Gyuto • 180 mm • Blue#2 (aogami) • Handle made of walnut • for both left an right hand use

Characteristics of Rooij Customs

For this limited edition of Rooij Customs knives, we imported separate blades and handles from Japan. We then carefully assembled them by hand. This is a precise process. First, we heat the tang of the blade to ensure a perfect fit inside the handle. Afterwards, we fill the handle with epoxy and heat the tang once more.

After we carefully center the blade, the handles are hermetically sealed with a piece of self-drying clay so that no water or dirt can enter and damage the wood. In this case, the blade has a blue #2 steel core with nashiji finish and the handle is made of walnut.

Blue steel, also known as Aogami/Aoki steel

This traditional steel is not named after its colour, but named after the colour of its paper wrapping, in which it is stored in the Hitachi steel factory in Japan. There are three different grades: super, #1 en #2. Blue steels use a high grade of carbon, chrome and vanadium added in their alloy. Aogami super even added extra tungsten. Aogami super is here " Best of both worlds" Blue #1 is for sharpness, Blue #2 for toughness. Blue steels are mostly seen in deba or usuba knives, white steels often in yanagibas. Aogami super is regarded as one of the best traditional steels by Japanese knifemakers, but difficult to work with. Blue steels are difficult to sharpen on a whetstone, but they remain sharp for a longer period, compared to white steels.