The wooden handles of these elegant knives are finished in durable black lacquer flecked with golden brown, a style known as kurokincha in Japanese. The double-bevel blades are laminated, with softer steel cushioning and protecting the hard core blade. The blades are of traditional Japanese high-carbon steel. High carbon steel is not stainless, and does tarnish, but is prized in Japan for the ease with which it can be sharpened to an extremely good edge. |