Ever since we first started to offer Kanetsugu knives to our customers, back in 2006, we have received many positive comments about Kanetsugu’s knives. Our customers especially praise the sharpness, cutting performance and high standard of manufacturing. The secret behind these words of praise is, or course, Kanetsugu’s original convex edge geometry.
This year, Kanetsugu celebrates their 100th year in business. To celebrate this special anniversary, Kanetsugu have produced some beautiful and practical 'next-generation' R-2 Damascus Kiritsuke knives, which deliver an even higher level of cutting performance!
Kiritsuke knives are becoming much more commonplace and popular amongst culinary professionals and Chefs because, similar to a multi-purpose Santoku or Bunka knife, they have a very capable blade shape that can perform a wide variety of cutting tasks.
The President of Kanetsugu Hamono Company, Mr. Kawamura, personally chose R-2 Powdered High Speed Steel for these special anniversary knives. While R-2 does not offer the same ultra-high Rockwell hardness as ZDP-189 or Cowry X (HRc. 66-67), it can still be used to make knives with a very respectable hardness of HRc.62. In fact, many people prefer P.M. steel knives in this hardness range because they are still relatively easy to sharpen, and they can offer almost the same degree of exceptional edge retention and sharpness that ZDP-189 and Cowry X (HRc. 66-67) knives offer; This is why many leading Japanese forge-smiths believe R-2 is currently the most practical P.M. steel for making kitchen knives.
The Heptagonal (Seven-sided) Brown Pakka Wood Handle has a Black Pakka Wood Ferrule, a White Spacer and a decorative Mosaic Pin. This elegant, high-quality handle beautifully matches the stylish Kiritsuke blade shape and the overall design. Kanetsugu’s uses their own modern manufacturing technologies to create this practical, high-quality handle, which is water-resistant, crack-resistant and easy to clean.
These new Kanetsugu ZUIUN knives stand out from other similar products for three reasons:
1. Kanetsugu’s original convex edge geometry;
2. The performance and practicality offered by the R-2 steel blade;
3. The stylish looks, versatility and practicality of the Kiritsuke blade shape.
We think the new Kanetsugu ZUIUN R-2 Damascus knives are products worthy of celebrating Kanetsugu’s 100 year anniversary and we greatly respect Katesugu’s long history, their knife making expertise and their desire to find a harmonious balance between modern manufacturing methods and traditional craft skills.
Each ZUIUN R-2 Damascus Kiritsuke knife comes with a stylish ZUIUN Black Lacquered Wooden Saya and a Kiri (Paulownia) Wood Presentation Box.
