TOP 5 Japanese kitchen knives of the first half of 2023 from Knife-life

Ta-da! The main event of the first half of 2023 on the knife-life blog: the rating of the most popular Japanese premium kitchen knives based on our sales results. The TOP-5 includes models with a price tag of more than 70 USD, most in demand by online store customers
https://knife-life.jp/
                                             The best Japanese knives - TOP-5!
5th place - Sakai Takayuki VG10 33-layer Damascus Santoku knife.
Affordable, multifunctional Santoku knife from Sakai Takayuki has a 170mm long blade made from 33 Layer stainless Hammered pattern Damascus with VG10 core. Japanese-style half-rounded octagonal handle is hand-made from Keyaki wood (Japanese Elm or Japanese zelkova) Mahogany wood ferrule/bolster.


4th place - Super Gold 2 Gyto made by Tetsuhiro Knife Company from Sanjo City in Niigata Prefecture. 210 mm long blade made using by Japanese traditional method "Varicomi" using specialized cutlery powder steel Super Gold 2 (SG2)-also known as "powder high-speed stainless steel) as the central core. Western-style handle made from strong black paper micarta. Maine features of all Tetsuhiro Knife are "simple looking" but solid hand-made quality and perfectly heat-treated thin blade.


3rd place goes to Hokiyama 240mm San-mai Silver steel 3 Kiritsuke knife. This "no flashy" and naturally looking Kiritsuke knife was made in the best tradition of the Japanese WABI-SABI concept (Simple Imperfect Beauty) by Hokiyama cutlery from the Tosa province in Japan. 210 mm blade made by Hokiyama's original clad forging method. Blade core steel is Hitachi Silver 3 stainless steel (60-61 HRC). The elongated octagonal handle is made from natural Walnut wood.

2nd place - Sakai Genkichi White steel 2 Santoku knife. The 18 cm long blade fascinates with a unique exquisite shape.
This "OLD SCHOOL" Santoku knife was made by Sakai Genkichi from Sakai City in Osaka Prefecture in Japan. 180mm long blades are hand-forged in the Japanese traditional method "Warikomi" (Inserted hard steel between softer) using high-purity Hitachi White steel 2 carbon steel as a core (Shirogami #2). Japanese-style handle made from Magnolia Wood with a unique Japanese Negoro-Nuri Urushi finish. This Urushi resin-finished has excellent non-slip, waterproof, and antibacterial properties to the handle.

 Champion 1st place goes to Kagekiyo 240mm Shirogami 2 Gyuto knife 
made by Baba cutlery. Despite the big price tag, buyers gave absolute preference to this miracle. And their choice cannot be disputed because the knife has no flaws: it is beautiful, like a diamond in a dark setting; sharp as a razor; strong as a sword; comfortable; reliable, and designed for lifetime use. The undoubted leader, perhaps not only this year, as it is difficult even to imagine a more successful model.