The Jende Reed Knives are the ultimate in reed knives! Each Jende Reed Knife is handcrafted using traditional Asian knife making techniques. Japanese Steel is first forged into shape, hollow ground, and then hardened to Rockwell 58-60 - making the edge on the blade very strong, yet durable. Each Blade is then polished and hand sharpened to perfection using Shapton Professional sharpening stones up to 15,000 grit for the 15K knife. The weight of the knife is one of the beautiful things about it. No pressure is needed to remove cane. This allows work being done on a reed to be controlled and effortless. This control and ease prolongs the life of the edge due to much less impact forces when hitting the plaque. The integrity of the Japanese steel type that is used on these knives is such that it will take and hold an edge of any grit level. Most other knives are sharpened at around 1,200 grit and most stones available only sharpen the knives to this level. Includes a Jende sheath.