Shiro Kunimitsu - 200 Years of Sword & Knifemaking
I was a big sword kid growing up. Shocking, I’m sure. First, it was King Arthur and his knights. I wanted a suit of armour so bad. As a teenager, it was Usagi Yojimbo and Lone Wolf and Cub. I did buy a couple cheapo mall katanas to slice up fruit in my backyard, but I always dreamed of the real thing.
Knifewear doesn’t sell weapons for reasons I shouldn’t have to explain; we sell tools for cooking, BUT we do carry knives from several makers who can trace their lineage back to the sword-making days. One maker, Shiro Kunimitsu, still makes swords by hand AND crafts equally impressive kitchen knives.
Based in Omuta, Fukuoka, the Shiro Kunimitsu name carries over 200 years of sword-making history. Founded in 1786, they have carefully preserved and passed their mastery down through the generations. Far from a dying art, four members of the family work together to craft traditional swords and kitchen knives. Lucky for us, they take their knifemaking as seriously as they do their swordmaking, and they’ve proved it by winning numerous awards from the Japanese government for their phenomenal craftsmanship.
Speaking of serious, let’s start with the steel: most knifemakers today buy their steel pre-laminated in 3 layers. Hard core steel in the middle that keeps a great edge, softer steel on the outside to protect the brittle core steel. Super smart. The masters at Shiro Kunimitsu take it a step back in time, using a much older method: Warikomi.
Warikomi is a very cool process to watch, and insanely difficult to do well. You start with a soft piece of carbon steel and get it REAL hot. You use a special tool to split it, not unlike a hot dog bun, and you then insert a core of super-hard high-carbon steel. Close it up, and forge weld it together into one piece. Forge welding is a very tricky process. If it gets too hot, you lose carbon content. Hit it too hard, and it slides apart. Too cold or too gentle, and it doesn’t stick. Needless to say, these brothers mastered it ages ago.
While we’re discussing steel, let’s talk about that hard core steel. Aogami #2 (blue carbon steel #2) is the material that forms the cutting edge of the knife. My first Japanese kitchen knife was made with this steel, and it seriously rocks. It holds a stupidly sharp edge for a very long time, and when the time comes to sharpen it, it’s a delight to work with. It does rust quickly, so you’ll want to take proper care of a kunimitsu knife. 
When you hold a Shiro Kunimitsu knife, you can feel the history. The blades are unapologetically rustic and handmade. Take a closer look at the kurouchi finish, and you’ll find flakes of black, splotches of blue, red, purple, and tones of brown and grey. They carry a bit more weight than most Japanese blades, due to a thicker construction that often comes with warikomi-style blades. Don’t let that feel you, they’re beautifully sharpened and cut like a dream. I also love the octagonal handle, which really locks the knife into your hand. If you want a knife that carries a serious amount of history and cuts like a dream, you can’t go wrong with Shiro Kunimitsu.
