Nigara Aogami (Blue) Super Matt Migaki Tsuchime Finished Bunka 180mm Black Chacate

The bunka knife (文化包丁) takes its name from bunka, culture. A Sakai knife maker ties the name to Japan's modernisation, when Western culture and Japanese tradition merged, and says it stands for that new era and for the knife's wide range of uses.

The same maker says that as diets broadened to meat, fish and vegetables, an all-purpose knife was wanted, and the bunka took features from both Japanese and Western knives.

The tip. One Japanese knife maker describes the bunka (文化包丁, kengata) as combining the good points of the gyuto and the nakiri with the tip cut at an angle, and the santoku as coming after it, by rounding that tip.

Both are all-purpose knives for the home; santoku (三徳) means three virtues, for the three foods it cuts: meat, fish and vegetables.

Yes, carbon steels such as Aogami (Blue) and Shirogami (White) react with food, moisture, and acids, so left wet they can spot or rust. With normal use they develop a grey, blue and brown patina, and that patina is expected on a carbon knife rather than damage.

Aogami has only a little chromium, far below what a stainless steel needs, so water left sitting on the blade will spot it. A patina is a stable oxide layer that slows rust down; orange or red specks are rust.

Care is simple once it becomes habit:

• Wipe the blade as you go, especially after onion, citrus or tomato.
• When you finish, wash it in warm water with a little soap and dry it straight away with a towel. Don't let it air dry or leave it in the sink or the dish rack, and never put it in the dishwasher.
• Store it dry: on a magnetic strip, in a saya or in a block in a dry spot.
• If it's going to sit unused for a while, wipe on a thin film of food-safe mineral oil before storing it.

If you do find rust, lift light orange spots with a rust eraser and a little water, then dry and oil the blade. We stock the CKK and Naniwa rust erasers, and the Koyo Sunlite Polishing Paste (Blue for Steel) lifts light surface rust or refreshes a finish. Rust on the edge itself comes off the next time you sharpen. Deep pitting needs a professional sharpener. Avoid steel wool and harsh scouring on a polished or kurouchi finish, because they scratch it.

On a stainless-clad knife only the thin line of carbon steel along the edge can rust; the cladding stays clean. A carbon-clad or honyaki blade can rust over its whole face and needs the same care all over.

Carbon steel rewards this small amount of attention with a keener edge and easier sharpening than most stainless.

Aogami Blue steel, specifically Aogami Super (Blue Super), is a high-carbon Japanese knife steel made by Proterial, with a composition of 1.40 to 1.50% carbon, 2.00 to 2.50% tungsten and 0.30 to 0.50% vanadium.

The "Blue" in Aogami refers to the color of the paper the steel is wrapped in at the mill, not the steel itself. Proterial describes Aogami Super as an alloy steel with tungsten, chromium and vanadium to improve heat-treatment properties and wear resistance. Proterial gives it a hardening hardness of over 60 HRC, giving you a blade that can be ground very thin for aggressive cutting performance while still resisting chipping in normal use. The trade-off is that, like all high-carbon steels, it is not stainless: it will rust if left wet or acidic, so you need to wipe it down and keep it dry.

Aogami (Blue) steel has less than half a percent of chromium, nowhere near what a stainless steel needs, so water left sitting on the blade will spot it. Dry it as soon as you finish, keep it somewhere dry, and let a patina build. Do that and aogami will hardly ever rust. On a stainless-clad knife only the thin line of aogami along the edge can rust; the cladding stays clean.

Will a carbon steel knife rust? covers patina, rust removal and which cladding rusts.

The difference is in Proterial's own figures: Aogami Super has 1.40 to 1.50% carbon, 2.00 to 2.50% tungsten, 0.30 to 0.50% chromium and 0.30 to 0.50% vanadium, against Aogami 2 (Blue 2) at 1.05 to 1.15% carbon, 1.00 to 1.50% tungsten and 0.20 to 0.50% chromium.

Proterial describes both as alloy steels with tungsten and chromium to improve heat-treatment properties and wear resistance, and also names vanadium for Aogami Super. Both pages list hardening hardness over 60 HRC, and Proterial lists Aogami Super for high-quality planes, other tipped tools, kitchen knives and sickles.

The Nigara family line began in 1803, when the family served the Tsugaru domain as gunsmiths. For generations afterwards it made Japanese swords.

After the Second World War, the forge turned to blades for everyday life, including farm tools and kitchen knives.

Go Yoshizawa, president of Nigara Hamono Forge, leads it today and signs as the eighth generation of the Nigara family line.

The company is Nigara Hamono Forge (二唐刃物鍛造所), in Kanazoku-machi, Hirosaki, Aomori.