W1 B1 W2 B2 Gyuto 240mm

A special offering even by damascus artist Shoichi Hashimoto’s standards, this Tobikumo Collection blade is formed not from his more commonly seen two-alloy formula, but from four distinct alloys of Hitachi high-carbon steels: White No.1, Blue No. 1, White No.2, and Blue No.2. The name of the pattern, Tobikumo (跳雲), means ‘hopping clouds’ in Japanese, named so by Shoichi as the 180-layer pattern reminds him of clouds passing at regular intervals, as though hopping through the sky. At 240mm / 9.4″ long by 52mm high at the heel with meticulously shaped convex bevel geometry and a thin, hard, and razor-sharp ‘zero’ edge (no secondary bevel), cutting performance is this blade’s sole mission. A wide variety of cuts, no less, it will excel at: dynamic and thoughtfully shaped, the blade is stiff and sturdy at the rear where bevel convexity is most pronounced and the spine is thickest, perfect for tougher chopping tasks, complemented by the effects of the spine’s full-distal taper which sees it slim steadily forward until an extremely fine tip is reached, lending the forward section of the blade to precision work and exacting slices. The overall profile is balanced and versatile, with a beautifully polished and etched finish. Facets contour the spine and choil for comfort in the pinch grip. The final polishing and edge sharpening is performed by the Shoichi’s colleague, edge specialist Mr. Takahashi. A blade-only offering (sold without handle), the tang has been marked with the damascus billet number, the date of the blade’s quench, its serial number, and on the opposite side, the first polishing completion date.