Question: For over 40 years, the Kagayaki Craftsman Team has concentrated on making Mono-Steel knives (One-piece construction) in VG-1 Stainless Steel — Why did the team make this decision?
About 40 years ago, high hardness stainless steels that offered good cutting performance were rare, so the main material for Japanese knives was carbon steel. At that time, many people thought it was impossible to make stainless steel knives with great sharpness and cutting performance. The experienced Kagayaki Craftsman Team challenged themselves to create a stainless-steel knife with a hardness level and cutting performance similar to a high carbon steel knife. They discovered VG-1 stainless steel, which has a relatively high carbon content, could offer hardness, cutting performance and sharpness that was similar to a carbon steel knife. At that time, creating stainless Mono-Steel knives with a high Rockwell hardness and high cutting performance was a great technological achievement. However, the craftsmen had to spend a lot of time and energy researching and testing how to make high quality, practical stainless-steel knives.