Morihei Hisamoto Hagane 185mm Santoku Carbon Steel Pakka Handle

Old style forged carbon steel Kanto knife. These represent the original yo bocho style whose design remained relatively unchanged for decades. We are big fans of carbon steel knives like this. They cut smoothly, sharpen easily and are not terribly delicate if a few basic rules are followed.

The out-of-the-box sharpness on these is one of the best out there, as they receive a natural stone finish at the Morihei workshop before being boxed up. Bonus points if you follow up with a Japanese natural stone on these. Any self slurrying honyama stone in the 3-4 hardness and 3-4 fineness (1-5 scale) range is great.  

Being forged, these have a longer edge life and a wider range of finishes they work at. While we are a big fan of stamped Carbon Steel Nihonkou style knives these are a step up in quality that is commensurate with the higher price.

These have a strong right hand bias to the face of the blade and are not recommended for left handed users.