The blade
I use carbon steel because it gives my knives an unbeatable sharpness. Carbon steel is preferred by many knife users because it's easy to sharpen, it takes a fine edge and has a liveliness that stainless steel lacks. You do, however, need to give carbon steel knives just a little extra care to keep them in top shape. There are trade-offs in everything.
My knives are Japanese inspired. Japanese knives are built differently to Western knives. It is all about cutting performance, pure and simple. The edge of a Western knife will bend when damaged; a Japanese one will chip. The Japanese style allows for greater sharpness though, so to me this compromise is worth it. There are essentially three factors that make Japanese knives unique: they have thin blades, sharpened to a higher angle and hardened to a very high level.
The san-maï forge welding technique is used on all my knives. San-mai simply translates to “three layer”, the core is harden steel and the side or cladding is a softer metal.
The only stamp I add is my maker's mark on the right side of the blade. My blades come with a kurouchi finish (roughly translates as blacksmith’s finish). Kurouchi blades retain the scaly residue left from the forging process. This finish reduces the oxydation of the carbon steel, increases the food release and gives the knife a very characterful, rustic aesthetic. Your blade is beveled and polished on a japanese stone, then sharpened on natural stone. The length of the blade is from tip to heel. My blades are handmade and the dimenssions may vary slightly.