Aogami Bread Knife

 A new bread knife made in collaboration with Otsuka Hamono from Tottori, Japan.

Yoshida Shoya is famous for this blade design which comes from the Tottori region, and now only two smiths are still making it, one of which is Otsuka San.

While Sakai City near Osaka is well known for having a high concentration of skilled bladesmiths, Tottori is located in the region in Western Japan, formerly known as Inaba, famous for the iron rich sand which is used to make high quality Japanese blade steels. The few remaining bladesmiths in this sparsely populated region are deep with their craft. Tottori in particular has a strong history of the mingei (craft) movement led by Yanagi Soetsu's follower Yoshida Shoya.

Otsuka San is a 4th generation bladesmith. The waiting list for his knives is 1-2 years long, only accepting orders from a limited customer base of clientele he respects and knows will understand his work, namely a few restaurants in Tokyo, Paris, and Milan.

The Terasu Aogami Bread Knife by Otsuka Hamono will change your perception of slicing bread. The curve of the blade extends the cutting edge, providing the extra length needed to slice cleanly through the bottom crust. This knife will excel slicing the toughest sourdough and the most delicate pullman loaves.

Aogami #1 blade steel has excellent edge retention, yet still shows exceptional hardness when made using skilled hand-forging and heat treatments. 

Keep them nice and dry when not in use to avoid rust, which can be cleaned off with a light abrasive.