Born in 1983, Mr. Yoshihiro Yauji developed a very early interest in manual crafts and gradually fell in love with steel tools. He developed a keen interest in knives in particular since, in his words, “they represent the starting point for mankind”. And further, “From the Stone Age onward, human beings began using crafted implements to cut down trees – a fact which eventually led to the development of civilization”.
In 2003, Yoshihiro Yauji became an apprentice of Master Hideo Kitaoka, who is renown as one of the best craftsmen in Japan. After more than 15 years of intensive training, Mr. Yoshihiro Yauji began making his own knives in 2019. Of note: he performs the entire spectrum of forging, grinding, finishing, and sharpening all on his own.

Simply explained, Aogami #2 developed by Hitachi Metals is a steel made from Shirogami #2 in which some chromium and tungsten are added for better durability and corrosion resistance. In addition to that, the higher carbon content of the steel allows for better cutting retention. Objectively, the Aogami #2 is an improvement over the Shirogami #2. For patina lovers, however, Shirogami steel will be more reactive to oxidation and could be an advantage.

Yanagiba translates as “willow blade” since the narrow, long and curved blade shape on the back side resembles a willow leaf. The specialty of the Yanagiba is slicing fish in a precise and clean way for cutting sashimi or nigiri for example. It can also be used for filleting certain fishes and slicing meat.  The very fine cutting edge can be damaged easily, so we advise you to be careful with bones. The concave back of the knife (urusaki) creates an air gap between the fish flesh and the blade, making it easy to detach the blade from the fish flesh, while the bevel on the face of the knife (shinogi) makes it easy to detach the piece of fish being sliced. The Yanagiba is generally found between 210 mm and 330 mm.