Tosa 165mm Santoku Kurouchi Stainless Clad Aogami 1 Octagonal Red Sandalwood & Pakka

Reasonably priced Tosa knives like these are characterized by good forging on good steel with minimal finish grinding keeping them affordable, in the rural market the handles are typically the least expensive plastic ferruled magnolia wood options, but we thought they deserved an upgrade on the handle. The convex bevel will have good food release and a little extra toughness being a hair thicker than a flat ground kireba but will need thinning after a dozen or so sharpenings to keep them moving through food smoothly. 

Hand forged knives from the Tosa area of Shikoku Island, Japan’s least populated island with a long history of smithing. Shikoku’s thick forests, agriculture and fisheries have led to a local style of smithing that is characterized by rustic free forged knives and tools. Many Tosa knives are ryoba style; forged and ground symmetrically and are suitable for both right and left hand users.