About Mazaki San - 

Though a relatively young knifemaker, Naoki Mazaki works hard to preserve traditional ways of crafting blades. 

In 2017, after years of training and preparation, Mazaki-san finally opened his own workshop. He now forge-welds all of his carbon steel knives in-house and finishes his bevel with a variety of different whetstones, all by hand. His care and attention to detail are immediately evident when you handle one of his knives: while rustic in appearance, each one has been lovingly polished and perfected. Once you put them to work, his passion and skill come through even more.

Mazaki san prefers to work with the more traditional Shirogami #2 to craft his knives and often leaves the rough, burned ‘kurouchi’ finish from the forge. Not just used for tradition’s sake, Shirogami is capable of insane sharpness and edge retention. It’s easily one of my favourite knife steels; it cuts beautifully, but it also changes with time, building a patina totally unique to you and the food you cook.

About the shape - Under utilized in the western kitchen, the nakiri’s flat blade is meant for the push/pull chopping of vegetables. Since the entire flat edge of the knife touches the cutting board at once, you won't be turning the vegetable into an 'accordion', still connected like a paper doll after you've cut them. The added weight of the blade allows it to fall through food more easily while you chop, so the knife does more of the work for you!