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Masutani  |  SKU: MASU_VGKKR_SLNA165

Masutani Kokuryu VG10 Damascus Slim Nakiri 165mm Western Handle

Regular price $139.95

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Masutani Sairyu VG10 Western
Nakiri
Weight 158 g | 5.6 oz
Edge Length 165 mm | 6 1/2″
Heel Height 44 mm | 1 47/64″
Width @ Heel 1.7 mm | 1/16″
Width @ Mid 1.7 mm | 1/16″
Width @ 1cm from Tip 1.7 mm | 1/16″
Steel VG10 | Stainless
Blade Construction Sanmai - Stainless Damascus Clad
Hardness (HRC) 59 - 61
Surface Finish Migaki
Handle Western Pakka Wood with Bolster
Region Echizen
Best for
  • First-timers
  • Pro chefs
  • Students
  • Free shipping for knives over AU$200 Australia wide.
  • World-wide shipping via DHL Express, 3 to 5 days.


The Masutani Hamono "Sairyu VG10" series offers an exceptional balance of performance, beauty, and value. Crafted with VG10 steel, a state-of-the-art cutlery material known for its sharpness and durability, these knives provide outstanding edge retention and ease of maintenance, making them perfect for both home cooks and professional chefs.

The blade showcases a stunning Damascus pattern, adding visual appeal to its impressive cutting performance. Each knife in the Sairyu series is designed with a Western-style handle that is incredibly light and comfortable, ensuring a balanced and effortless grip even during extended use.

What truly sets the Masutani Hamono Sairyu VG10 series apart is its exceptional value. With a combination of high-quality materials, beautiful craftsmanship, and thoughtful design, these knives are perfect for household use but also hold up to the rigorous demands of professional kitchens.

Pros Cons
  • Budget friendly
  • Excellent performance
  • Great OOTB
  • Fit and finish can be improved
Care Instruction
  1. Don't cut hard things! Japanese knives are brittle so bone hacking is a NO NO!
  2. Wash with neutral detergent after use, and wipe dry;
  3. Please don't wash knife with dishwasher, it will damage the wood handle;
  4. Be careful not to leave the knife close to a heat source for a long time;
  5. It is a lot more dangerous to cut with a blunt knife than a sharp knife!
  6. It is best to sharpen a Japanese knife regularly on a waterstone.

Masutani

Masutani Hamono — Echizen Performance Without the Premium

Masutani Hamono, leveraging both VG-1 and VG-10 steel, has established itself within the competitive sphere of Japanese knife-making by offering a cutting feel comparable to premium Echizen brands such as Kurosaki and Takamura. This alignment in performance with high-end brands, despite their more accessible price point, positions Masutani knives as exceptional within their category. Their craftsmanship ensures a blend of traditional skill and modern technology, making Masutani knives highly regarded for their sharpness and durability, leading the way in value-for-money within the Japanese knife market.

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Masutani Hamono, nestled in the historic knife-making region of Echizen, Japan, has carved a niche for itself by merging traditional craftsmanship with modern innovations. Utilizing high-quality VG-1 and VG-10 steels, Masutani creates knives that are not only durable and sharp but also provide a cutting experience comparable to the much-admired Echizen brands like Kurosaki and Takamura. This blend of heritage and innovation allows Masutani knives to stand out in the market, offering unparalleled value within their price range.

The company’s dedication to excellence is evident in every knife produced, ensuring each piece embodies the perfect balance between age-old techniques and cutting-edge steel technology. As a result, Masutani knives are celebrated for their exceptional performance and affordability, appealing to a wide range of users from professional chefs to culinary enthusiasts. This reputation for quality, coupled with a cutting feel reminiscent of more premium brands, positions Masutani as a leading choice for those seeking the best Japanese knives without the premium price tag.

“Echizen's quiet overachiever — premium cutting feel at an honest price, from the brother forge of Ryusen.”

Est. 1974 | 昭和49年
Known for Affordable high-performance stainless knives, excellent grinding and OOTB sharpness
Website masutani-hamono.shop Read more about Masutani
Masutani — Echizen
Profile: Nakiri
Profile

Nakiri

The Nakiri knife is a distinctive tool in the Japanese kitchen, resembling a slender, shorter variant of a Chinese cleaver and serving as the household counterpart to the professional-grade Usuba. It is characterized by its relatively flat edge profile, designed specifically for a chopping motion ideal for vegetable preparation. Unlike knives intended for slicing or sawing motions, the Nakiri's design emphasizes straight, clean cuts through vegetables without the need for pushing or rocking. Its blade is notably thin, underscoring its specialization for tasks that do not involve contact with bones, even small ones. This specialization makes the Nakiri an indispensable tool for those seeking precision and ease in vegetable preparation.
Composition

VG10 Element Composition

Compare with
    VG10
    15.0% 11.3% 7.5% 3.8% 0
    C Carbon 1.0%
    Primary hardening element. Raises hardness and wear resistance — but too much increases brittleness and corrosion susceptibility. As a reference: German 1.4112 (~0.5%) sits at the low end; VG-10 (~1.0%) is a common mid-range; SG2 (1.25–1.45%) and ZDP-189 (~3.0%) represent high and extreme ends respectively.
    C
    1.0%
    Cr Chromium 15.0%
    Raises corrosion resistance; 13%+ qualifies steel as stainless. Also improves hardenability and wear resistance. In kitchen use, higher chromium levels contribute to a slight drag or sticking sensation when cutting — a trade-off for the rust resistance it provides.
    Cr
    15.0%
    V Vanadium 0.25%
    Forms extremely hard carbides for superior edge retention. Also refines grain structure, improving toughness.
    V
    0.25%
    Mo Molybdenum 1.0%
    Improves hardenability and toughness. Boosts corrosion resistance and helps the steel hold hardness under heat.
    Mo
    1.0%
    Co Cobalt 1.55%
    Allows higher hardening temperatures, increasing hardness and wear resistance. Slightly reduces toughness at high levels.
    Co
    1.55%
    C — Carbon Cr — Chromium V — Vanadium Mo — Molybdenum Co — Cobalt
    Hardness 59–61 HRC
    555759616365+
    Steel
    VG10
    Category
    Stainless
    Manufacturer
    Takefu Special Steel, Japan 🇯🇵
    Hardness
    59–61 HRC
    Steel

    VG10

    • Manufacturer
      • Takefu Special Steel, Japan
    • Nature Stainless
    • Hardness59–61 HRC
    Takefu VG10, is a high-end stainless steel celebrated for its exceptional edge retention and sharpness. It is a popular choice among Japanese kitchen knife makers and widely used in various types of knives, including kitchen knives, folders, and fixed blades.

    VG10 achieves a hardness of around 60-61 HRC, with some makers pushing it to 62 HRC, ensuring good edge holding and stain resistance. The steel's composition includes 15% chromium (Cr) for corrosion resistance, 1% molybdenum (Mo), and 1.5% cobalt (Co) for matrix strengthening, leading to high hardness and durability. The addition of vanadium (V) refines its microstructure and, along with Cr and Mo, produces hard carbides that enhance wear resistance. VG10 is easy to sharpen, has good machinability, and supports secondary hardening with high-temperature tempering, making it suitable for blades that may undergo surface coating treatments up to about 450℃. Its well-rounded attributes make VG10 steel highly versatile, performing excellently in a range of applications from kitchen and general-purpose knives to machine blades.
    Construction: Sanmai - Stainless Damascus Clad
    Construction

    Sanmai - Stainless Damascus Clad

    Sanmai(Three-Piece) is a common construction for double bevel knives where two pieces of softer cladding steel are forgewelded to each side of a harder core steel. The harder but more brittle core steel will form the hard cutting edge after heat treating, and the softer cladding will support the core to increase the overall strength of the blade.

    Damascus Sanmai utilize damascus steel as the cladding material for the Sanmai construction, which adds aesthetic feature to the blade. On the Kitchen knives with stainless core steel, the damascus cladding will be stainless, this means they will also protect the carbon/semi-stainless core from rusting/discolouration.

    The soft cladding enables the thinning process to be a lot easier than a honyaki or monosteel construction. However, when the cladding is made of damascus, whether etched, polished or mirror polished, the thinning process will take a toll on the cladding, meaning the damascus won't look the same as when it was taken out of the box.

    Finish: Migaki
    Finish

    Migaki

    "Migaki" means "polished" or "shined" in Japanese, The term "Migaki finish" in the context of Japanese kitchen knives indeed does not exclusively refer to a mirror polish but encompasses a broader range of polished finishes that can vary from semi-gloss to a more refined, subtle sheen, rather than a highly reflective surface. The primary goal of a Migaki finish is to enhance the knife's functionality and aesthetic appeal, focusing on a smooth finish that improves resistance to corrosion and minimizes drag during cutting, rather than achieving a purely mirror-like appearance.

    Handle
    Handle

    Handle Specs

    • Profile Western with bolster
    • Material
      • Pakka Wood

    Western Pakka Wood handle is the common choice for entery level knives, in some cases, they will be made with bolster that is welded to the blade. The Pakka wood created by laminate wood with resin, creating a dense material that can have layers of different color. Compared with natural timber, this engineered wood is harder and absorb less water, in addition, the low cost of production makes it ideal of grip of entry level knife.

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