Matsubara Blue #2 Nashiji Kiri Cleaver 190mm

Matsubara Blue #2 Nashiji Kiri Cleaver 190mm. This excellent knife is constructed from Aogami 2 (Blue #2) high carbon steel. This is one of the most popular steels in the world of kitchen knives. The alloy is known for its outstanding edge life and overall toughness. Blue steels are a bit harder to sharpen than whites, which do cut better as they dull down. But the edge on blue steel is one of the longest lasting of the paper steels. This core steel is laminated in the san-mai style with a softer stainless steel which is given a lovely nashiji (pear skin) finish. This adds strength, reduces mass, and makes daily maintenance a breeze.

Looking like the offspring from an encounter between a cleaver and bunka unique knife is a wonderful tool for almost every cutting and chopping duty in the kitchen. It is thin like a bunka but it is tall like a cleaver and great for tall ingredients, big hands, or a simple desire for a taller blade are addressed with this versatile shape. The knife is finished off with a nice hybrid handle that is rounded on the top and the bottom like an oval handle and straight on the sides like an octagonal.

We are always on the lookout for unusual knives of all types and the Matsubara Blue #2 Nashiji Kiri Cleaver certainly ticks all the unique boxes in our opinion. This was created as a result of our customer comments, so we hope it hits a chord with you.

Brand: Matsubara

Blacksmith: Mr. Tanaka

Location: Nagasaki

Construction: Hammer Forged, San Mai

Cladding: Nashiji Stainless

Edge Steel: Blue #2

Edge Grind: Even

Weight: 9 ounces / 255g

Blade Length: 189mm

Spine Thickness at Base: 3.5mm

Blade Height: 79mm

Handle: Rosewood Octagonal

Please note, Mr. Tanaka puts a notch in the tang and this is done on purpose and is not an installation mistake.