Yoshikane X Isasmedjan SKD Gyuto 240mm Custom Handle

This special edition Yoshikane X Isasmedjan Gyuto is a collaboration we setup with Jonas Johnsson aka Isasmedjan in Sweden. Typically making the complete package, and those who know his work will attest to the quality of his blades, we asked Jonas if he would be willing to make some custom handles for some beautiful SKD Nashiji series blades from Yoshikane Hamono. What you see here is the result and it’s a stunning combination of Elm burl with Boxelder burl for the spacer. Each piece is unique, but they all contain a beautiful array eyes and lovely grain patterns. Yellow, brown, and black hues pair beautifully with the light kurouchi and plished steel. Only 4 pieces of this custom Yoshikane SKD Gyuto 240mm have been made and when they are gone, they are gone.

With SKD steel at the core these blades from Yoshikane Hamono are some of the most durable, high-performance knives around. The SKD steel is hard, it’s very hard, we are talking 64HRC-65HRC meaning that these knives will take a very acute and razor-sharp edge and they will hold it for a long time. While SKD is not classed as a stainless steel, with its high chromium content, it does have very decent stain resistance and superior wear resistance and toughness than is found in most stainless steels. With a protective stainless cladding these blades offer a very nice combination of characteristics that both fans of stainless and reactive steel knives will appreciate.

The geometry on these blades is up there with some of the best you can hope to find in Japanese knives. Leaning in the direction of a workhorse geometry, at least as far as Japanese knives are concerned, the blade has a tapered spine that is 3.6mm above the heel of the blade and quickly thins out to around 2.5mm as it heads towards the tip. The profile is fairly flat and has a persistent shallow curve beginning about 30mm from the heel. The blade is thin behind the edge (0.5mm) resulting in a very sharp blade with a delightful cutting experience.