Mr. Tokifusa Iizuka and his two sons work diligently each day in their small workshop to produce their master pieces…Shigefusa knives. They take every care in each step of the process to ensure total perfection in every knife they make. They only use one kind of steel, which has reached perfection over years of hard work and determination!
The forging, shaping, heat treatment, and even final sharpening/polishing are all done by hand, one by one.
As a finishing step they use Japanese natural stones to make their unique and beautiful Kasumi finish.
All this hard work culminates in knives, whether Kurouchi or Kasumi finish, that do not leave their shop until they have obtained perfectly smoothed/transitioned lines and razor sharp edges.
When we visited the Shigefusa workshop, I saw with my own eyes how much of a perfectionist Mr. Tokifusa and his 2 sons are, and how much work they put into a single knife !
I am very humbled and proud to have the honor of distributing Shigefusa knives!!
You can read more about our visit here: Sigefusa Visit
I went through many knives when I worked as a chef and I find Shigefusa one of the best and most unique knives in Japan!!
Their geometry and unique grinds allow them to have a thick spine, while remaining amazingly thin behind the edge. This results in a knife, which is not only incredibly strong, but also wants to fall through food with very little effort (laser like some would say).
It is little wonder why Shigefusa has developed such an astounding reputation…and why the wait time is very long.
Shigefusa Kitaeji Nakiri 180mm
Steel: Swedish Carbon ??? Can rust !
Handle: Ho Octagonal shape
Handle Length- 130mm
Handle Width- 20mm
Handle to Tip Length- 325mm
Heel to Tip Length- 180mm
Blade Height at Heel- 54mm
Width of Spine at Handle- 7,6mm
Width of Spine Above Heel- 3mm
Width of Spine at Middle- 1,8mm
Width of Spine 1cm from the tip- 1,6mm
Weight- 186 g
All knives JNS cary is handmade and made one by one, so they can vary in size and thickness. Unevenness in finish can occur.