Hokiyama Gyuto Aogami Super Wa 210mm (8.2") is a knife suitable for professional users and those home cooks who know how to treat and maintain high-carbon knives. This knife will impress with a long-lasting sharpness and easy sharpening. The gyuto shape is essentially a Japanese version of a Chef's knife, making this knife suitable for preparing large quantities of vegetables and meat. The blade was treated to a high polish.

The core steel belongs to the high-carbon steel family. Aogami Super steel is extremely rich in carbon content, which directly affects the blade's hardness. It also contains 0.4% vanadium which gives the steel more toughness. Aogami Super is rated as the most advanced carbon steel on the market. High-carbon steels need more maintenance as they quickly develop a protective patina, and if not wiped and dried after every use, they will develop rust. But - Hokiyama made it a bit easier for us. The two outer layers of softer, SUS405 steel are rust-resistant, which offer more protection from rust, although the Aogami Super is still exposed at the very edge (the visible, curvy line on the bottom of the blade represents the line between core and outer steels).

Aogami Super has a hardness of around 63 HRC. It is extremely hard steel, meaning that it retains super fine sharpness for a long time despite its extensive usage. In addition, due to the high carbon content, the knife is very easy to sharpen.

Hokiyama was all about following the Japanese knife traditions with this knife. They fitted a magnolia wood handle on the blade's tang, featuring a buffalo horn ferrule. Magnolia is a great choice for a handle for its antiseptic properties, but since it is a softwood, it will stain quite fast, so we recommend holding the handle with clean hands. The handle is octagonal-shaped, so it can be used by left- or right-handed users alike.

About Hokiyama:

Hokiyama Hamono is a leading smithy in Kochi Prefecture in Japan. They have recently celebrated their 100-year anniversary, founded in 1919. Hokiyama Hamono is known for their quality as they follow the tradition of hand-made blades that has been around for over 800 years. They retain the handiwork and traditional craftsmanship that is passed down from generation to generation while striving for the ever-new knowledge and innovation. Despite the fact that they make knives according to the traditional methods, they follow the modern technological guidelines in the field of metallurgy, material processing and innovations in production processes. Hokiyama, in their own words, is a fusion of tradition (土佐 一), innovation (無限) and practicality (左近).

Each knife in the smithy goes through about 50 different processes that are performed and controlled by experienced craftsmen. Among the various steps required to make a Hokiyama knife is a special process called Rolling-Forging. It enables the efficient and uniform production of knives while maintaining the properties and qualities of Japanese steel.