Bunka Kurouchi 120 mm (4.7 in) Aogami (Blue) #2 Double-Bevel

In recent years, the representative all-purpose knife, much like the santoku, is commonly regarded as indistinguishable from santoku knives. Made with a sloping cut from its back towards its tip, it's similar to a kiritsuke in its pointed tip but differs from its wider blade. Its double-bevel blade works for both right and left-handed people.

Blue (Aogami) #2 (Hitachi Metals Ltd.) is made by adding Chromium and Tungsten / Wolfram to White Steel #2. This results in increased toughness and the production of hard carbide molecules, which improve edge retention. Many knife users have noted that while Blue Steel #2 is very similar to White Steel #2 in terms of edge sharpness, it has slightly superior edge retention.