Motokyuuichi kitchen knives are hand forged in Shimabara City, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The Kyuuichi family had a strong reputation for samurai sword forging during the Edo period, but gradually withdrew from sword forging over time. In 1895, the forge was taken over by the sword smith Shoujiro Maeda, to whom we owe the Motokyuuichi forge as we know it today. The Maeda lineage passed on skills and knowledge from generation to generation: the forge of katana, agricultural tools, hunting weapons and kitchen knives. The 4th and 5th generations of the Maeda family have made the transition to forging kitchen knives in a traditional Japanese way. Today, Yasuhide Maeda is in charge of the Motokyuuichi forge and we are proud to collaborate with him to offer you quality Japanese knives at a fair price!
The Bunka is a general-purpose knife with a straighter edge profile than a santoku, which makes the rocking motion more difficult to perform. However, this knife is perfect for use with the push-cut or pull-cut method. The fine tip of the Bunka will give you precision and agility as it will pass through the food more easily when cutting.
Aogami literally translates as: "blue steel" and therefore "Blue Super Steel" for Aogami Super. Manufactured by Hitachi Metals Ltd, this carbon steel grade has one of the highest hardness levels and is one of the most renowned in Japan. In addition to containing more carbon, chromium and tungsten than Aogami #1, it also contains molybdenum. The high carbon content results in higher hardness, but in return, it reduces the corrosion resistance and makes the steel more brittle. Chromium and molybdenum counterbalance the effect of the high carbon content by improving corrosion resistance. While tungsten greatly increases the wear resistance of the steel to make it less brittle. This makes it, objectively, a superior carbon steel on a practical level than other steels in this category.
