Hello, Im new to this community. I came across an old kitchen knife and Im not sure what it says or the maker. I would love to know additionally as a newbie any advice on cleaning, sharpening, and preserving a knife properly. Any information about this would be greatly appreciated.
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Japanese Kitchen Knife Inquiry
- Thread starter Jccarter
- Start date
Your knife says 菊一包永 作 Kikuichi Kanenaga Saku (Made by Kikuichi Kanenaga) on the right side.
The other side says 安来鋼 Yasugi Kou (Yasugi Steel)*
*Yasugu Steel works owned by Hitachi produce the most widely used Carbon Steels (white,blue,yellow paper, etc).
My guess is that your knife is an old one and the current maker is either Kikuichi Monjushiro Kanenaga 菊一文珠四郎包永.
包丁のことなら奈良菊一｜研ぎ直しなどのメンテナンスも承ります
刀鍛冶の技術を今に伝える菊一文珠四郎包永（きくいち もんじゅしろう かねなが）の包丁。切れ味抜群。贈り物にも最適です。研ぎ直しやその他メンテナンスも承っております。
kikuichihamono.com
Kikuichi Cutlery | 750 Years of Fine Craftsmanship
Kikuichi is the oldest knife company in the world. Our superior kitchen cutlery is handcrafted by artisans in Japan who are committed to our legacy of quality.
kikuichi.net
Your knife is what is called a Kamigata Usuba. An Usuba is a vegetable knife that is single beveled. A double beveled one is called a Nakiri.
Kamigata is the old name for Osaka, where the rounded tip was used, as opposed the the flat head elsewhere.
The flat side on the left is called the Ura and is not really flat, it is very slightly concave. It takes a bit of practice to get good at sharpening single bevels. "Usuba" literally means "Thin blade" so do not use this knife as a chopper, it is really made to thin slice vegetables.
It is very likely hardended to over 60 HRC at least so doing things like cutting meat and hitting bone will probably cause chipping.
Cleaning: It is a carbon steel knife. You can clean/polish the blade with either Flitz or Simichrome and a rag. But as it is carbon steel it will patina with time. After each use it needs to be wiped dry. Wash with hot water to expedite the evaporation by hand. No dishwasher.
Storing: Use Tsubaki oil (Camelia oil). Traditional, food safe, and inexpensive. Otherwise, use mineral oil.
Sharpening: Not exactly something that can be done in one post. Ask 10 people, youll get 10 recomendations.
Here's mine:
1. Watch lots of youtube videos on single bevel Japanese knife sharpening.
2. Purchase 3 waterstones*, in 400, 1000, 4000-8000 grit. The stones can be synthetic, buy known names; Shapton, King, Naniwa.
The 400 (arato-rough) and 1000 (nakato) will do the real sharpening. The higher grit (shiageto) does the polishing.
3. A final leather strop will ensure no missed burrs.
* You can get by with the first two grits. Combination 400/1000g stones are common.
If you want to get into it deeper (and get confused with multiple expert opinions-lol) go over to Kitchen Knife Forums.
Last edited:
Wow! Thank you so much for this wonderful information! You definitely helped point me in the right direction to do a deeper dive in the world of sharpening and using this knifeYour knife says 菊一包永 作 Kikuichi Kanenaga Saku (Made by Kikuichi Kanenaga) on the right side.
The other side says 安来鋼 Yasugi Kou (Yasugi Steel)*
*Yasugu Steel works owned by Hitachi produce the most widely used Carbon Steels (white,blue,yellow paper, etc).
My guess is that your knife is an old one and the current maker is either Kikuichi Monjushiro Kanenaga 菊一文珠四郎包永.
Or Kikuichi Hamono包丁のことなら奈良菊一｜研ぎ直しなどのメンテナンスも承ります
刀鍛冶の技術を今に伝える菊一文珠四郎包永（きくいち もんじゅしろう かねなが）の包丁。切れ味抜群。贈り物にも最適です。研ぎ直しやその他メンテナンスも承っております。
Kikuichi Cutlery | 750 Years of Fine Craftsmanship
Kikuichi is the oldest knife company in the world. Our superior kitchen cutlery is handcrafted by artisans in Japan who are committed to our legacy of quality.
Your knife is what is called a Kamigata Usuba. An Usuba is a vegetable knife that is single beveled. A double beveled one is called a Nakiri.
Kamigata is the old name for Osaka, where the rounded tip was used, as opposed the the flat head elsewhere.
The flat side on the left is called the Ura and is not really flat, it is very slightly concave. It takes a bit of practice to get good at sharpening subgle bevels. "Usuba" literally means "Thin blade" so do not use this knife as a chopper, it is really made to thin slice vegetables.
It is very likely hardended to over 60 HRC at least so doing things like cutting meat and hitting bone will probably cause chipping.
Cleaning: It is a carbon steel knife. You can clean/polish the blade with either Flitz or Simichrome and a rag. But as it is carbon steel it will patina with time. After each use it needs to be wiped dry. Wash with hot water to expedite the evaporation by hand. No dishwasher.
Storing: Use Tsubaki oil (Camelia oil). Traditional, food safe, and inexpensive. Otherwise, use mineral oil.
Sharpening: Not exactly something that can be done in one post. Ask 10 people, youll get 10 recomendations.
Here's mine:
1. Watch lots of youtube videos on single bevel Japanese knife sharpening.
2. Purchase 3 waterstones*, in 400, 1000, 4000-8000 grit. The stones can be synthetic, buy known names; Shapton, King, Naniwa.
The 400 (arato-rough) and 1000 (nakato) will do the real sharpening. The higher grit (shiageto) does the polishing.
3. A final leather strip will ensure no missed burrs.
* You can get by with the first two grits. Combination 400/1000g stones are common.
If you want to get into it deeper (and get confused with multiple expert opinions-lol) go over to Kitchen Knife Forums.
scdub
Basic Member
- Joined
- May 29, 2004
- Messages
- 2,967
Wow - definition of a thoughtful reply!Your knife says 菊一包永 作 Kikuichi Kanenaga Saku (Made by Kikuichi Kanenaga) on the right side.
The other side says 安来鋼 Yasugi Kou (Yasugi Steel)*
*Yasugu Steel works owned by Hitachi produce the most widely used Carbon Steels (white,blue,yellow paper, etc).
My guess is that your knife is an old one and the current maker is either Kikuichi Monjushiro Kanenaga 菊一文珠四郎包永.
Or Kikuichi Hamono包丁のことなら奈良菊一｜研ぎ直しなどのメンテナンスも承ります
刀鍛冶の技術を今に伝える菊一文珠四郎包永（きくいち もんじゅしろう かねなが）の包丁。切れ味抜群。贈り物にも最適です。研ぎ直しやその他メンテナンスも承っております。
Kikuichi Cutlery | 750 Years of Fine Craftsmanship
Kikuichi is the oldest knife company in the world. Our superior kitchen cutlery is handcrafted by artisans in Japan who are committed to our legacy of quality.
Your knife is what is called a Kamigata Usuba. An Usuba is a vegetable knife that is single beveled. A double beveled one is called a Nakiri.
Kamigata is the old name for Osaka, where the rounded tip was used, as opposed the the flat head elsewhere.
The flat side on the left is called the Ura and is not really flat, it is very slightly concave. It takes a bit of practice to get good at sharpening subgle bevels. "Usuba" literally means "Thin blade" so do not use this knife as a chopper, it is really made to thin slice vegetables.
It is very likely hardended to over 60 HRC at least so doing things like cutting meat and hitting bone will probably cause chipping.
Cleaning: It is a carbon steel knife. You can clean/polish the blade with either Flitz or Simichrome and a rag. But as it is carbon steel it will patina with time. After each use it needs to be wiped dry. Wash with hot water to expedite the evaporation by hand. No dishwasher.
Storing: Use Tsubaki oil (Camelia oil). Traditional, food safe, and inexpensive. Otherwise, use mineral oil.
Sharpening: Not exactly something that can be done in one post. Ask 10 people, youll get 10 recomendations.
Here's mine:
1. Watch lots of youtube videos on single bevel Japanese knife sharpening.
2. Purchase 3 waterstones*, in 400, 1000, 4000-8000 grit. The stones can be synthetic, buy known names; Shapton, King, Naniwa.
The 400 (arato-rough) and 1000 (nakato) will do the real sharpening. The higher grit (shiageto) does the polishing.
3. A final leather strip will ensure no missed burrs.
* You can get by with the first two grits. Combination 400/1000g stones are common.
If you want to get into it deeper (and get confused with multiple expert opinions-lol) go over to Kitchen Knife Forums.
Nice looking knife - Japanese kitchen knives are awesome - good luck with the process!