SHARPEN UP YOUR KITCHEN KNIFE KNOWLEDGE

S tory & Photography Provided

Here at New Kitchen Store, along with moving to our new location at 1100 Roosevelt Road in Walkerton (which is four times larger than our old store), we have brought in some new items. The first item we will discuss today is our line of hand-forged Japanese kitchen knives.

Can you imagine a company that has been in business since the year 1267? Well, our Japanese knife company, Kikuichi Cutlery, has been in business since 1267. They first made samurai swords, and in 1867 transitioned into kitchen cutlery. One sword crafted by Kanenaga, the founder of the company, has been designated as one of Japan’s national treasures.

The chrysanthemum symbol is still recognized in Japan for its connection to the royal family, and you will find it on all Kikuichi cutlery.

These knives are not manufactured in a large factory. Instead they are made similar to the old guild style of manufacturing, common in both Japan and Europe.

This method often involves a minimum of four master craftsmen working on each blade. Bladesmiths, sharpening masters, handle makers and finishing experts all contribute to the final product before they are ready for the Kikuichi logo and the chrysanthemum image.

These knives are made with premium Japanese steels such as White #1 and #2, Blue #1 and #2, and Aogami super steel, as well as the high-carbon stainless steel AUS10.

Most of our knives will have the octagonal Wa handle in rosewood, some with water buffalo ferrules, some in magnolia. Most are Damascus clad, ranging from 45 layers to a hand-hammered 67-layer finish.

These knives are all hardened on the Rockwell scale to at least a 61, and some to a 63. They are sharpened with a double bevel at a 16-degree angle. These will be the sharpest knives most of us have ever handled. These truly are masterpieces. They are light, nimble and sharp. We have also picked up several lines of Cangshan knives. Cangshan is a Chinese company founded in 2015.

Henry Liu’s dream was to make beautiful kitchen knives with premium materials, crafted by expert bladesmiths, at affordable prices. He located elite material manufacturers from Germany, Sweden, Japan and the U.S. He located his blade masters in Yangjiang, China, a city renowned for its cutlery tradition going back more than 1500 years.

In his signature series of knives he paired with Thomas Keller, a chef who holds eight Michelin stars and who designed the knives in this series. They are produced in premium Swedish Damasteel RWL34 powder steel. They are all hardened to a 61 on the Rockwell scale, and sharpened to a 16-degree angle. These are beautiful knives at a very affordable price.

We have three series of forged knives that are 67-layer Damascus X-7 high-carbon stainless steel. Each series has a different Damascus pattern, and handle finish and style. From rich, ultra-dense African blackwood to durable G10 handles in blues and grays, these all come with a magnetic wooden saya sheath.

We also carry the forged German steel HELENA series of knives. These are a minimalist interpretation of the modern kitchen knife, made with German steel and hardened to a 58 on the Rockwell scale, at very reasonable prices.

Cangshan has some very exciting knives at very good prices. They now have factories in Germany, Japan and the U.S.

We also now carry the Zwilling lines of knives. These lines include Henckels from Germany and Miyabi from Japan, including the Bob Kramer Carbon 2.0 and his astounding Damascus chef knives. Come to our annual knife sharpening event on August 19 at New Kitchen Store, located at 1100 Roosevelt Road in Walkerton. Check out all of our exciting new knives and take advantage of some special pricing and sales.

As always, we sharpen your Wüsthof knives for free and charge $3.00 for all others, which we donate to charity. Hope to see you there!

For more info on New Kitchen Store, call 574-586-2745 or visit newkitchenstore.com.