Need help identifying a japanese knife

Hello everyone,

I just inherited a brand new japanese knife and i would like to know where it came from.

It's 24cm long and seems to be made of vg-5 steel. I can't translate the kanjis on the blade or the box.

Does anybody have some informations ? I would really appreciate it. I'm obviously at your disposition if you have any questions.

Welcome

shiro kamo i think?

That's a blue 2 Shiro Kamo damascus alright. Carbon, not stainless like vg-5 and much harder, gets really sharp and has good edge retention. I have its slightly thinner, slightly lighter non-damascus brother and it's a great, fun cutter, but with a very reactive cladding. You've got a good knife in your hands.

The kanji on the blade reads Echizen Takefu 越前　武生.

It's Shiro Kamo for sure. Looks pretty close to the blue 2 damascus from cleancuts
http://www.cleancut.se/butik/knivse...3-08-22-12-33-182013-08-22-12-33-18-15-detail

Hello again,

Thanks a lot for your answers. It's indeed almost identical to the one from cleancuts.

I already got a mac knife (black fusou) and this one already seems way harder and sharper.

Thanks again for the help, it means a lot for me.

Thanks for helping me to find out what kind of knife it is.

Do you have any recommendation about sharpening stone to match the quality of the knife ?

Any 800-2000 grit waterstone from a reputable manufacturer (Bester, Suehiro, Shapton, Gesshin etc.) will do for starters. Then you can add a finer stone and a coarse stone. If you tell us where you live and what your budget is, people with more experience than me can give you more advice.

Thank you for your reply, I already got a 1000 grit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QF67LU/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20.
I live in France and was thinking of buying a 2000 for finer sharpening and a 5000 for polishing.
I'm just kinda lost with the brands and the difference between prices.

The prices can vary a bit and a higher price doesn't necessarily mean it's better or worse, it's just what works for the manufacturer/seller.
I don't know anything about Chroma stones, but I think a 2000 is redundant after it, as there usually isn't that much difference in sharpening between 1000 and 2000. You can jump from 1k to 4-6k, no problem. You don't even have to go that high, some people prefer the so-called toothy edge they get from a 1k-3k.
The only medium-fine stone I have is the Suehiro Rika (5000) and it's a great stone. Super-fast, very creamy feel, and if you permasoak it you can use it straight away. There are other ones in that grit range that are well regarded, but I don't have them, so I can't say anything about them.
I'd suggest opening a new thread in the sharpening section with this questionnaire http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/s...t-Which-Stone-Should-I-Buy-quot-Questionnaire (post 8), it would help people steer you in the right direction.

Also, just dig around the forum if and when you have some time, you can find out lots of cool stuff. Welcome to the world of awesome knives, aka "the rabbit hole"!