The word Santoku translates as: three virtues, which can refer to the cutting of meat, fish and vegetables or to the following three types of cutting; chopping, slicing and dicing. Very versatile, the santoku is one of the types of knives we recommend as the first or main knife in the kitchen.
At the age of 35, Go Yoshizawa is a creative craftsman who is making the family business shine. He is the head-chef of the Nigara's forge, one of the most renowned forges in Japan and worldwide, and famous for damascus work. Yoshizawa-san builds on the solid foundation of steelworking that he has developed over the years to discover and explore new processes. Nigara's forge and its craftsmen continue to amaze us with knives that are as beautiful as they are performing.
Super Gold 2 or SG2 is a powder metallurgy steel designed by Takefu Special Steel Co Ltd in Takefu, Echizen/ Fukui. It is a high-carbon stainless steel that is pulverized to a very fine grain size and then put back together. This process results in a homogeneous grain structure of the steel, making it easier to sharpen and very durable. Takefu Steel is the company that also created the popular VG-10 steel. The goal behind the design of SG2 was to offer a range above VG-10, which proves to be the case in all aspects.
Being able to reach a hardness of 64 HRC and thus obtaining a breathtaking edge, the SG2 is very famous in the world of Japanese cutlery.
Takefu Special Steel Co Ltd does not manufacture SG2 anymore and the SG2 knives you will see on the market will be, most of the time, almost identical steels manufactured by other companies like Kobelco's R2 which has the same characteristics as Takefu Special Steel Co Ltd's SG2.