Tojiro VG10 Zen Series Nakiri 165mm FD-568

Part of the edge never reaches the board, so the cut never finishes. At our counter we put it simply: there is not enough flat at the heel. A knife with a long curve is built for rock chopping, not for the Chinese or Eastern up-and-down chop.

A straight edge, like a nakiri's, meets the board along its whole length and finishes the cut. On any knife, a dip worn near the heel or a dull section can cause the same thing.

The bevel. A Japanese dictionary describes the nakiri (菜切包丁) as shaped like an usuba but double-bevel and relatively easy to handle; the Sakai cutlery association describes the usuba (薄刃包丁) as an acute, wide knife for vegetables, in a square Kanto type and a kamagata Kansai type.

The names overlap, since another dictionary records the usuba as also called nakiri, so check the bevel rather than the name.

Yes, it can. Takefu, which makes VG10 (V金10), lists it among its stainless steels, and the JSSA notes that stainless strictly means rust-resistant, not rust-proof.

Takefu lists VG10's chromium content as 15% and describes its corrosion resistance as excellent. We recommend drying the knife after washing.

Takefu, the steelmaker behind VG10, gives HRC 60 or more as its hardening hardness, measured straight after quenching. 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.

Both are Takefu blade steels, and they differ in class and in what Takefu publishes about each. Takefu lists VG10 as a stainless steel with 1.00% carbon, 15.00% chromium, 1.00% molybdenum, 0.25% vanadium and 1.55% cobalt, at a hardening hardness of HRC 60 or more.

Takefu describes SG2, its Super Gold 2, as a blade steel created by powder metallurgy, lists its composition as not disclosed, and SG2 runs 61 to 65 HRC depending on the maker. Takefu also calls SG2 a powdered stainless high-speed steel.