Masakage Koishi – Bunka
R4,950.00
Masakage Koishi:
The blade is made from Aogami Super – really easy to sharpen, holds a super fine edge, cuts like silk and is very rugged for its hardness. The super hard steel is then cladded in a softer stainless steel to help lower the possibility of rusting.
The Koishi(Pebble) line is made by Yoshimi Kato who first apprenticed at Kanehiro Hamono and then apprenticed under the guidance of Hiroshi-San (his Father in Law) who has also taught great blacksmiths like Yu Kurosaki. Yoshimi Kato strives to continuously improve his skills day by day working from Takefu knife village.
Aogami Super Steel:
The blade is made from Aogami Super – really easy to sharpen, holds a super fine edge, cuts like silk and is very rugged for its hardness. The super hard steel is then cladded in a softer stainless steel to help lower the possibility of rusting.
Bunka
Bunka Knife (文化包丁 – pronounced: Bunka Bōchō) literally translated from Japanese means ‘Cultural Knife’. The name stems from the traditional use of making cultural and traditional Japanese cuisine at home.
The Bunka is versatile because of its similarity to the Santoku. It is regarded as a multi-use knife and is best for chopping, dicing and mincing food such as meat, fish, vegetables and herbs. The flat profile is ideal for slicing meat, fish and vegetables. The tall profile is ideal for chopping fruits, vegetables and thinly sliced meat. The pointed tip makes it superior for precision work and scoring vegetables and meat. The tip also allows for light butchering work and enables the user to get under layers of fat and sinew. The blade profile is well suited for tap-chopping or push-cutting techniques.
The length of the Bunka is generally shorter than traditional Western chef’s knives. The shorter, compacted length and thinness of the blade makes it lighter and less strenuous to handle for long periods of time. The tall, flat profile with the reverse tanto is what characteristically defines the blade from other shapes.
Type: Western Style
Best for: Meat, Fish, Herbs, Vegetables
Kitchen Samurai Ease of Use Rating: All-Rounder – Easy to use and applies to most food types
Knife Specifications
Knife Shape: Bunka
Blade Length: 170mm
Steel Type: Aogami Super
Rockwell Hardness: 63:64
Handle Material: Wa (Japanese) Handle, Octagon Cherry wood handle with Pakka wood collar
Care Instructions
- Wash and dry the blade by hand immediately after use. Dishwashers are very bad for all knives.
- Use a soft cloth to wash the blade. Avoid abrasive dish scrubbers and powders as these can damage the finish of your beautiful knife.
- Do not cut through bones. You can certainly cut along/beside bones, but do not cut into bones. This can, at worst, chip the blade.
- Never use this knife to cut frozen food.
- Never twist or cleave the blade.
- Always use a wooden or plastic cutting board. Never cut on bamboo, glass, marble, slate, a plate, china, marble, arborite or anything harder than steel.
- Store knives in a way that the blades will not knock into each other.
- Never transport knives unprotected.
Out of stock
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Gyuto
Gyuto (Chef’s) Knife (牛刀包丁 – pronounced: Gyūtō Bōchō) literally translated from Japanese means ‘Cow Blade’. ‘Gyu’ means Cow and ‘to’ means blade. The name stems from its original use to slice and disjoint large cuts of beef. These days the Gyuto is comparable to the Western-styled chef knife and is viewed as an all-rounder in the kitchen.
The Gyuto is the ultimate multi-purpose kitchen knife and is perfect for chopping, slicing, mincing and dicing boneless meat, fish, vegetables, fruit and herbs. The blade profile is well suited for tap-chop or thrust-cut. The slight curve from the middle of the blade leading to its pointed edge is used to rock-chop. Its name also suggests that it is perfect for cutting meat and doing light butcher work. It can be used to pull-cut softer meats or to push-cut more muscular cuts of meat.
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Type: Western Style
Best for: Meat, Fish, Herbs, Vegetables
Kitchen Samurai Ease of Use Rating: All-Rounder – Easy to use and applies to most food types
VG10 Stainless
The blade is made from VG10 Stainless. Its a very popular stainless steel for knife makers in Japan. It is produced by Takefu Special steel Co. Ltd. VG10 is specifically designed for kitchen knife making. Its’s relatively easy to work, has great edge retention, hardness and ductility. VG10 is usually hardened to 60-61 HRC.
Knife Specifications
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Blade Length: 210mm
Steel Type: VG10 Stainless
Rockwell Hardness: 60:61
Care Instructions
- Wash and dry the blade by hand immediately after use. Dishwashers are very bad for all knives.
- Use a soft cloth to wash the blade. Avoid abrasive dish scrubbers and powders as these can damage the finish of your beautiful knife.
- Do not cut through bones. You can certainly cut along/beside bones, but do not cut into bones. This can, at worst, chip the blade.
- Never use this knife to cut frozen food.
- Never twist or cleave the blade.
- Always use a wooden or plastic cutting board. Never cut on bamboo, glass, marble, slate, a plate, china, marble, arborite or anything harder than steel.
- Store knives in a way that the blades will not knock into each other.
- Never transport knives unprotected.

Tojiro Shirogami – Nakiri 165mm
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As knives are tools that people directly take into their hands to use, Tojiro values the skills of producers, which are the foundation of manufacturing, and keep a close eye on all processes until each craftsman at TOJIRO is completely satisfied. Our knives that are produced by traditional techniques and modern industrial technology are held in the highest regard not only in Japan, but around the world.
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Shirogami #2 or White Carbon Steel #2:
Shirogami or White Carbon steel is one of the most pure types of carbon steel. Its made from Iron sand made in Japan.
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Knife Specifications
Knife Shape: Nakiri
Blade Length: 165mm
Steel Type: Shirogami #2 / White Carbon # 2
Rockwell Hardness: 61:63
Handle Material: Wa (Japanese) Handle
Care Instructions
- Wash and dry the blade by hand immediately after use. Dishwashers are very bad for all knives.
- Use a soft cloth to wash the blade. Avoid abrasive dish scrubbers and powders as these can damage the finish of your beautiful knife.
- Do not cut through bones. You can certainly cut along/beside bones, but do not cut into bones. This can, at worst, chip the blade.
- Never use this knife to cut frozen food.
- Never twist or cleave the blade.
- Always use a wooden or plastic cutting board. Never cut on bamboo, glass, marble, slate, a plate, china, marble, arborite or anything harder than steel.
- Store knives in a way that the blades will not knock into each other.
- Never transport knives unprotected.

Sakai Kikumori Nihonko – Yo Deba 180mm
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Deba Knife (出刃包丁 – pronounced: Deba Bōchō) literally translated from Japanese means ‘pointed carving knife’. The Deba is not a carving knife though but rather a ‘carver’ of fish and mainly applied to breaking down whole fish.
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Type: Traditional
Best for: Fish
Kitchen Samurai Ease of Use Rating: Precise – Knowledge of the knife and limited use cases
Care Instructions
- Wash and dry the blade by hand immediately after use. Dishwashers are very bad for all knives.
- Use a soft cloth to wash the blade. Avoid abrasive dish scrubbers and powders as these can damage the finish of your beautiful knife.
- Do not cut through bones. You can certainly cut along/beside bones, but do not cut into bones. This can, at worst, chip the blade.
- Never use this knife to cut frozen food.
- Never twist or cleave the blade.
- Always use a wooden or plastic cutting board. Never cut on bamboo, glass, marble, slate, a plate, china, marble, arborite or anything harder than steel.
- Store knives in a way that the blades will not knock into each other.
- Never transport knives unprotected.

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Deba Knife (出刃包丁 – pronounced: Deba Bōchō) literally translated from Japanese means ‘pointed carving knife’. The Deba is not a carving knife though but rather a ‘carver’ of fish and mainly applied to breaking down whole fish.
The Deba Knife is traditionally used for cleaning, filleting and beheading whole fish but the sturdy blade and heavier weight allows it to break down other meats and poultries with small bones but is not suited for cutting through thick bones. Like with most Traditional Japanese knives the Deba is best designed for a single or specific purpose, fish filleting.
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Type: Traditional
Best for: Fish
Kitchen Samurai Ease of Use Rating: Precise – Knowledge of the knife and limited use cases
Care Instructions
- Wash and dry the blade by hand immediately after use. Dishwashers are very bad for all knives.
- Use a soft cloth to wash the blade. Avoid abrasive dish scrubbers and powders as these can damage the finish of your beautiful knife.
- Do not cut through bones. You can certainly cut along/beside bones, but do not cut into bones. This can, at worst, chip the blade.
- Never use this knife to cut frozen food.
- Never twist or cleave the blade.
- Always use a wooden or plastic cutting board. Never cut on bamboo, glass, marble, slate, a plate, china, marble, arborite or anything harder than steel.
- Store knives in a way that the blades will not knock into each other.
- Never transport knives unprotected.

Yoshida Hamono Blue2 Kurouchi – Nakiri 165mm
Yoshida Hamono is a Family owned company with a rich history of knife and sword manufacturing. They manufacture knives at their workshop in Saga Prefecture, Japan.
The Yoshida Blue 2 range comes at a sharp price for a hand-forged knife. They are nice and thin behind the edge and are very well balanced in hand.
The Yoshida Blue 2 knives have a core steel of Blue 2 Carbon steel cladded in soft iron. Both the core and the iron cladding are reactive Carbon steel. This knife patinas nicely, but extra care is required when using the knife. We recommend that the blade be wiped down regularly during use and washed and dried properly after use. We recommend getting a rust eraser for maintenance.
Using a good cutting technique is very important. Make sure your cutting motion is straight up and down with no lateral movement when hitting the cutting board.
Nakiri
Nakiri Knife (菜切り包丁 – pronounced: Nakiri Bōchō) literally translated from Japanese means ‘knife for cutting greens’ or ‘leaf-cutter’. Most Japanese households make use of the Nakiri and in general, it is loved by vegetarians.
The Nakiri’s broad rectangular blade allows for quick and efficient chopping, dicing and mincing of large vegetables. The height of the blade also allows cutting through harder root vegetables with a straight down chopping motion. The Nakiri may also be turned upside down to use the spine of the blade to scrape ingredients across the chopping board without damaging the blade. The blade profile with its straight, flat edge works best when using an up and down chopping motion.
The Nakiri knife has a long, thin, and rectangular-shaped blade with a straight edge, and a flat, blunt tip. The Nakiri’s shape can be mistaken for a cleaver but be warned that it is not made for heavy-duty work like cutting bones or frozen foods. The thinness of the blade also ensures that delicate vegetables can be cleanly cut without ripping the skin, and helps to achieve crisp edges on each slice.
Best for: Vegetables
Kitchen Samurai Ease of Use Rating: Specialist – Easy to use but applies to specific food types
Care Instructions
- Wash and dry the blade by hand immediately after use. Dishwashers are very bad for all knives.
- Use a soft cloth to wash the blade. Avoid abrasive dish scrubbers and powders as these can damage the finish of your beautiful knife.
- Do not cut through bones. You can certainly cut along/beside bones, but do not cut into bones. This can, at worst, chip the blade.
- Never use this knife to cut frozen food.
- Never twist or cleave the blade.
- Always use a wooden or plastic cutting board. Never cut on bamboo, glass, marble, slate, a plate, china, marble, arborite or anything harder than steel.
- Store knives in a way that the blades will not knock into each other.
- Never transport knives unprotected.

Tojiro DP – Petty 150mm
Tojiro Knives
Tojiro is one of the few manufactures in Japan that performs all of its manufacturing processes in-house. They choose this path of integrated in-house production, from the careful selection of materials to after sale service. The reason why they are able to deliver high quality lies in their commitment to being directly involved in every aspect of making their knives.
As knives are tools that people directly take into their hands to use, Tojiro values the skills of producers, which are the foundation of manufacturing, and keep a close eye on all processes until each craftsman at TOJIRO is completely satisfied. Our knives that are produced by traditional techniques and modern industrial technology are held in the highest regard not only in Japan, but around the world.
Petty
Petty (Paring/Utility) Knife (ぺティ – pronounced: Petti Naifu). It is said to be derived from French ‘petit’ meaning small or little. The Petty Knife is seen as a small Gyuto making it purposeful for any use in the kitchen.
The petty knife is perfect for smaller working surfaces, cutting smaller sized produce if for users with smaller hands. Its comparison to the Gyuto makes it the ultimate small-sized all-rounder and professional cooks prefer it for its compact size and versatility. It can be used to peel, slice, dice, mince and trim a variety of smaller fruits, vegetables, herbs, garnishes and proteins. It is perfect for light butcher work and delicate tasks such as making precision cuts. The blade profile is well suited for thrust-cutting while the belly allows for rock-cutting.
The Petty knife is generally larger than a Western petty knife. Similar to the Gytuo the Petty knife’s heel to belly is quite flat with a rounded profile to the tip. The sharp, double-bevel edge makes this knife ambidextrous and is the perfect companion in a small kitchen with limited workspace or for users with smaller hands.
Type: Western Style
Best for: Meat, Fish, Herbs, Vegetables
Kitchen Samurai Ease of Use Rating: All-Rounder – Easy to use and applies to most food types
VG10 Stainless
The blade is made from VG10 Stainless. Its a very popular stainless steel for knife makers in Japan. It is produced by Takefu Special steel Co. Ltd. VG10 is specifically designed for kitchen knife making. Its’s relatively easy to work, has great edge retention, hardness and ductility. VG10 is usually hardened to 60-61 HRC.
Knife Specifications
Knife Shape: Petty
Blade Length: 150mm
Steel Type: VG10 Stainless
Rockwell Hardness: 60:61
Handle Material: Western Handle
Care Instructions
- Wash and dry the blade by hand immediately after use. Dishwashers are very bad for all knives.
- Use a soft cloth to wash the blade. Avoid abrasive dish scrubbers and powders as these can damage the finish of your beautiful knife.
- Do not cut through bones. You can certainly cut along/beside bones, but do not cut into bones. This can, at worst, chip the blade.
- Never use this knife to cut frozen food.
- Never twist or cleave the blade.
- Always use a wooden or plastic cutting board. Never cut on bamboo, glass, marble, slate, a plate, china, marble, arborite or anything harder than steel.
- Store knives in a way that the blades will not knock into each other.
- Never transport knives unprotected.

Hatsukokoro Ginyo Silver3 Tsuchime Damascus Santoku 180mm
The Ginyo Silver 3 range from Hatsukokoro is Hand Forged by Yoshihiro Yauji. He is a blacksmith from Echizen, Japan. He trained and worked under Master Blacksmith Hideo Kitaoka at Takefu Knife Village. Yauji-San only recently decided to branch out and started making knives under his name. His knives are known for their great refined finishes, grinds, and fantastic fit and finish.
This range has a beautiful hammered Damascus finish. Choils and spine are nice and polished. They are definitely one of the heavier knives we stock but still very well balanced. They are paired with a beautiful Black Ebony handle.
Yoshihiro-San hand-forged this series with Silver 3 (Ginsan) Stainless steel. This steel is known to have the same characteristics as some Carbon Steel. It’s a really easy stainless steel to sharpen and has excellent edge retention and fantastic sharpness.
Santoku
Santoku Knife (三徳包丁 – pronounced: Santoku Bōchō) literally translated from Japanese means ‘Three Virtues’. Three Virtues refers to the three methods of using a knife namely slicing, dicing and chopping or the three types of fresh produce that is meat, fish and vegetables.
The Santoku’s multi-purpose and versatility nature leads it to be compared with a Western chef’s knife or the Gyuto. As the Three Virtues suggests it’s perfect for chopping, mincing and slicing the three main fresh produces. It excels easily through the fresh produce and creates thin slices of meat, seafood, cheese, fruits, and vegetables. The wide blade is handy for scooping food off the cutting board. The blade profile is well suited for up-and-down motion or using a tap-chop or a push-cut.
The Santoku thin blade is shorter than Western chef’s or Gyuto knives making it lighter, easier to handle and less strenuous for long periods of work. The flatter cutting edge is nearly straight from heel to tip. The Santoku is perfect for users with smaller hands and a bit more limited working space. The double-bevel, thin, sharp edge prioritises finesse instead of power.
Type: Western Style
Best for: Meat, Fish, Vegetables
Kitchen Samurai Ease of Use Rating: All-Rounder – Easy to use and applies to most food types
Care Instructions
- Wash and dry the blade by hand immediately after use. Dishwashers are very bad for all knives.
- Use a soft cloth to wash the blade. Avoid abrasive dish scrubbers and powders as these can damage the finish of your beautiful knife.
- Do not cut through bones. You can certainly cut along/beside bones, but do not cut into bones. This can, at worst, chip the blade.
- Never use this knife to cut frozen food.
- Never twist or cleave the blade.
- Always use a wooden or plastic cutting board. Never cut on bamboo, glass, marble, slate, a plate, china, marble, arborite or anything harder than steel.
- Store knives in a way that the blades will not knock into each other.
- Never transport knives unprotected.

Sakai Kikumori – VG10 Hammered Damascus Gyuto 180mm
Sakai Kikumori
With a passionate devotion to knife-making as well as working with some of the most skilled craftsman in Japan, Sakai Kikumori has been making cutlery of incredible quality and performance since its inception in 1926.
The Kikumori Damascus 180mm Gyuto is constructed using a core steel of VG10, a cutlery grade stainless steel produced in Japan. It has a high carbon content which allows it to be heat treated to higher hardness levels thus allowing the blade to take on finer, sharper edges whilst being able to maintain that edge for prolonged periods of time. The core steel is cladded in softer stainless steel with a polished hammered and Damascus finish giving this blade its striking appearance and aids in further preventing corrosion. The handle is a western style handle made from black Pollywood and has a stainless steel half bolster. The Gyuto, an all round knife which can be used for various tasks, is the Japanese version of a chef’s knife. Gyuto’s generally have a flatter blade profile near the heel to aid in chopping, a rounder belly for rock chopping and a sharp, pointed tip for precision cutting.
Care Instructions:
- Wash and dry the blade by hand immediately after use. Dishwashers are very bad for all knives.
- Use a soft cloth to wash the blade. Avoid abrasive dish scrubbers and powders as these can damage the finish of your beautiful knife.
- Do not cut through bones. You can certainly cut along/beside bones, but do not cut into bones. This can, at worst, chip the blade.
- Never use this knife to cut frozen food. I’m sure you have a 4×4 somewhere in your kitchen for this job.
- Never twist, cleave or prise the blade.
- Always use a wooden or plastic cutting board. Never cut on bamboo, glass, marble, slate, a plate, china, marble, arborite or anything harder than steel.
- Store knives in a way that the blades will not knock into each other.
- Never transport knives unprotected.
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