Shibata Koutetsu R2

To make these knives, Shibata san has teamed up with a local forge from Takefu Knife Village. Together both do what they are good at, and they are turning out awesomeness. The knife factory forged the steel and Shibata san does the finishing, sharpening, signs the blade and adds the handle. They really are crazy sharp

We think this is one of the sharpest knives we’ve ever had our hands on. True story.

Every knife in this line has an angle cut tip like a Bunka or Kiritsuke, so they have plenty of attitude and a pretty flat cutting-edge. The slanted end is where it gets the name “Koutetsu”. This was the name of the first iron clad destroyer in the Japanese naval fleet. The Koutetsu, built 1864, had a slanted bow designed for ramming other ships. These knives look like a ship, but don’t feel like one. These are light and thin and fine; they could be the official knives of the F1. The finish is unique too: it has a very fine texture so it slips through food super easy.   

R2 powdered stainless steel allows for an extremely long-lived edge and is tougher than many super hard powder steels. Having a light, thin blade, this knife is capable of extreme sharpness. This steel competes with hard carbon steel for edge retention, but will never rust. A total bonus.