Tsunehisa White 1 Stainless clad is a highly practical and good performing lineup that has a deceivingly simple look, it is the type of the knife that you would need to hold in hand to appreciate the attention to details that are put into designing it.
At the first glance, this line features a brushed/Migaki blade with a sandblasted Kasumi bevel, and the cladding has zero decorative elements to it. It is very easy to confuse it with an average mass manufactured knife, until you pick it up and make your first cut. The cutting smoothness is top notch in all of the Tsunehisa knives that I’ve tried, and it is not only due to the sharp edge produced on a White 1 steel.
Despite the clear junction present on the bevel, there is actually no geometrical corner at the “Shinogi Line”. It is a result of a different surface finish that is done over a really well tuned convex grind bevel. This is a grind with pretty low thickness behind the edge that slowly turns into a bulging convex surface 1cm below that Shinogi Line, which results in beautiful food penetration and separation that leads to minimal resistance in the cut. On top of that, the spine of the blade has a distal taper, and it tapers all the way from the tip to the tang. It is likely not a result of forging but a precisely controlled grinding. Regardless of the method used, this taper lightens the front of the blade and creates a paper thin tip that sinks into any food upon contact.
Upon closer inspection, you would also notice that the corners are all well treated, despite having no chamfer or rounding, the sharp edge on the corner is properly knocked down so they don’t bite into your hand, similarly the choil have a slightly rounded corner so it wouldn’t hurt to put your middle finger against it. The factory sharpening might be the only thing I would complain about as it is not the most uniform ones out there, but surely it delivers the cutting performance that you can expect from a White 1 steel.
These knives have a clear focus on the performance instead of the appearance, and the stainless cladding makes them easier to look after whether in a home or kitchen setting. If you are considering trying out a carbon steel knife, then I would point this line out, not only you would be getting the authentic pure carbon steel cutting and sharpening experience, you would also feel a knife with carefully designed and sculpted geometry that hides its performance under the low-key, plain finish.
By
Tsunehisa
