Best Guaranteed Katsushige Anryu Anryu Knives Shirogami #2 Nakiri

First Impressions

Impressive sharpness right out of the box and a nice grind on what’s a fairly thick knife along the spine so there’s plenty of cutting power and robustness.

The shirogami/white #2 steel is easy to maintain and get a great edge on so it’s a knife you’ll be reaching for time and again.

Beauty

The contrast between the layered carbon steel core and dark, soft iron cladding make it both understated and eye catching at the same time.

If you’re looking for a classic Japanese knife then this is a wonderful example showing the contrasting layering of the core steel and the kurouchi blacksmith finish on the cladding.

Durability

The blacksmith or kurouchi finish will protect it to a certain extent however care must be taken to dry the knife carefully after use.

White #2 is a dream to sharpen and will take a screamingly sharp edge and this ranges represents great value for money from such an outstanding blacksmith.

Ease of Care

White #2 steel is really easy to sharpen so maintaining it should be a breeze.

This being a reactive knife you will need to wipe and dry carefully after each use though andover time a patina will develop.

Our Verdict

The shiro range is great value either as a first knife or an addition to a collection.

Originally made by Katsushige Anryu the Shirogami range is now made in the extremely capable (and strong!) hands of his nephew and apprentice Takumi Ikeda who is a hugely skilled blacksmith so this range is in great hands and continues to provide top quality knives at extremely good value.

There’s a good reason these knives are in such short supply so if you’re considering one, we’d recommend not hanging around!