Masashi Kobo Polished SLD Knife Range
Kitchen Knife

Extraordinarily beautiful and remarkably sophisticated kitchen knives from this young blacksmith in Sanjo City, Niigata. Polished SLD steel blades, charred chestnut handles, resin ferrules. SLD steel from Hitachi benefits from a high carbon content that holds its edge well, is tough, easy to sharpen and maintain, and with a 12% chromium content is very nearly stainless. It’s laminated to an outer cladding of SUS stainless steel, polished to a mirror finish.

Gyuto is the classic chef’s knife - although Masashi makes his a tad deeper than some, more like a Santoku. Use Nakiri for veg, the deeper bladed Kamagata as a great smaller sized knife - perfect if you’re uncomfortable with larger blades - and the Petty for paring and fine work.

See Masashi at work in the video clip (scroll down), working on the tang of a knife

Delivering to US (Paying in USD) Edit

Petty	$356.50
Kamagata	$356.50
Nakiri	$410.50
Gyuto 180mm	$410.50
Gyuto 210mm	$540.50
Gyuto 180, Nakiri, Kamagata & Petty	$1,515.50
	exVAT

Masashi Kobo Polished SLD Knife • Gyuto 210mm is in stock, available to dispatch worldwide, or contact us for showroom stock availability.

6.3oz
1' 1.7 x 2"
8.3" blades
SLD Stainless Steel
62 HRC
Charred Chestnut handles
Made in Sanjo, Japan

Masashi Kobo Polished SLD Knife • Gyuto 180mm is in stock, available to dispatch worldwide, or contact us for showroom stock availability.

5.1oz
1' 0.3 x 1.9"
7.1" blades
SLD Stainless Steel
62 HRC
Charred Chestnut handles
Made in Japan

Masashi Kobo Polished SLD Knife • Nakiri is in stock, available to dispatch worldwide, or contact us for showroom stock availability.

5.7oz
1' 0.3 x 2.1"
6.5" blades
SLD Stainless Steel
62 HRC
Charred Chestnut handles
Made in Japan

Masashi Kobo Polished SLD Knife • Petty is in stock, available to dispatch worldwide, or contact us for showroom stock availability.

2oz
10.1 x 0.9"
4.8" blades
SLD Stainless Steel
62 HRC
Charred Chestnut handles
Made in Japan

Masashi Kobo Polished SLD Knife • Kamagata is in stock, available to dispatch worldwide, or contact us for showroom stock availability.

2.6oz
9.7 x 1.3"
4.8" blades
SLD Stainless Steel
62 HRC
Charred Chestnut handles
Made in Japan

Please note: By law, we are not permitted to sell a knife or blade to any person under the age of 18. By placing an order for one of these items you are declaring that you are 18 years of age or over. These items must be used responsibly and appropriately.

More about Masashi

Masashi Yamamoto trained under his uncle, Yoshida san at Yoshikane, and produces knives of stunning quality - primarily in his signature SLD steel, a hard wearing, very-nearly-stainless-steel. In 2018 Masashi moved his forge to a new factory in Sanjo (in Niigata Prefecture) and now has two apprentices working with him.

We think he looks a little like Christopher Walken, and he claims to be a children’s ski instructor - something we don’t doubt.

Knife Care

For better or worse, Western knives are often seen as general purpose kitchen tools, used for cutting, prising, levering and all sorts of other jobs around the kitchen (and sometimes beyond).

Japanese knives should not be viewed this way and it may require a change of mindset to get the best out of your knife and ensure it delivers many years of service.

Cared for correctly, this ought to be the case: the quality of the craftsmanship and the ease with which they can be kept incredibly sharp are two of the main reasons to make the switch to Japanese steel, but that comes at a price: the steel –especially steel with high carbon content - may be more brittle than you are used to and they are not for the heavy-handed or the careless. They are unforgiving tools and you may not get an opportunity to make the same mistake twice.

A good rule of thumb is to show them the same respect you show your poshest wine glasses, but here are some other pointers.

Commons mistakes to avoid:

Leaving wooden handled knives to soak in water.
Washing knives in the dishwasher.
Not storing them carefully: store them individually, not jumbled up with other cutlery.
Cutting into bone. If you’re not sure whether there’s bone, or you know there to be bone present, go very slowly and carefully, or consider using a different knife.
Trying to cut frozen foods.
Cutting down too hard on to the wrong sort of surface, for example kitchen worktops.

Don’t be put off. They are great to use and easy to care for. To get the best from your knives:

Wash them by hand and dry thoroughly afterwards.
Wipe over with Camellia Oil if not using regularly.
Sharpen every two weeks or so of regular use.
Use the Niwaki Combination Stone for everyday sharpening.
Take care with harder foods, such as the skin of a pumpkin or a squash.

Stories...

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Masashi Kobo Polished SLD Knife RangeKitchen Knife