Gihei Hosokawa HAP40 Santoku

This is a food prep knife designed for users who value excellent sharpness and maximum edge retention.

The blade is stainless clad Hitachi HAP40 powdered steel, HRC ~66

The handle is pakka wood, fastened to a partial tang with 2 rivets. Partial tang knives offer sufficient strength and a blade-forward balance.

Gihei knives are made in Sanjo, Niigata prefecture by Mr. Takashi Hosokawa, a 5th generation knife-maker whose business was started over 80 years ago.

The best sharpening tools for Japanese knives are leather strops and fine whetstones.

Kitchen knives are used to cut the ingredients in your food. Japanese kitchen knives are famous for their sharpness and edge retention. Japanese chef knives are brittle and are designed for cutting soft tissue foods. High Carbon steel chef knives can rust if not kept dry.