Seki City is Japan center of production-scale knife making - a city organized around the craft, where specialist shops each own one stage of the manufacturing process and blades move between them in plastic crates on small delivery trucks. Mark visited Seki and toured these shops personally. The Tsukahara family produces the Kohetsu HAP40 line exclusively for CKTG, specializing in the precise heat treatment that brings HAP40 to 65-66 HRC consistently. The western handle format - full tang mahogany with stainless bolster and three rivets - makes these knives immediately familiar to cooks coming from German or European brands while delivering performance those knives cannot approach.
The gyuto at 180mm is the most compact full-size chef knife in the HAP40 Western line - light, maneuverable, and built around the same Voodoo Steel core as the longer knives. Ideal for smaller kitchens or as a complement to a longer blade in a professional kit. The thin grind lets the blade pass through food with minimal resistance, and the 60/40 asymmetric edge works equally well for right- and left-handed cooks. Stainless san-mai cladding over the HAP40 core keeps daily maintenance simple. The mahogany western handle with stainless bolster and three rivets is well executed - full tang construction, comfortable across grip styles, and finished to a professional standard. CKTG is the only source for the Kohetsu HAP40 line.
What Customers Are Saying: Reviewers describe an edge that falls through food on the first use and stays performing through weeks of home and professional kitchen use. The western handle draws praise for feeling immediately familiar while delivering HAP40 performance from day one.
Care Instructions: HAP40 is a semi-stainless steel - hand wash and dry after each use. Avoid the dishwasher. Use wood or rubber cutting boards only and avoid bones, frozen foods, and hard materials that could chip the edge at 65-66 HRC. Sharpen on quality water stones; HAP40 sharpens more readily than most powdered steels but rewards a consistent angle and light pressure. Strop regularly between sharpenings to maintain peak performance. The extraordinary edge retention means sharpening sessions are less frequent than with any other steel in the Kohetsu lineup.
The gyuto at 180mm is the most compact full-size chef knife in the HAP40 Western line - light, maneuverable, and built around the same Voodoo Steel core as the longer knives. Ideal for smaller kitchens or as a complement to a longer blade in a professional kit. The thin grind lets the blade pass through food with minimal resistance, and the 60/40 asymmetric edge works equally well for right- and left-handed cooks. Stainless san-mai cladding over the HAP40 core keeps daily maintenance simple. The mahogany western handle with stainless bolster and three rivets is well executed - full tang construction, comfortable across grip styles, and finished to a professional standard. CKTG is the only source for the Kohetsu HAP40 line.
What Customers Are Saying: Reviewers describe an edge that falls through food on the first use and stays performing through weeks of home and professional kitchen use. The western handle draws praise for feeling immediately familiar while delivering HAP40 performance from day one.
Care Instructions: HAP40 is a semi-stainless steel - hand wash and dry after each use. Avoid the dishwasher. Use wood or rubber cutting boards only and avoid bones, frozen foods, and hard materials that could chip the edge at 65-66 HRC. Sharpen on quality water stones; HAP40 sharpens more readily than most powdered steels but rewards a consistent angle and light pressure. Strop regularly between sharpenings to maintain peak performance. The extraordinary edge retention means sharpening sessions are less frequent than with any other steel in the Kohetsu lineup.
- Brand: Kohetsu
- Exclusive: CKTG Exclusive - Available Only at CKTG
- Blacksmith: Tsukahara Family
- Location: Seki City, Japan
- Construction: Laser Cut, San Mai
- Edge Steel: HAP40 Semi Stainless (Powdered High Speed Steel)
- Cladding: Stainless Steel
- HRC: 65-66
- Edge Grind: 60/40 Asymmetric Double Bevel
- Engraving: Acid Etched Kanji
- Handle: Mahogany Western - Full Tang
- Bolster: Stainless Steel
- Rivets: 3 Stainless
- Blade Length: 180mm
