How can I prevent my knife getting rusty after each use?

I sometimes get question from customers that the knife starts get rusty right after using them and wondering if it is normal to getting rusty so easily.

Answer for the question is that the traditional Japanese carbon steels such as Blue Steel and White Steel are really easy getting to rusty although cutting performance is one of the best.

You can prevent getting the knife rusty by wiping with it every time you use it. After you finishing day work then you may use any type of oil on the kitchen paper, and wipe knife gently. I know it is troublesome to do so but this is a standard way to get rust from your knife.

If you are type of the person who are not worrying about getting rusty I suggest to get like VG10, R2 ,Silver No 3,  or any stainless resistance steel, so that you don’t worry about it.

                                          Sakai Takayuki Sekiryu Blue Steel No.2 Japanese Sword Style
                                          Japanese Sushi Knife -270mm

                                         Shigeki Tanaka Blue Steel 17 Layer Damascus Gyuto Japanese Chef
                                         Knife  210mm

                                          Sakai Takayuki VG10 33 Layer Damascus Japanese Nakiri Chef
                                          Knife 160mm

                                         Kanetsune VG10 17 Layer Damascus Japanese Sushi Sashimi 

                                         Knife -210mm

Sukenari announced Sukenari Knives R2/SG2 New Series

R2/SG2 is Takefu Special Steel Company’s steel and HRC is 65 – 64. Blade has razor sharp cutting edge and good retention Sukenari is known for ZDP189 and making knives for Hitachi Steel Company. However, ZDP189 is priced very high and it is not easy to purchase by everyone. Instead, RE/SG series is reasonable despite of it quality. There are 2 types. One is 3 Layer model, and the other is Damascus Mirror Finish. It looks stunning and blade quality is one of the top.

[Takefu’s Legendary Blacksmith: Anryu katsushige]

[Takefu’s Legendary Blacksmith: Anryu katsushige]

Master Anryu was awarded for the Traditional Craftsmanship Distinguished Service last autumn. He has been manufacturing forged cutlery for over 50 years, and one of real legend. Since his work is very thorough and with care, it is not possible to create a large amount but each knife is a top end.

You may feel Anryu san’s soul and thoroughness from his knives. One of most popular knives is ’Blue Super Clad Series’ and often sold out in our shop, too. Please take this opportunity to have a look his knives.

http://www.japanny.com/collections/katsushige-anryu

Ketsushige Anryu 3 Layer Cladding Blue Super Core Hammerd Japanese Chef's Gyuto Knife 240mm

Katsushige Anryu 3 Layer Cladding Blue Super Core Petty Japanese Chef Knife 75mm

Katsushige Anryu 3 Layer Cladding Blue Super Core Hammerd Japanese Chef's Sujihiki Knife 270mm

Katsushige Anryu 3 Layer Cladding Blue Super Core Hammerd Japanese Chef's Nakiri Knife 165mm

Picking Right Sharpening Stones for your Japanese Chef Knives

Knife blade need to be sharpen by Sharping Stone. Frequency of sharpening as for Japanese professional chef is daily, however in basic, please sharpen when you feel that knife’s sharpness become dull. At least, we suggest to sharpen a knife once a month. 

Sharpening stones are consisting of 3 types 

A rough stone, 220 grit or so, will remove a lot of material quickly. This is useful for repairing chips or setting a new bevel angle on a blade.

A medium grit stone, typically 1000 to 1500, is usually the first stone you'll use if the knife is very dull, but not damaged. The finer grit removes enough material to restore the cutting edge, but not so much material that you'll grind the blade down quickly.

A fine stone, typically 4000 grit, is used for polishing a cutting edge until it's very sharp. This is usually as fine as you'll want to polish a knife because it strikes a very good balance between sharp and durable.

We recommend two side sharpening stone as you can benefit two types of grit with one sharpening stone.

King Two Sided Sharpening Stone - #1000 & #6000

http://www.japanny.com/collections/by-king/products/king-two-sided-sharpening-stone-1000-6000

and

Suehiro Two Sided Sharpening Stone - #1000 & #3000

http://www.japanny.com/collections/by-suehiro/products/suehiro-two-sided-sharpening-stone-with-rubber-base-1000-3000

Refer below for details!

http://www.japanny.com/pages/selecting-right-sharpening-stones

Recommendation of Japanese Chef Knife

Received the message saying ‘I want to buy one or a set of knives. But I want to know most precious knives not as price tag but its history and profession on knife making. What brands can you recommend to me?‘

When I recommend knives to customer, I always imagine about the user. How he wants to use, what is his need, preference, style, shape, etc.  

We often recommend Sakai Takayuki knives since they are reasonable and popular. In this case, however, I recommend Yu Kurosaki knives as customer mentioned its history and profession.

You can see his knife collection here;
http://www.japanny.com/collections/yu-kurosaki

Yu Kurosaki is a young talented craftsman who follows the traditional knife making of Takefu region which is well known for its professional knife making history in Japan. He is very ambitious for making unique knives and spread the name of Takefu to other countries. We value his passion and profession. Needless to say, quality of his knives are superb. Comparing to famous brand knives, his knives are reasonable for its quality.

Yu Kurosaki R2/SG2 steel Hammered Japanese Chef’s Nakiri Knife 180mm

Yu Kurosaki R2SG2 steel Hammered Japanese Chef’s Gyuto Knife 240mm

Yu Kurosaki R2SG2 steel Hammered Japanese Chef’s Sujihiki Knife 270mm