Exclusive Muneishi Aogami Santoku 180mm

First Impressions

This range is entirely forged by hand and boasts impressive levels of sharpness right out of the box.

Beauty

If you’re looking for a knife that shows off classic and traditional Japanese knife making then you can’t go wrong with this one.

Beauty is of course always subjective but we always love seeing a quality blade with a simple kurouchi finish and the cherry wood oval handles are a typical pairing for this type of knife.

In Hand

The oval wa handle is comfortable and easy to grip and again, for such a low price point we thought the subtle rounding of the edges along the spine and around the heel of the knife were nicely done and made it very comfortable in hand.

Durability

Blue #2 and soft iron clad is a great combination for making an affordable and durable knife with excellent edge retention and durability.

Ease of Care

It should be noted that the soft iron clad knives arefully reactive so both core and claddingreactwith moisture and your ingredients. As such, the care requirements for this steel combination are a little higher than some knives. Learn more about carbon steel care here.

We would recommend periodically treating it with a little camellia oil and in the event of rust spots forming on the soft iron cladding a quick pass with a rust eraser is all you need.

Our Verdict

Excellent value for money, a classic Japanese knife crafted by entirely by hand and with a durable core steel that holds a great edge.

As long as you’re happy with a fully reactive knife then the aogami range from Muneishi represents great value. If you’d prefer a slightly lower maintenance version, check out the stainless clad range.