
Yu Kurosaki Shizuku- Bunka 170mm – R2 Steel
R4,250.00
Yu Kurosaki
Kurosaki-san started as a blacksmith at a very young age, starting working at Takefu knife village at the age of 17 and apprenticed under Hiroshi Kato and Katsushige Anryu and ended up as the youngest master blacksmith at Takefu knife village.
His knives are renowned world wide for there unique look and amazing performance!
The Shizuku is made from R2 Powdered steel that keeps a super sharp edge for a long time between sharpening. R2 is a high speed powder stainless steel made by Takefu Special steel Co. Ltd. It has great hardness of greater than 63 HR. This steel has great edge retention, high wear resistance and is stainless. The grains are so fine and uniform that hammer forging is not necessary.
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: 170 mm
Steel Type: R2 Steel
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.
Out of stock
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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.

Masutani – VG10 Damascus Mini Santoku 130mm
Masutani Knives
Masutani-San forges knives out of Echizen, Japan. They are a small sized company and produce amazing quality knives for the price. Masutani-San is known as an incredable knife sharpener and all knives comes super sharp out of the box.
The Masutani Damascus Ko-Santoku 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
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.
This is what you’re looking for – 3rd C o d e: M I N I M E

RYUTOKU Santoku 165mm
RYUTOKU
RYUTOKU knives are manufactured by Fuji Cutlery Co., Ltd. The sister company of Tojiro applies advanced construction techniques and modern materials, combined with high quality Japanese quality control to produce great knives suitable for chefs, home cooks and professionals at a great price.
Please note: These knives are more suited for home use rather than in a professional environment.
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.

Tojiro Gai – Santoku 170mm
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.
The new Gai range from Tojiro is made from 37 layers Damascus VG10 stainless. 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 Handle is inspired by the Japanese word Gai, which is roughly translated from the Japanese word for armour. Made from Linen mikarta which is durable, corrosion resistance, and strong against degradation over time. The convex edge of the Gai series cuts effortlessly into food and holds a very good edge.
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.

Yoshida Hamono Blue2 Kurouchi – Sujihiki 240mm
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.
Sujihiki
Sujihiki Knife (筋引き出刃 – pronounced: Sujihiki Bōchō) literally translated from Japanese means ‘flesh slicer’. The name insinuates that it is perfect for slicing or carving meat which it was designed for initially. This is a composite between a Yanagiba and a Western-style carving knife.
The Sujihiki’s long, double bevelled blade allows for pull cutting in one clean motion using the blade from heel to tip. The length of the blade is perfect to cut up, carve or even butcher small to medium size animals or cuts of meat. The Sujihiki is also perfect for trimming sinew and fat from meat and filleting and skinning fish.
The Sujihiki has a relatively long and narrow blade with an acute edge angle with a narrow heel height. These components reduce the effort to cut through ingredients. For this reason, it is best to use a blade that is as long as your workspace will allow. The combination of cutting technique, acute blade angle, and sharp edge result in very little cellular damage in the cut surface.
Type: Western Style
Best for: Meat, Fish
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.

Narihira Saku – Yanagiba 300mm
Narihira
Narihira knives are manufactured by Fuji Cutlery Co., Ltd.
The sister company of Tojiro applies advanced construction techniques and modern materials, combined with high quality Japanese quality control to obtain great knives suitable for chefs, home cooks and professionals at a great price.
Yanagiba
Yanagiba Knife (柳刃包丁 – pronounced: Yanagi-ba Bōchō) literally translated from Japanese means ‘willow leaf blade’. The name refers to its blade shape being long, slender in a leaf shape. An alternative name Shobu refers to the Iris shaped leaf in the Kansai region.
The Yanagiba knife is best for slicing raw fish, especially for the preparation of sashimi and nigiri sushi dishes. The thinness and length of the blade profile allow for Japanese pull-cutting techniques. The sharpness of the blade makes it possible to do so in one clean sweep preventing tearing or bruising of the fish. The cut surfaces stay smooth, fresh, shiny and deliver delicate flavours and soft textures.
The Yanagiba’s long, thin and narrow blade allows the user to cut through a fish fillet using just one single long stroke instead of back and forth “sawing”. The weight of the blade is enough to ensure minimum pressure while slicing fresh fish fillets. The Yanagiba has a single-bevel edge allowing it to be extremely sharp. Traditional Japanese knives characteristically have single-bevel edges. Most single-bevel knives are right-handed so if you are left-handed make sure to request.
Type: Traditional
Best for: Fish
Kitchen Samurai Ease of Use Rating: Precise – Knowledge of the knife and limited use cases
Molybdenum Vanadium Stainless steel:
AUS 8 is a high carbon, low chromium stainless steel that has proven, over time, to be a very good compromise between toughness, strength, edge holding and resistance to corrosion.
It has added Vanadium to give the steel more hardness. This steel is very easy to sharpen to a razor edge but it will dull relatively quickly compared to high-carbon.
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 – Petty150
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.
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
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 NB Santoku 165mm
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.
Tojiro is exclusively distributed in South Africa by Kitchen Samurai.
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.
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.
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