Yoshikane SKD Nashiji Stainless Clad 6.5" Bunka, Stabilized Birch

Hi There! I purchased this SKD Bunka about a month ago. It is the sharpest knife I’ve ever received out of the box, it ran around 58 on my tester.

I use it at least once a day for food prep, mostly fruits and vegetables. It certainly is a winner. The blade geometry works perfectly for me even cutting something like an apple or cabbage. It feels great in my hand and is very nimble about as close to perfection as you can get.

I am a bit of a knife nut and have over 25 Japanese steel knives. I prefer high Rockwell hardness and this bunka has kept a very sharp edge and only once needed a light dropping. I’ve always been interested in knives of all types and always have a pocket knife with me. I’ve been sharpening my own knives for over 40 years now and I’m still learning a new trick or two.

I have two other Yoshi’s a 210 and 240, both in SKD steel,both of these knives are probably 20 years old and are in excellent shape. I am a believer in Yoshi. I have about 25 Japanese knives in my collection and the Yosihi

I can recommend this brand of knife and hopefully we’ll add more Yoshis to my collection I have about 25 Japanese knives now as I am always searching for the holy Grail of Japanese knives, and I believe I have found it with the Yoshikanes!

I'd been curious about Yoshikane for a while and finally pulled the trigger during Cutlery & More's July 4th sale. No regrets.

The grind is the reason to buy this. It's thin behind the edge but doesn't feel delicate, and it releases food well. Dense stuff like carrots and sweet potato splits cleanly instead of cracking apart on you. I push cut for almost everything and this thing loves that. That said, I'm still getting used to the 50mm blade height. It came sharp out of the box, and the SKD12 has held on since. I did notice some very minor edge damage at one point, but a few minutes of stropping cleared it up, so it had rolled rather than chipped.

I went with a bunka instead of the santoku in this same line specifically for the k-tip. If you do a lot of finer work, scoring, detail cuts, anything where you want to know exactly where your point is, the flat tip is worth it.

Since the handle is smooth rather than textured I wondered if it'd get slick, but it hasn't, even with wet hands. It isn't cheap for 165mm, but the fit and finish and the way it cuts justify it. It's not leaving my rail.

I'm 52 and have been cooking my whole life. Using German steel knives that I sharpen with a Wicked Edge sharpener that cost a mortgage payment. This hits...different. Blade geometry on this exquisite blade is amazing. It "falls" through food. So thin behind the edge that all you have to do is break the skin and gravity does the rest. The SKD steel has great edge retention, and stropping is all it has needed in months, so far. And it's less maintenance than the high carbon steels. I will be adding to my Yoshikane collection very soon. This one will ruin you.