Tsunehisa AUS10 Damascus Steak Knife Blue

Tsunehisa AUS10 Damascus Tsuchime line is a very textured series from this value focused brand. Equipped with highly polished hammertone Damascus cladding, the striking look presents a highly attractive offer at the entry level market when paired with a decent grind and full stainlessness.

AUS10 might not be a name that is as shiny as VG10, yet when you look at their chemical compositions, the major difference would be 0.8% of Molybdenum (adds hardenability) and 1.5% of Cobalt (adds red hardness). In practice, there is not going to be a distinct difference that you can notice, but you can easily feel the price difference when making a purchase as VG10 is often marketed as a more premium steel.

Although textured Damascus cladding is a common fabrication technique nowadays, the execution of this line still stands out. The dimple comes in an oval instead of a typical round pattern, and they are a bit deeper than the other knives out there on the market, paired with a mirror polished Damascus  surface, the high contrast created over the surface of these blades are very eye-catching.

The geometry of the line is what I would expect from Tsunehisa, it’s not incredibly performance oriented, but since it targets entry level audiences, it is not a good idea to sacrifice edge strength to seek extremely smooth cuts. In summary, you can feel some resistance once you cut into food with some density, but there will rarely be any sticking that creates unpleasant drag along the cut.

Tsunehisa’s AUS 10 is a line that adheres to the brand’s philosophy very well, decent quality, budget friendly but abundant in varieties. This is one of the item that contributes to the construction of this big family of knives, and if you are browsing through all the available options offered at this price range and fell in love to this look, feel safe to pick it as it will deliver what you’d expect.