Enami White #2 Usuba 180mm

Tadashi Enami is one of Sakai most respected active blacksmiths, holding the Dento-Kogei-shi title - Japan national designation for a master of traditional crafts. His specialty is the wakashizuke technique, an old-school method of bonding soft iron to hard steel using iron powder and heat when constructing single-bevel knives. This technique produces a particularly strong and consistent bond between the jigane (outer cladding) and the hagane (inner core steel), and it is increasingly rare because so few blacksmiths still practice it. Enami-san is one of the few.

The usuba is Japan dedicated vegetable knife - a single-bevel, flat-edged blade designed specifically for push-cutting vegetables with absolute precision. Where the nakiri (Japan double-bevel vegetable knife) is more accessible and handles general vegetable work well, the usuba rewards proper single-bevel technique with a level of precision and control that a double-bevel blade simply cannot match. This 180mm version uses Shirogami (white paper steel) #2 at the core - a very pure carbon steel that takes an exceptional edge - over soft iron cladding with a tsuchime (hammered) kurouchi (black as-forged) finish. The 4.5mm spine at the heel tapers toward the tip, providing the heft needed for authority through denser vegetables while maintaining fine edge geometry. At 7.0 oz with 45mm blade height this is a substantial usuba, sized for the board presence the format requires. Hand engraved. Walnut octagonal handle with black pakkawood ferrule. Right-handed single bevel.

What Customers Are Saying: The one reviewer describes this as an excellent knife - very sharp, well made, perfectly proportioned for demanding tasks like breaking down watermelons and other large or dense produce that a nakiri would find challenging. The balance between heft and blade quality is specifically praised, and the construction of both blade and handle described as very well done.

Care Instructions: Shirogami #2 is a highly reactive carbon steel and the soft iron cladding compounds that reactivity. Wipe and dry immediately after every use. Avoid acidic foods and moisture. Apply camellia oil for storage. Hand wash only. Single-bevel sharpening requires care - sharpen the flat (ura) side lightly to remove the burr and focus work on the bevel side. Use quality water stones.

• Blacksmith: Tadashi Enami
• Location: Sakai, Japan
• Awards: Dento-Kogei-shi (Master of Traditional Crafts)
• Construction: Ni Mai, Hammer Forged
• Edge Steel: Shirogami (White Paper Steel) #2
• Cladding: Soft Iron
• Finish: Tsuchime (Hammered) Kurouchi (Black As-Forged)
• Edge Grind: Single Bevel, Right Handed
• Engraving: Hand Engraved
• Handle: Walnut Octagonal
• Ferrule: Black Pakkawood
• Weight: 7.0 oz (198 g)
• Blade Length: 170mm
• Total Length: 320mm
• Spine Thickness at Heel: 4.5mm
• Blade Height: 45.0mm