Otsuka's Blue 1 series is pretty much the only lineup that is offered by Otsuka Hamono, and there is only few profiles included. The Bannou(万能, All-purpose)proile that shape like Bunka is offered in different size which covers pretty much all cutting scenarios, and all these blades are raw, rustic and got significant trace of manual labour on them. But don't get ticked, these knife are some of the best cutting tools you can find at this price.
The first thing you'll notice when picking these knives up is the the extreme taper in the spine. It is noticeably wide than even Anryu's knife and it tapers to sub-millimetre thickness in the front. It doesn't even show in the measurement as the thick spine have already tapers significantly right above the heel. The advantage of this taper is, you can have a very strong and rigid blade at its tang, and the thinner tip can stay sharp and nimble while the entire blade is dampened with some weight. As the result, Otsuka's Bannou are vary responsive and controllable in hand.
Then it comes to sharpening, which is where these blades really shines. Despite the rough Kurouchi look, the bevels actually receives a very high level hand sharpening, which leaves a super thin edge that just melt through potatoes. The secret is the well-controlled convex grind, which reduce sticking and allow the food to glide off the bevel. In addition, the excellent sharpness produced by the carbon steel edge is well utilised to allow very good slicing performance.
I'm surprised this knife haven't got very popular, but I Think it's not necessarily the knife or the community's fault. As Otsuka Hamono is located in a remote village in Tottori prefecture and Otsuka san have decided to embrace the life without internet, his knife is not commonly sourced, purchased or discussed. If you can take care of the carbon steel and appreciate these hand crafted beauties, I highly recommend Otsuka's knife for their amazing cutting performance and handling.
