Yoshimi Kato VG10 Etched Damascus K-tip Gyuto 210mm Ebony Handle

Not quite - and it is the single most common point of confusion when people shop for a kiritsuke. The two knives share the same striking angled, reverse-tanto tip, but underneath that tip they are very different tools.

A K-tip gyuto is normally a double-bevel knife: it is ground on both sides like any Western-style chef's knife, so it is forgiving to use, and sharpened exactly the way you would sharpen a normal gyuto. You get the dramatic kiritsuke look with the everyday usability of an all-purpose chef's knife.

A traditional kiritsuke, including the kiritsuke-yanagiba (slicer), is a single-bevel knife, ground on one side only. It is historically a master chef's knife: it takes real practice to use well, is set up for right-handed users by default, and needs single-bevel sharpening technique to maintain.

So if you want the kiritsuke silhouette with no learning curve, choose a K-tip gyuto. If you specifically want the traditional single-bevel discipline - and the precision it allows on fish and vegetables - choose a true kiritsuke. At Knives and Stones we stock both, and each product page tells you which construction you are looking at.

Yes, it can, though it rusts less readily. VG10 (V金10号) is a stainless steel, and stainless strictly means a steel that rusts less, not one that never rusts.

Takefu, which makes VG10, lists 15% chromium, above the 10.5% that defines stainless steel, and describes its corrosion resistance as excellent. Dry the knife after washing.

Takefu, the steelmaker behind VG10, gives HRC 60 or more as a standard value. The hardness of a finished knife depends on its maker.

Takefu says the steel's 15% chromium, 1% molybdenum and 1.55% cobalt give it high hardness and a long-lasting edge, and that it is easy to sharpen.

Yoshimi Kato is known for hand-forged Damascus knives with thin geometry and strong cutting performance, working primarily in SG2 and Aogami Super steels from his workshop in Echizen's Takefu Knife Village. He is the third-generation representative of Kato Knife Manufacturing, which was established in 1948. His reputation rests on precise heat treatment of premium steels and distinctive Damascus patterns.

Kato also produces knives for the Masakage brand. In recent years he has drawn inspiration from his friend Yu Kurosaki, another Takefu Knife Village smith, and developed newer designs such as the Hyo line. His new gallery and workshop recently opened next to Kurosaki's gallery in Takefu, reflecting the close creative relationship between the two makers.

Yes. Yoshimi Kato is the third generation of a smithing house in Echizen, Fukui, founded in May 1948, and he is its representative today.

The company, Kato Uchihamono Seisakusho, is in Echizen City, with its knife department at Takefu Knife Village. The first generation founder was a certified traditional craftsman, and the second generation began knife smithing in 1949.

The company writes his name 加藤義実, so that is the form on its own materials. The form 加藤義實 uses the traditional character for 実.

Both spellings name the same smith, so either search brings you to the same maker.