Hatsukokoro x Yoshikane SKD Nashiji K-tip Gyuto 210mm Ebony Handle

Not quite - and it is the single most common point of confusion when people shop for a kiritsuke. The two knives share the same striking angled, reverse-tanto tip, but underneath that tip they are very different tools.

A K-tip gyuto is normally a double-bevel knife: it is ground on both sides like any Western-style chef's knife, so it is forgiving to use, and sharpened exactly the way you would sharpen a normal gyuto. You get the dramatic kiritsuke look with the everyday usability of an all-purpose chef's knife.

A traditional kiritsuke, including the kiritsuke-yanagiba (slicer), is a single-bevel knife, ground on one side only. It is historically a master chef's knife: it takes real practice to use well, is set up for right-handed users by default, and needs single-bevel sharpening technique to maintain.

So if you want the kiritsuke silhouette with no learning curve, choose a K-tip gyuto. If you specifically want the traditional single-bevel discipline - and the precision it allows on fish and vegetables - choose a true kiritsuke. At Knives and Stones we stock both, and each product page tells you which construction you are looking at.

SKD steel is a high-carbon, mid-chromium tool steel used in Japanese knives to deliver carbon-steel-like edge sharpness and ease of sharpening without the high maintenance requirements of traditional carbon steel.

This steel contains 1.0% carbon and 5.0% chromium, allowing it to be hardened to an HRC of 62–64 while maintaining a balance between edge retention and corrosion resistance. At K&S, it is available through the Hatsukokoro x Yoshikane collaboration, with options such as the SKD Nashiji Honesuki 150mm, the SKD Nashiji Gyuto 240mm, and the SKD Nashiji Sujihiki 270mm. These knives are best suited for professional chefs or serious home cooks who want a keen edge and simple sharpening process but prefer not to deal with the rusting issues common to pure carbon steels.

Yoshikane's own company page dates the founding to Taisho 8, 1919, when Kanekichi Yoshida started the business in Shimotajima, Sanjo.

The same page records the fourth generation, Kazuomi Yamamoto, taking the name in 2013, and the company's incorporation as 株式会社吉金刃物 in 2022.

Both forms are correct, for two different things: the company writes its own name 吉金刃物, as the maker's site shows.

That page also records 吉兼 and 吉兼久 as the workshop's own brands, added in 1922.