Takeo Murata-san is a highly skilled blacksmith who began his apprenticeship in 1965. While the knives may look unassuming, the designs are excellent. Each blade is subtly hollow ground decreasing blade resistance when cutting. Murata-san uses Aogami 1 as his core steel (iron laminate) which is known for it’s sharpeness and edge retention. Aogami 1, or Blue 1 is very similar to Shirogami/White steel, but with more tungsten which helps increase edge retention. Murata-san forges his knives under the light of a 40 watt light bulb to ensure the entire blade is the same temperature while working. This ensures a good heat treatment and even hardness throughout the blade, which increases sharpeness and edge retention. Simplicity at it’s finest.

The Funayuki is a very versatile blade design capable of almost any job in the kitchen. The Funayuki is essentially a slim line 165mm chef knife with a forward balance. The Funayuki typically has more curvature near the tip compared to the santoku (allowing for higher mincing cuts) but less over all edge curvature compared to a gyuto. The Buho Funayuki is a very nimble knife and will excel at detailed cuts due to the thin blade profile and carbon steel edge.

Blade steel: Aogami 1/Blue 1 carbon steel

Lamination: Iron

Handle: magnolia wood with plastic ferrule

Cutting edge length: 165mm

Spine thickness: 3.5mm at the widest point, thinning towards tip

Blade height: 44.5mm

Handle length: 5”

Overall length:12.25”

Carbon steel can rust if neglected. To avoid corrosion and rust, be sure to wash and dry your knife immediately after use. Leaving moisture or acidic material on the blade will cause corrosion. Every carbon steel knife will develop a blue grey patina, yellow or orange is rust.