Moritaka makes kitchen knives from aogami#2 carbon steel. The blades have a black kurouchi finish that gives each knife a raw and beautiful look. All knives from Moritaka are thin and the balance is great. This has been a best seller for many years, both for looks and performance. The Moritaka family started producing blades as early as 1293. The name of the founder is Kongohyoe Minamoto no Moritaka (金剛兵衛源盛高) and today, some 800 years later, the production is stilll made by hand. Well, some technical aids are available but we are still talking about a strict manual labour.