Doi Blue #2 Yanagiba 330mm

Mr. Itsuo Doi is the 69-year-old son of Keijiro Doi and worked with his father for nearly 50 years before recently taking over the business after Keijiro Doi retired.

The yanagiba, or yanagi, is a knife designed to slice fish for sushi and sashimi. Yanagiba translates into "willow leaf blade." The slender blade is tailored to cut the fish in one single stroke. Its ultra sharp edge slices through the fish with minimal pressure required, thus reducing stress to the flesh and minimizing cellular damage. The yanagiba is such a specialized knife that by using different cutting techniques, the chef can enhance and change the visual characteristics and flavors of the fish. There are several styles of fish slicers employed by sushi chefs but the classic yanagi is the most favored. Yanagibas are long knives and usually do not come much shorter than 270mm. This ensures that the slice is made in one single stroke. Sawing is simply not acceptable in the preparation of sushi.

This beautiful knife is hand-fashioned from Blue Paper #2 steel with a ni-mai awase cladding (a single sided layer of iron). Doi-san is recognized as one of the masters of this steel. He hardens the core to approximately 61 Rockwell. The blade is single-beveled and features a lovely single bevel from the shinogi line to the edge. This is a gorgeous knife made better by the addition of a traditional Magnolia D shaped handle with buffalo horn ferrule. We receive about 2 of these a year.

Knife Brand: Takayuki

Blacksmith: Itsuo Doi

Construction: Hammer Forged

Grind: Traditional Single Bevel

Cladding: Soft Iron

Core Edge Steel: Aogami #2 (Blue #2)

HRC: 61-62

Weight: 10 oz (284 g)

Edge Length: 322 mm

Total Length: 490 mm

Spine Thickness at Heel: 4.8 mm

Blade Height: 38.0 mm

Handle: Magnolia D

Ferrule: Buffalo Horn