ZDP-189 Burja - Prosciutto Knife 300mm (11.8")

We love good knives, we love good prosciutto, and good prosciutto should be sliced by hand using the sharpest knife around. Therefore, we created Burja [pronounced as 'booryah'] - the first Japanese-made prosciutto knife. Burja is designed by SharpEdge, forged by Japanese smithy Suncraft, based in the famous blacksmith town of Seki, made of Japanese steel and optimized for cutting prosciutto.

ZDP-189 Burja is the answer to the challenge of firmer prosciutto that had been aged for a longer time. ZDP-189 steel is our flagship - it's the same steel used for our first exclusive knife, which we developed in collaboration with a renowned chef and talented Japanese blacksmiths.

BLADE SHAPE:
The shape of Burja is unique, although at first sight resembles other prosciutto knives. It has an extremely thin spine of the blade at 1.9mm. The blade is 300mm (11.8") long and finishes with a thin, pointy tip, revealing its origins and traditions of blacksmiths that were once forging katanas.

Generally speaking, a prosciutto knife should be flexible enough to allow the cutter to position the arm at the right angle, have a slightly concave blade to glide smoothly through the meat, and have a wider spine to prevent the prosciutto sticking to the blade. The long blade allows the slice to be cut with as few strokes as possible, avoiding sawing marks on the cut surface of the food.

Hand-sliced prosciutto ham (jamón) is a special culinary experience, and hand-slicing is an art of its own. The sumptuous and intense flavor of prosciutto can only develop if it is sliced correctly and evenly. Although it can also be sliced by machine, tradition dictates that prosciutto should be sliced by hand, as this enhance the aroma of the meat and offer a complete sensory experience.

But no worries - Burja is not just a knife for cutting prosciutto. Because of its harder, but still flexible blade, it can be used for cutting other dry meats as well. And due to its thin and long blade profile, it will perform well as a slicer for larger pieces of meat and fish.

Recommended for: Jamón ibérico de bellota, Presunto, Jabugo, Kraški pršut, and similar.

KNIFE FLEX:
Flexibility is necessary to some extent, but we have opted for more rigid flexibility with this Burja since this makes it perfect for denser, dryer prosciutto.

The ZDP-189 Burja has an extremely hard blade. The steel is hardened to an incredible 65-67 HRC, giving the blade unbeatable sharpness and excellent edge retention. This knife shines at slicing dry-aged, firmest prosciutto, which some consider to be the best. These include Spanish, Karst, and Istrian.

STEEL:
This knife was forged out of ZDP-189 steel, which falls into the powder steel category. The ZDP-189 steel has gained a reputation as one of the most technologically advanced steels in Japanese knife making, due to its unique characteristics. The carbon (C) content is around 3%, meaning it can be treated to extreme hardness (65-67 HRC), which results in extended sharpness retention. ZDP-189 steel is also highly corrosion resistant due to its high chromium (Cr) content of 20%. Because of its composition, though, it can be hard to treat and forge, so it can only be trusted to the most experienced blacksmiths.

The steel contains as much as 3% Carbon (C), which is one of the main elements contributing strength and typically found in amounts of up to only 1% in other types of solid steel, while the Chromium (Cr) content, which prevents corrosion, amounts to nearly 20%. It also features 0.60% Tungsten (W), which considerably increases the abrasion resistance of steel, 1.4% Molybdenum (Mo), which helps to preserve the strength and power of steel under variable temperatures, and 0.10% Vanadium (V), the key element in increasing steel strength. Heat treatment produces steel with a hardness of 65-67 HRC.
ZDP-189 composition: C 3.00 % | Cr 20.00 % | W 0.60 % | Mo 1.40 % | V 0.10 % | Mn 0.50 % | Si 0.40 %

LAMINATION:
The technique used to laminate this blade is called san-mai. The core of the blade, which is made of harder (and subsequently more fragile) steel, is sandwiched between two layers of softer steel. This results in a blade that is more flexible, and therefore less prone to breakage and other outside factors.

GEOMETRY:
It has a double bevel (symmetrical) blade.
The profile of the blade is not completely straight. The slight curvature of the sharp edge reduces the point of contact, which greatly eases the cutting. V-edge grind edge helps the knife to glide smoothly when making longer cuts.

BLADE FINISH:
The upper part of the blade was treated with hammer blows, which resulted in an intricate tsuchime (hammered) finish. The lower half is polished down to the hairline, which is the curvy line marking the border between the laminated part of the blade (jigane) and its core (hagane). The kanji on the blade reads “Kouhei-Shinmatsu” 耕平新松, paying homage to the founders of the Suncraft smithy.

HANDLE:
Traditional rosewood Japanese (Wa) handle with a black pakka wood ferrule. Its octagonal shape makes it especially ergonomic and comfortable to use.

ABOUT THE BLACKSMITH:
Suncraft is a family company spanning four generations and specializing in the production of kitchen tools. The smithy was founded in 1948 and is located in a thriving manufacturing area of Seki in Gifu prefecture, where steelwork dates back to the times of the Samurai warriors.

KNIFE EVOLUTION:
Burja knife is a combination of the rich culinary tradition of prosciutto ham with the Japanese tradition of forging knives. Since Japanese blacksmiths are the best blacksmiths in the world, possessing centuries of knowledge and experience of forging steel, it made perfect sense to make our prosciutto knife in Japan. From idea to design, after many conversations with knife makers, trial&errors, finding the right steel and handles, many sliced (and eaten) prosciuttos, visits to Japan, the process finally ended after a good two years.