This Kiritsuke is built around a slightly heavier, front-biased blade that lets the knife do much of the work during the cut. Despite the substantial spine, it does not feel heavy or clumsy in the hand. The long distal taper removes a lot of mass toward the tip, while the edge itself is ground extremely fine.
I forged the blade from around 100 layers of C70 and 15N20 Damascus. The spine starts at roughly 4 mm and tapers to around 2.8 mm before becoming much thinner toward the tip. The grind is slightly convex, with a fuller running along the upper part of the blade. Besides changing the balance and reducing friction, the fuller also helps food release from the blade during cutting.
The tip is kept particularly thin for more delicate work, while the slight forward balance gives the knife a very natural cutting rhythm on the board. It feels much lighter in use than the dimensions suggest.
The handle combines plum and teak in my own hybrid handle shape: more angular and Japanese-inspired along the top, with a rounded and flowing underside where the hand actually rests. The blade has a high hand finish and is protected with a thin layer of carnauba wax.
Overall length: 33.5 cm
Blade length: 21 cm
Cutting edge: 19.8 cm
Blade height: 4.3 cm
Blade thickness: 4 mm at the spine, distal taper to approx. 2.8 mm
Handle length: 12.5 cm
Steel: Approx. 100-layer Damascus, C70 and 15N20
Hardness: approx. 60–61 HRC
Grind: Slight convex grind with fuller
Handle: Plum and teak
Finish: High hand finish
