About Mazaki San -  Though a relatively young knifemaker, Naoki Mazaki works hard to preserve traditional ways of crafting blades.  In 2017, after years of training and preparation, Mazaki-san finally opened his own workshop. He now forge-welds all of his carbon steel knives in-house and finishes his bevel with a variety of different whetstones, all by hand. His care and attention to detail are immediately evident when you handle one of his knives: while rustic in appearance, each one has been lovingly polished and perfected. Once you put them to work, his passion and skill come through even more. Mazaki san prefers to work with the more traditional Shirogami #2 to craft his knives and often leaves the rough, burned ‘kurouchi’ finish from the forge. Not just used for tradition’s sake, Shirogami is capable of insane sharpness and edge retention. It’s easily one of my favourite knife steels; it cuts beautifully, but it also changes with time, building a patina totally unique to you and the food you cook. About the shape - Inspired by the profile of a traditional European chef knife, gyutos are a multi purpose knife with a slight meat cutting bias and “gyuto” even translates to “cow sword”. If you want one knife to do it all, This is it. The longer blade typically gives the blade a forward balance that allows it to work for you. While the blade would ideally by slid forward or back while cutting, they are also great for folks that prefer to 'rock' their knife while cutting.