Muneishi Bunka Aogami #2 Damascus 165mm (6.4")

Muneishi Bunka Aogami #2 Damascus 165mm is a multi-purpose Japanese kitchen knife suitable for preparing meat, fish, and vegetables, with a special "K-tip" for precise cuts. The theme of this knife is tradition, improved:

• bunka shape - the original Japanese multi-purpose knife (In Japanese, bunka 文化 directly translates to 'culture'; it stands as an important milestone between deeply rooted traditions and the inevitable force of progress and intercultural influence that have shaped the modern art of Japanese cooking)
• high-carbon Aogami #2 steel with improved corrosion resistance,
• comfortable oval handle, made out of rosewood, with improved durability compared to traditional magnolia handles.

The blade will glide through food with ease and deliver incredibly smooth cuts, thanks to Aogami #2 steel’s extremely fine sharpness. This knife feels and cuts like a true Japanese blade, and definitely looks the part as well.

BLADE SHAPE:
Bunka is one of the most versatile and useful blade shapes in the modern kitchen. It has a wide profile for easy food transfer and tends to be fairly flat towards the heel, enabling easy and fast chopping on the cutting board. A pointed tip allows piercing and precise, delicate work. A slight curve between the tip and the midsection makes the belly great for rocking the blade back and forth when cutting. It can be used for cutting meat, fish, and vegetables.

STEEL:
Aogami #2 is a very popular steel in Japanese knifemaking and one of the finest high-carbon steels, meaning the knives forged from it will have excellent edge retention and also sharpen very easily. At the same time, it is less resistant to corrosion, meaning the blade can develop a patina, while longer exposure to water or other corrosives could also lead to rusting. This is improved to some extent by adding chromium and tungsten, but it’s still a high-carbon steel that should be maintained accordingly (⚠️ read more about knife maintenance here).
Aogami #2 steel is composed of carbon (C) 1.1 %, chromium (Cr) 0.5 %, manganese (Mn) 0.3%, and tungsten (W) 1.5%.

LAMINATION:
High-carbon steel is hard, but brittle for this same reason. This makes the blades more prone to breakage and chipping. To prevent that, blacksmiths "sandwich" the blade’s core, made from Aogami #2 steel, between two layers of softer steel (also called san-mai lamination). This improves the blade’s flexibility and toughness.
→ Read more on Blade Construction: Lamination.

GEOMETRY:
It has a double bevel (symmetrical) blade, which makes it suitable for both left- and right-handed users. The blade has a convex V-edge grind - hamaguri, meaning it tapers from the spine to the edge on both sides at a common angle, which helps prevent food from sticking to the blade. Such a shape keeps a lot of metal behind the edge and makes for a stronger edge, yet still allows a good degree of sharpness. It offers a good balance between the ease of cutting and robustness. The blade has a distal taper - it narrows from the handle (2.3mm/0.09") towards the tip (1.3mm/0.05"). This gives it more strength and weight at the handle (meaning we can exert more pressure with the heel) and more precision at the tip, allowing for smooth and precise cuts.

BLADE FINISH:
The damascus pattern has only been treated on the lower part of the blade, and there is a clear line separating it from the upper, polished part of the blade. The hand-chiseled kanji signature adorns the minimalistic polished migaki finish of the jigane. At the shinogi line, it starkly shifts into a misty damascus finish which gently fades towards the hagane, giving the blade a dreamy, elegant look.

HANDLE:
Traditional (Wa) oval rosewood handle will ensure comfortable chopping for right- and left-handed users.

BLACKSMITH:
The Muneishi smithy was founded in 1955. Hirotaka Muneishi, the second-generation knife smith, is renowned for manufacturing forestry knives such as axes and machetes for the local woodsmen. Kosuke Muneishi, the third-generation blacksmith and now the head of the company, has since branched out to making kitchen knives. He mostly uses Aogami Super steel and performs all the steps himself: tempering, forging, hammering, and sharpening knives. His knives have very nice grinds, good profile, and are very affordable.