Akira Sasaoka Aogami Damascus Yanagiba 280mm

About the Shape - The Yanagiba is a slicer’s dream. Graceful, sexy, and capable of amazing sharpness, you’ll find a Yanigiba in the hands of every sushi chef worth their salt. Yanagi means “willow leaf” and refers to this knife’s long, narrow shape. The Yanagiba is a traditional Japanese blade that is only sharpened on one side, which is called “single bevel”, and allows it to cut more precisely than other blades. Traditionally used for slicing sashimi, they are equally at home with roast beef, ham, or calf’s liver. Once you go Yanagiba, you’ll never go back.

About the Maker -Sasaoka-san and his brother are well known Tosa knife-makers that specialize in single-bevel blades. They're known for using blue carbon steel as opposed to white carbon steel, the steel typically used for debas, yanagibas and usubas. We originally carried their work with the Masakage single-bevel line, but they have since forged out their identity as knife-makers and produce blades under their own brand.

This damascus blade is truly special. Blue carbon single-bevel blades are rare enough, that rareness is multiplied many times over when forged into damascus steel. The increased hardness means the edge will hold up quite a bit longer than typical single bevel knives.

A NOTE ABOUT RUST  

Carbon steel is an awesome material to make knives out of. It’s easy to get sharp and stays sharp a very long time. But this comes with a trade-off; It will rust if you let it. To  avoid “bad” rust (orange rust) Wipe the knife dry with a dry cloth after use. Over time, the  blade will begin to protect itself with an oxide layer (grey to dark grey “good” rust),  this will slow the reaction time but not inhibit the rust entirely. Maintain the good  habit of drying off your knife.  

USE  

• Only cut food you can bite through with this knife. Hard foods can chip the blade. No olive pits, bones,  lobster shells, woody stems or parmesan rinds. Cutting frozen food is especially bad  because the cold will make hard steel even more brittle. If you wouldn’t chew it with  your own teeth, don’t cut it.  

• Your cutting surface is the biggest culprit of dulling your knife. Use wood. End  grain wood is especially good. Plastic can be fine too, but certainly not glass,  granite or bamboo. 

• The edge of your knife works best sliding forwards or backwards. Scraping the  knife edge sideways will dull or damage the edge. Instead, use the spine of the knife to move foods across the cutting board. Do not twist the edge or pry with the edge, this is the worst screwdriver you ever bought and these motions will certainly  damage the edge. Listen to the knife! If you can hear the edge making a “tink”  sound on the cutting board, change what you are doing.  

CLEANING  

• After use, wash the knife by hand with regular dish soap, rinse with hot water  and dry by hand immediately. Dishwashers are very bad for knives.  

• Wood handles may dry out over time and exposure to water. Simply treat them  with some food safe mineral oil or beeswax.  

• If you see orange rust, remove it. The scrubby side of a sponge can do the trick.  If it’s still not coming off try baking soda and water mixed into a paste or a product  called Barkeeper’s Friend.  

STORING  

• Protect the edge; for your safety and to avoid edge damage. A simple blade cover  will do the trick if you keep knives in a drawer or travel case. 

• A convenient wall magnet made with wood is a great way to show off your knives.  Be sure to put it back spine first, then roll it onto the blade face. This will keep the  edge from contacting the wood first.  

• The good-ol’ counter top block can keep knives at the ready and protected. So can  drawer inserts. Whatever the method, keep the edge from touching anything else. 

We aim to ship your order within 1 business day at Knifewear, if there is a hold up, we'll aim to let you know and give you a timeline.

We offer free shippingon orders over $100* anywhere in Canada and $200* to customers in the USA. We ship worldwide, and offer up to the minute rates from our shipping partner DHL.

*Konro Grills and some other larger items are excluded from the free shipping offer.

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Absolutely, as long as all the items you are looking for are in stock at the location you want to pickup from, you'll be able to select that at the checkout. If one or more items aren't at your preferred location we are happy to ship it to you.