long relationship with this talented young man.

We have named these knives Yusaku and the kanji on the blade reflects this branding. The last character is pronounced Yu, but also can be pronounced as Suke when used in a name. The first kanji is Saku and it means work. So Yu-Saku means the work (or produced by) of Kousuke!

The first offering is a nice 180mm tall nakiri made from Blue #2 steel that is laminated with soft iron. He uses the san-mai method and leaves the forger’s scale (kurouchi) on the blade face. The grind is very well realized and quite sophisticated. It is thin behind the edge and has a nice profile.

We feel that this knife will appeal to many users, both professional and home-based. The knife has a beautiful urushi octagonal handle on it. It's a one of a kind knife, hand made by a single blacksmith and would make a special addition to your kitchen.

Blacksmith: Kousuke Muneishi

Location: Tosa, Japan

Construction: Hammer Forged, San Mai

Edge Steel: Blue #2

Cladding: Soft Iron

Finish: Kurouchi

Weight: 10.9 oz (310 g)

Blade Length: 182 mm

Total Length: 341 mm

Spine Thickness at Heel: 3.7 mm

Blade Height at Heel: 75.4 mm

Handle: Custom Octagonal with Urushi Finish

Please note that an epoxy is applied to the top of the handle to protect and secure the blade; this is intentional but can sometimes appear to be in excess.