About Masashi Kaijin - 

The blade's core is made from hard VS1 steel clad in softer stainless steel. Through a special heat-treating process, Masashi-san can make VS1 incredibly hard, giving it edge retention on par with high-end carbon steel. He sharpens blades in a unique way, making the back end more robust for chopping and the tip more precise for delicate work.

The textured appearance of the Kaijin gives its name, which translates to ‘ash’ and references the traditional forging process Masashi uses. Normally blacksmiths must overheat the knife to achieve this sort of finish, which can tamper with the knife’s quality, but Masashi-san is able to do it in a controlled, low-temperature way that doesn’t affect the steel.

First training with his brother at Yoshikane, then striking out on his own, Masashi Yamamoto relentlessly pursues the creation of a perfect knife using the traditional techniques passed down in his family and augmented by a modern understanding of metallurgy. He’s also a certified badass, forging in flip-flops and lighting cigarettes off red-hot steel like an 80’s action hero. 

About the Shape -This is also a multi-purpose knife, but with a slight vegetable bias. Santoku means 'Three Virtues' or 'To solve Three Problems'. The virtues or problems are slicing, dicing and mincing. Santoku is usually found in 160mm - 190mm lengths. These are more and more popular in Western kitchens due to their unique shape and smaller easy-to-handle size.