Master forge-smith, Takeshi Saji has been producing traditionally forged Japanese knives for half a century. However, despite his expertise, he constantly seeks to further develop his skills by aggressively challenging himself to use new materials and develop new production techniques.

In the past, JCK has introduced and stocked a large selection of Master Saji’s knives. However, because most of them are made from stainless steel, we asked him to produce some high carbon steel knives. Master Saji developed the unique carbon steel knife, which uses Japan’s première high carbon steel, Hitachi Aogami Super (“Blue Super”) steel. We decided to call them “Aogami Super Black Forged Series”.

The “Aogami Super Black Forged Knives” have a blade core of Aogami Super that is sandwiched between two layers of corrosion-resistant soft stainless steel. The laminated blade is decorated with a Tsuchime (“Hammered pattern”) texture and a traditional Japanese Kurouchi (“Literally, “Black-forged”) finish that adds a touch of rustic style. These knives are available with either black linen Micarta® handle scales that beautifully match the black and grey tones of the Kurouchi finish or ‘Ironwood’ handle scales that have a rich warm color and dramatic figuring. Linen Micarta® is a very practical handle material for kitchen knives because it is very durable, resistant to both water and shrinkage and provides good traction even when it is wet. Both handle types are carefully contoured by hand to ensure that they can be gripped comfortably and are fitted with a stainless steel bolster for improved durability and blade balance.

Now, carbon steel lovers can finally enjoy the cutting performance and artistry of Master Saji’s traditionally forged carbon steel kitchen knives!