R-2 Damascus kitchen knife from Custom knife maker Hiroo Itou July 2nd    Just Arrived !!   Wide selections of New Batch Mr. Itou R2 Custom Damascus Kitchen Knives                      On April 1 and 2,we had a Spring Knife Show in Seki City.There were about 40 custom knifemakers attended from all over Japan. Among the custom knifemakers,we found an interesting knifemaker,who is hand making Gyuto type Chef knives out of the special powdered steel called R2. His name is Hiroo Itou from FukuiCity, northern part of Japan. He has explained me that this powdered steel is made by Kobe Steel Company (Kobelco), one of the biggest steel maker in Japan. He said they never show him the chemical analysis of the steel (it seems they want to keep it confidencial to prevent being copied by other steel makers), but he found this steel the best for the kitchen  knives in terms of the sharpness, edge retention, durability and rust resistance. I have asked him how good it is compared with other powdered steel such as Cowry (Daido steel) and ZDP (Hitachi steel), and he said, oh, uncomparable..... it is much far better  than those powdered steels. He uses this R2 powdered steel for the core edge heat treated to Rockwell Rc 62,hand forged with 16 layered hard and soft stainless steel materials (total 33 layered Damascus blade).                   As seen on the other expensive custom knives, the full tang blade is tapered to the end of handle for a perfect weight balance, and each blade and handle varies in size,shape and weight due to the hand made knives. He uses the selected handle materials,hand contoured and polished very carefully for a perfect grip.  UP!! Mr.Itou Santoku 180mm Custom Combination Handle (Ivory, Turquoise, Japanese Lacquer)  Custom Combination Handle    (Ivory, Turquoise, Japanese  Lacquer) Santoku 180mm Total Length:300mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 180g  $460.00 Sold Out     UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto200mm Custom Combination Handle (Ivory, Turquoise, Japanese Lacquer)  Custom Combination Handle    (Ivory, Turquoise, Japanese  Lacquer) Gyuto 200mm Total Length:320mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 193g  $540.00 Sold Out     UP!! Mr.Itou Petty 130mm Stag Handle    Stag Handle   Petty 130mm Total Length:245mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 89g  $260.00 Sold Out     UP!! Mr.Itou Santoku 175mm Custom Combination Handle (Mother of Pearl, Turquoise, Japanese Lacquer) Custom Combination Handle    (Mother of Pearl, Turquoise, Japanese Lacquer) Santoku 175mm Total Length:295mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 186g  $460.00 Sold Out      UP!! Mr.Itou Slicer 190mm Marble Color Water Buffalo Horn Handle  Marble Color Water Buffalo Horn Handle  Slicer 190mm Total Length:310mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 106g  $380.00 Sold Out     UP!! Mr.Itou Parer Marble Stone Handle (comes with leather sheath) Marble Stone Handle Parer 65mm Total Length:170mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 96g  $195.00 Sold Out     UP!! Mr.Itou Parer White Color Marble Stone Handle (comes with leather sheath) White Color Marble  Stone Handle  Parer 70mm Total Length:175mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 86g  $195.00 Sold Out     UP!! Mr.Itou Petty 130mm Turquoise Handle  Turquoise Handle Petty 130mm Total Length:245mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 98g  $280.00 Sold Out     UP!! Mr.Itou Petty 130mm Custom Combination Handle (Ivory, Turquoise, Japanese Lacquer)    Custom Combination Handle  (Ivory, Turquoise, Japanese Lacquer) Petty 130mm Total Length:245mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 92g  $320.00 Sold Out     UP!! Mr.Itou Western Petty 110mm Desert Ironwood Handle     Desert Ironwood Handle   Western Petty 110mm Total Length:220mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 75g  $270.00 Sold Out     UP!! Mr.Itou Western Petty Stag Handle    Stag Handle    Western Petty 110mm Total Length:225mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 88g  $290.00 Sold Out     Stag Handle   Western Petty 120mm Total Length:245mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 104g  $300.00 Sold Out      UP!! Mr.Itou Santoku 175mm Stag Handle   Stag Handle Santoku 175mm Total Length:295mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 178g  $380.00 Sold Out      UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 180mm Custom Combination Handle (Mother of Pearl, Turquoise, Japanese Lacquer) Custom Combination Handle    (Mother of Pearl, Turquoise, Japanese  Lacquer) Gyuto 180mm Total Length:300mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 183g  $440.00 Sold Out    UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto180mm Custom Combination Handle (Ivory, Turquoise, Japanese Lacquer)   Custom Combination Handle    (Ivory, Turquoise, Japanese  Lacquer)  Gyuto 170mm Total Length:290mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 168g $430.00 Sold Out   Custom Combination Handle    (Ivory, Turquoise, Japanese  Lacquer) Gyuto 180mm Total Length:300mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 180g  $440.00 Sold Out     UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 200mm Abalone Handle    Abalone Handle Gyuto 200mm Total Length:320mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 201g  $480.00 Sold Out     UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 200mm Stag Handle   Stag Handle Gyuto 200mm Total Length:320mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 206g  $460.00  Sold Out     UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 200mm Green Malachite Stone Handle Green Malachite Stone Handle Gyuto 200mm Total Length:320mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 200g  $480.00   Sold Out   UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 200mm Purple Sugalite Stone Handle  Purple Sugalite Stone Handle  Gyuto 200mm Total Length:320mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 193g  $480.00 Sold Out     UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 200mm (Mr. Itou Original "Rainbow Bridge Custom Handle") Rainbow Bridge Custom Handle  Gyuto 200mm Total Length:320mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 180g  $480.00 Sold Out     UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 200mm Custom Combination Handle (Mother of Pearl, Turquoise, Japanese Lacquer)  Custom Combination Handle    (Mother of Pearl, Turquoise, Japanese  Lacquer) Gyuto 200mm Total Length:320mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 206g  $540.00   Sold Out     UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 220mm Stag Handle   Stag Handle Gyuto 220mm Total Length:350mm Blade Thickness:3mm   Total Weight: 283g  $500.00 Sold Out     UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 240mm Turquoise Handle  Turquoise Handle Gyuto 240mm Total Length:370mm Blade Thickness:2.5mm   Total Weight: 245g  $560.00 Sold Out     UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 240mm Green Malachite Stone Handle  Green Malachite Stone Handle Gyuto 240mm Total Length:370mm Blade Thickness:2.5mm   Total Weight: 255g  $560.00 Sold Out     Marble Color Water Buffalo Horn Handle  Slicer 240mm Total Length:370mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 145g  $450.00 Sold Out      Water Buffalo Horn Handle  Slicer 270mm Total Length:400mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 170g  $480.00 Sold Out