Yanagiba translates as "willow blade" since the shape of its narrow, long, curved blade on the back resembles a willow leaf. The specialty of the Yanagiba is the precise and clean slicing of fish for sashimi or nigiri, for example. It can also be used to fillet certain fish and slice meat. The very fine edge can be damaged easily, so you are advised to be careful with bones and bones. The concave back of the knife (urusaki) creates an air gap between the fish flesh and the blade, allowing the blade to easily detach from the fish flesh, while the bevel on the face of the knife (shinogi) allows the piece of fish to easily detach. The Yanagiba is generally found between 210 mm and 330 mm.
Shirogami #2 translates to: Shiro (white) and Gami (Steel) and thus; white steel #2. It is so named because of the color of the packaging in which it was wrapped at Hitachi Metals. The composition of this steel is very pure and contains almost only iron and carbon (1.05%-1.2%). It is in the hands of very experienced blacksmiths that one realizes the enormous potential of Shirogami #2. The quality of the heat treatment and the lower temperature forging are key elements that can allow Shirogami #2 to compete with, and even surpass, many modern steels. Try a Shiro #2 blade forged by Tanaka-san, Kisuke Manaka-san or Yoshikane's forge and you will see!
