R-2 Damascus kitchen knife from Custom knife maker Hiroo Itou June 17th  New batch of Mr. Itou Custom Kitchen Knife  Just Arrived !!                   On April 1 and 2, Year 2006, we had a Spring Knife Show in Seki City.There were about 40 custom knifemakers attended from all over Japan. Among the custom knifemakers,we found an interesting knifemaker,who is hand making Gyuto type Chef knives out of the special powdered steel called R2. His name is Hiroo Itou from FukuiCity, northern part of Japan. He has explained me that this powdered steel is made by Kobe Steel Company (Kobelco), one of the biggest steel maker in Japan. He said they never show him the chemical analysis of the steel (it seems they want to keep it confidencial to prevent being copied by other steel makers), but he found this steel the best for the kitchen  knives in terms of the sharpness, edge retention, durability and rust resistance. I have asked him how good it is compared with other powdered steel such as Cowry (Daido steel) and ZDP (Hitachi steel), and he said, oh, uncomparable..... it is much far better  than those powdered steels. He uses this R2 powdered steel for the core edge heat treated to Rockwell Rc 62,hand forged with 16 layered hard and soft stainless steel materials (total 33 layered Damascus blade).                   As seen on the other expensive custom knives, the full tang blade is tapered to the end of handle for a perfect weight balance, and each blade and handle varies in size,shape and weight due to the hand made knives. He uses the selected handle materials,hand contoured and polished very carefully for a perfect grip.    Utility Knife UP!! Mr.Itou Utility Knife Turquoise Handle  Turquoise Handle  Utility Knife 160mm Total Length:270mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 112g          $320.00 Available in Stock      Turquoise Handle  Utility Knife 170mm Total Length:280mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 127g  $330.00        Sold Out            UP!! Mr.Itou Utility Knife 155mm Azurite Stone Handle    Azurite Stone Handle  Utility Knife 155mm Total Length:260mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 121g  $310.00       Sold Out             UP!! Mr.Itou Utility Knife 160mm Marble Stone Handle  Marble Stone Handle  Utility Knife 160mm Total Length:275mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 122g  $300.00         Sold Out               Santoku UP!! Mr.Itou Santoku Abalone Handle  Abalone Handle  Santoku 175mm Total Length:295mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 174g            $400.00     Available in Stock      Abalone Handle  Santoku 180mm Total Length:300mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 186g  $400.00  Available in Stock             UP!! Mr.Itou Santoku Turquoise Handle  Turquoise Handle  Santoku 175mm Total Length:295mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 167g  $400.00        Sold Out            UP!! Mr.Itou Santoku Camel Bone Handle (Purple&Light Blue Color)  Camel Bone Handle (Purple&Light Blue Color)  Santoku 175mm Total Length:295mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 167g  $400.00  Available in Stock                Compact Size Gyuto  UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 150mm Azurite Stone Handle  Azurite Stone Handle  Gyuto 150mm Total Length:270mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 144g  $330.00  Available in Stock            UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 160mm Turquoise Handle   Turquoise Handle  Gyuto 160mm Total Length:285mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 166g  $340.00  Available in Stock             UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 160mm Sugarite Stone Handle    Sugarite Stone Handle  Gyuto 160mm Total Length:280mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 153g  $340.00  Available in Stock             UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 170mm Abalone Handle   Abalone Handle   Gyuto 170mm Total Length:295mm Blade Thickness:2.5mm   Total Weight: 186g  $360.00         Sold Out          UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 170mm Sugarite Stone Handle  Sugarite Stone Handle   Gyuto 170mm Total Length:285mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 160g  $360.00  Available in Stock          UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 170mm Azurite Stone Handle  Azurite Stone Handle   Gyuto 170mm Total Length:285mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 160g  $360.00  Available in Stock           Gyuto 180mm & 190mm UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 180mm Turquoise Handle    Turquoise Handle   Gyuto 180mm Total Length:300mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 174g  $380.00        Sold Out         UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 190mm Abalone Handle    Abalone Handle   Gyuto 190mm Total Length:310mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 185g  $420.00  Available in Stock           UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 190mm Camel Bone Handle (Purple&Light Blue Color)      Camel Bone Handle (Purple&Light Blue Color)  Gyuto 190mm Total Length:310mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 194g  $420.00  Available in Stock              UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 190mm Solid Ivory Handle    Solid Ivory Handle   Gyuto 190mm Total Length:310mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 189g  $580.00  Available in Stock               Gyuto 200mm  UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 200mm Green Malachite Stone Handle  Green Malachite Stone Handle     Gyuto 200mm  Total Length:320mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 190g         $480.00       Sold Out  UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 200mm Spiny Oster Stone Handle    Spiny Oster Stone      Gyuto 200mm  Total Length:320mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 185g            $480.00  Available in Stock      UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 200mm Wine Red Color Marble Stone Handle      Wine Red Color Marble Stone Handle      Gyuto 200mm  Total Length:320mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 187g            $480.00         Sold Out     UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 200mm Turquoise Handle      Turquoise Handle     Gyuto 200mm  Total Length:320mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 198g            $480.00       Sold Out       Gyuto 210mm UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 210mm "Azurite Malachite Stone Handle"    Azurite Malachite Stone Handle    Gyuto 210mm Total Length:330mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 238g  $500.00  Available in Stock        UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 210mm "Green Malachite Stone Handle"    Green Malachite Stone Handle    Gyuto 210mm Total Length:335mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 220g  $500.00  Available in Stock       UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 210mm "Sugarite Stone Handle"     Sugarite Stone Handle    Gyuto 210mm Total Length:335mm Blade Thickness:2mm   Total Weight: 240g  $500.00  Available in Stock          Gyuto 230mm & 240mm UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 230mm Custom Combination Handle (Turquoise, Ivory, Japanese Lacquer)   Custom Combination Handle  (Turquoise, Ivory, Japanese Lacquer)        Gyuto 230mm Total Length:350mm Blade Thickness:2.2mm   Total Weight: 240g  $680.00  Available in Stock          UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 240mm "Azurite Malachite Stone Handle"      Azurite Malachite Stone Handle   Gyuto 240mm Total Length:370mm Blade Thickness:2.2mm   Total Weight: 215g  $630.00  Available in Stock       UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 240mm "Green Malachite Stone Handle"     Green Malachite Stone Handle   Gyuto 240mm Total Length:370mm Blade Thickness:2.2mm   Total Weight: 260g  $630.00  Available in Stock    UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 240mm "Sugarite Stone Handle"      Sugarite Stone Handle   Gyuto 240mm Total Length:370mm Blade Thickness:2.2mm   Total Weight: 253g  $630.00  Available in Stock         UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 240mm Custom Combination Handle (Ivory, Turquoise, Japanese Lacquer)   Custom Combination Handle  ( Ivory, Turquoise, Japanese Lacquer)        Gyuto 240mm Total Length:365mm Blade Thickness:2.2mm   Total Weight: 248g  $720.00  Available in Stock          UP!! Mr.Itou Gyuto 240mm Custom Combination Handle (Turquoise, Ivory, Japanese Lacquer)    Custom Combination Handle  (Turquoise, Ivory, Japanese Lacquer)        Gyuto 240mm Total Length:370mm Blade Thickness:2.2mm   Total Weight: 260g  $720.00 Available in Stock