New Old Stock Yoshikane 135mm Petty SLD Suminagashi Western Handle

Old stock from a collection purchased at Bernal Cutlery between 2013 and 2017 and are in unused condition and are a throwback to older production. Yoshikane has not made western handles since approximately 2017 and vehemently claim they will not again. Yoshikane’s old kurouchi finished damascus clad SLD with western handle handle are excellent, the dark finished hira (face of the blade) is forged to shape with just a little bit of convexity and the kireba (main bevel) ground with just a hair of convexity. The forging and grinding was and remains top shelf at Yoshikane.

Yoshikane SLD steel core with nickel and stainless suminagashi cladding. Western handle with pakka handle scales unused in original box HRC 64.

Yoshikane’s hand-forged and excellently heat-treated SLD series bring out some of the best performance from this steel: great cutting feel, good sharpen-ability, and excellent edge life. SLD ranges from 12-13% chromium content, right on the stainless / non-stainless boundary. It has excellent toughness, hardened to 64 HRC, and can be ground very thin without becoming chippy. In our opinion, these are some of the best nearly-stainless hand-forged knives. They are ideal for the professional or home cook who is looking for a great workhorse, long edge life, and easy sharpen-ability. Although these knives are nearly stainless, they should still dried after use to avoid rust.

Yoshikane operates a small, family run forge in Sanjo, Niigata and has been making kitchen knives since 1919. They deserve their good reputation for excellent forging and heat treatments, which make for easy sharpening and great edge life for both single and double bevel knives. This is especially true about the thin grinds provided on their double bevel knives. For middleweight Japanese knives, they cut like a much thinner blade.