Tsunehisa AUS8 K-tip Yanagiba 270mm Monosteel

AUS-8 is made by Aichi Steel, whose page on stainless steels for blades groups the AUS grades with its 13-chromium steels. There, AUS-6M, AUS-8 and AUS-10 are the grades that add still more carbon and add vanadium and molybdenum, which Aichi says further improves hardness, wear resistance and tempering resistance.

By the JSSA's definition, stainless means 10.5% or more chromium, and the JSSA notes that stainless, strictly, means it rusts less, so wash the knife after use and dry it.

Tsunehisa (恒久) means permanence. Shibata Knives describes Tsunehisa as its original brand, and says it selects knives that will have a long life, inspecting each one before delivery. Its own words are that it delivers knives worthy of a permanent position in your home.

The brand is built on traditional Japanese forging techniques with modern materials, and Shibata Knives offers after-sales maintenance and sharpening for the line.

Tsunehisa is a brand, not a single smith or a workshop. Shibata Knives describes it as an original brand of the company, run by Takayuki Shibata, and Shibata Knives does not name the workshop that makes each line. The company inherits traditional Japanese forging techniques with modern materials, and experienced staff inspect each knife before it is delivered.

What stands behind each Tsunehisa knife is that selection and inspection, and the company offers after-sales maintenance and sharpening for the line.