This 165mm nakiri from the Harukaze G3 Nashiji line has become one of the most talked about values in the vegetable knife category. Harukaze, meaning windy spring in Japanese, is produced exclusively for CKTG by a mid sized factory in Tosa, Japan.
The nakiri is built around a G3 stainless core, also called Ginsan, hardened to about 62 HRC for strong edge retention. A stainless nashiji, or pear skin, cladding wraps the core for protection and visual texture, and the blade is finished with a 50/50 edge and kanji engraving on both sides. The handle is an oval magnolia wood with a black pakka wood ferrule.
What Customers Are Saying:Reviewers consistently call out the blade itself as excellent for the price, with a sharp, usable factory edge and an aesthetic that punches above its price point. The most common critique centers on the handle, which more than one buyer described as feeling unfinished or in need of a light sanding and an oil or tung treatment to match the polish found on pricier Japanese handles. A couple of reviewers also noted the nakiri profile has slightly more curve than a perfectly flat vegetable knife, which can cause minor wedging in dense vegetables like carrots, though most still found the everyday cutting performance excellent.
Care Instructions:The G3 core and stainless cladding keep this nakiri low maintenance day to day. Hand wash and dry it after use, skip the dishwasher, and avoid bones and frozen foods. A light sanding and a food safe oil or wood conditioner on the handle when it first arrives can improve the feel in hand, and routine sharpening on quality water stones will keep the edge performing well.
The nakiri is built around a G3 stainless core, also called Ginsan, hardened to about 62 HRC for strong edge retention. A stainless nashiji, or pear skin, cladding wraps the core for protection and visual texture, and the blade is finished with a 50/50 edge and kanji engraving on both sides. The handle is an oval magnolia wood with a black pakka wood ferrule.
What Customers Are Saying:Reviewers consistently call out the blade itself as excellent for the price, with a sharp, usable factory edge and an aesthetic that punches above its price point. The most common critique centers on the handle, which more than one buyer described as feeling unfinished or in need of a light sanding and an oil or tung treatment to match the polish found on pricier Japanese handles. A couple of reviewers also noted the nakiri profile has slightly more curve than a perfectly flat vegetable knife, which can cause minor wedging in dense vegetables like carrots, though most still found the everyday cutting performance excellent.
Care Instructions:The G3 core and stainless cladding keep this nakiri low maintenance day to day. Hand wash and dry it after use, skip the dishwasher, and avoid bones and frozen foods. A light sanding and a food safe oil or wood conditioner on the handle when it first arrives can improve the feel in hand, and routine sharpening on quality water stones will keep the edge performing well.
- Brand: Harukaze
- Location: Tosa, Japan
- Construction: Hammer Forged, San Mai
- Core Steel: G3 Stainless Steel (Ginsan)
- Cladding: Stainless
- HRC: 62
- Finish: Nashiji (Pear Skin)
- Edge Grind: 50/50
- Handle: Magnolia Wood Oval
- Ferrule: Black Pakka Wood
- Engraving: Kanji Engraved
- Weight: 4.7 oz (136 g)
- Blade Length: 165 mm
- Total Length: 309 mm
- Spine Thickness at Base: 2 mm
- Blade Height: 51 mm
- Photos credit: Gustavo Bermudez
Reviews
4 review(s) WRITE A REVIEW (Reviews are subject to approval)
Blade is good, but the handle is not. , October 18, 2025Posted By: Mike
6 people found this review helpful
Overall, the knife is good. And I’ll start with the negatives because there’s one glaring issue. It’s like they didn’t sand the handle. It feels unfinished. I’ve had Japanese knives before and the handles always feel nice. I have put so much wood conditioner on this thing to try to make it feel better but no matter what I do it just feels like it wasn’t sanded. Now to the more positive features of the knife. For $100 the blade is excellent. The aesthetic is beautiful. The blade comes out of the box very usable but not too sharp if you’re newer to Japanese knives. The stainless steel cladding is extremely nice for not having to worry about oxidation all the time. Overall, I wish they sanded the handle a little bit more so it feels better. If I was to do it again, I probably would’ve spent like another 50 bucks and got something slightly higher end. But overall, it is a good knife.
6 people found this review helpful
Overall, the knife is good. And I’ll start with the negatives because there’s one glaring issue. It’s like they didn’t sand the handle. It feels unfinished. I’ve had Japanese knives before and the handles always feel nice. I have put so much wood conditioner on this thing to try to make it feel better but no matter what I do it just feels like it wasn’t sanded. Now to the more positive features of the knife. For $100 the blade is excellent. The aesthetic is beautiful. The blade comes out of the box very usable but not too sharp if you’re newer to Japanese knives. The stainless steel cladding is extremely nice for not having to worry about oxidation all the time. Overall, I wish they sanded the handle a little bit more so it feels better. If I was to do it again, I probably would’ve spent like another 50 bucks and got something slightly higher end. But overall, it is a good knife.
Cool NakiriPosted By: Mike
32 people found this review helpful
Great knife for the price. It came super sharp out of the box, maybe the sharpest yet but does wedge a tiny bit in carrots. Looks amazing too. The fit and finish on the handle is nice but the light colored wood could use a light sanding with some super fine sand paper and a coat of tung or Daish oil.
32 people found this review helpful
Great knife for the price. It came super sharp out of the box, maybe the sharpest yet but does wedge a tiny bit in carrots. Looks amazing too. The fit and finish on the handle is nice but the light colored wood could use a light sanding with some super fine sand paper and a coat of tung or Daish oil.
Not bad for price Posted By: Max
5 people found this review helpful
The steel is surprisingly nice. Holds an edge for a long time and is very easy to sharpen for a more stainless steel. However the profile of this is unbearable for me. I like nikiris to have a flat profile, but this has too much of a curve for the chopping you want to be doing with a nikiri.
Came extremely sharp with the sharpening service though.
5 people found this review helpful
The steel is surprisingly nice. Holds an edge for a long time and is very easy to sharpen for a more stainless steel. However the profile of this is unbearable for me. I like nikiris to have a flat profile, but this has too much of a curve for the chopping you want to be doing with a nikiri.
Came extremely sharp with the sharpening service though.
superb
