I. The forge
Carbon steel (Aogami blue paper, Shirogami white paper) is heated to 1100°C, folded, welded onto a jigane (soft steel) in two or three layers. The blade's geometry is set under the hammer.
鋼刀
Chapter I · Steel that thinks
Japanese steel, forged in Sakai.
Aogami and Shirogami knives, traditional wa handles, Damascus blades hand-forged by third-generation smiths. Imported in small batches, sharpened for life in our Paris atelier.
研
Sharpening for lifefirst year on the house
Chapter II · The catalogue
Six families, one single school.
From chef's blade to polishing stone: every piece in the Kashiku catalogue is chosen, imported and hand-sharpened before it leaves.
01 / 06
牛Gyuto
The Japanese chef's knife.
02 / 06
三Santoku & Bunka
Short all-purpose knives, blade sixteen to eighteen centimetres.
03 / 06
小Petty & Paring
Small paring and utility knives, twelve to fifteen centimetres.
04 / 06
刺Sashimi & Sushi
Yanagiba and sujihiki for raw fish, sashimi, filleting work.
05 / 06
砥Whetstones
Japanese stones to maintain the edge: #1000 for repair, #3000-#5000 for sharpening, #8000+ for the final polish.
06 / 06
鞘Sheaths & Accessories
Magnolia saya, Kurashiki leather aprons, hinoki cutting boards, magnetic racks.
Chapter III · Provenance
Sakai, 700 years of forging.
The Sakai-Echizen region has produced the world's finest kitchen steels since the sixteenth century. We work with seven family workshops — Tosuke, Yu Kurosaki, Tetsujin, Sukenari, Yoshida, Tanaka and Hatsukokoro. Every blade that reaches Paris has been forged, quenched, polished and sharpened by hand in Japan, then re-sharpened by Côme before it ships.
We import in batches of six to twelve pieces only. No back-stock. No reselling. When a reference sells out, it waits for the next consignment.
7partner forges
62-64HRC hardness
∞sharpenings guaranteed
Chapter IV · Everyday
The blades most often picked up.
Four knives that cover ninety percent of a serious home cook's needs: a chef, an all-rounder, a paring, a slicer.
Chapter V · The craft of the edge
From bar of steel to razor's edge.
II. The quench
Quenched in water or oil depending on the alloy, the blade reaches its final hardness (62 to 64 HRC). Then tempering, straightening, polishing on stone. This is the step that decides how long the edge holds.
III. The sharpening
Every knife is sharpened on four successive Japanese stones: #1000, #3000, #6000, #8000. The edge falls at 12-15° per side. So clean it slides through a tomato under its own weight.
研
« A Japanese knife is not hard, it is clean. And when it dulls, it is not the blade that gives way — it is the hand reminding you to sit down, take the stone, the water, the gesture. »
Côme Bertillon — Head sharpener, KashikuChapter VI · The selection
This month's selection.
New arrivals from Sakai, fresh Japanese stones, atelier accessories — the May rotation.
便
Chapter VII · The forge letterReceive the arrivals.
One letter a month. New forges, stone sharpening guides, portraits of Japanese masters, and early access to limited series.