Aogami Petty Knife

The Petty comes from the French "petit", and this knife fills the gap every cook has between a small paring knife and a larger chef's knife. This blade is small enough that it can still be held over a bowl and wielded in mid-air, and yet it also has enough edge to take to the cutting board. The core is Blue Paper Steel No. 2 (aka Aogami 2), forged at the Yasugi works in Shimane Prefecture, named for the blue paper the mill uses to label its billets. Chromium and tungsten give it the wear resistance pure carbon steel lacks, and our forge heat-treats it to 61–63 HRC. Its double bevel takes a keen edge, holds it through real work, and returns on a water stone with little effort. Our forge laminates that core between two layers of stainless in the san-mai method, exposing the carbon steel where it means business. Everything happens under one roof in Sanjo City, where our shop has been based since 1948. Each blade carries our katakana X-mark and ships with a canvas blade guard. Dry it after use, oil it now and then, and the walnut handle will only darken and patina with age.