Nakiris are growing in popularity for good reason: they’re a perfect blade for processing vegetables efficiently and quickly.
We have built this great-looking nakiri out of HAP40 semi-stainless steel. This alloy is made by Hitachi and is rich in tungsten, molybdenum, vanadium, and cobalt. Knives from this steel keep their sharpness 3 to 5 times longer than traditional blades. HAP40 is extremely tough, so it is fairly resistant to chipping along the edge. But despite this hardness and edge toughness, they are quite easy to sharpen on regular waterstones.
The Kohetsu HAP40 nakiri has a fine and understated look to the blade. It is enhanced by the attractive and ergonomic Western-style handle, which features mahogany scales and a stainless steel bolster.
The new HAP40 line from Kohetsu is a game changer. Never before have you been able to have a blade so tough, so sharp, and so easy to maintain at such an affordable price.
Please note the knife sharpener intentionally thins the edges of these knives to make them perform better, especially on the tip area. Often times you will see a hazy/cloudy scratch pattern as a result. This is not a defect.
Brand: Kohetsu
Location: Seki City
Construction: Laser Cut, San Mai
Core Steel: HAP-40
HRC: 65-66
Cladding: Stainless
Weight: 6.5 oz (184 g)
Blade Length: 161 mm
Total Length: 282 mm
Thickness at Heel: 2 mm
Blade Height: 48 mm
We have built this great-looking nakiri out of HAP40 semi-stainless steel. This alloy is made by Hitachi and is rich in tungsten, molybdenum, vanadium, and cobalt. Knives from this steel keep their sharpness 3 to 5 times longer than traditional blades. HAP40 is extremely tough, so it is fairly resistant to chipping along the edge. But despite this hardness and edge toughness, they are quite easy to sharpen on regular waterstones.
The Kohetsu HAP40 nakiri has a fine and understated look to the blade. It is enhanced by the attractive and ergonomic Western-style handle, which features mahogany scales and a stainless steel bolster.
The new HAP40 line from Kohetsu is a game changer. Never before have you been able to have a blade so tough, so sharp, and so easy to maintain at such an affordable price.
Please note the knife sharpener intentionally thins the edges of these knives to make them perform better, especially on the tip area. Often times you will see a hazy/cloudy scratch pattern as a result. This is not a defect.

Reviews


Posted By: Rodney - verified customer
2 people found this review helpful
The grind of this blade is excellent! As was mentioned in a couple of the earlier reviews, this knife has a chisel grind ideal for a right handed user. The urasuki,, or concave grind on the back side of the blade, is an intentional feature that minimizes adhesion of food. When these two features are combined in the proper ratios, the effect is amazing compared to western knife designs. The chisel grind allows for easy upkeep, only one angle to be concerned with keeping true. Plus, the chisel grind alone allows for less innate resistance than any other knife grind. When this lowest level of resistance is combined with the urasuki, what is achieved is truly the path of least resistance. This knife has achieved all it was designed for and more. My compliments!
2 people found this review helpful
The grind of this blade is excellent! As was mentioned in a couple of the earlier reviews, this knife has a chisel grind ideal for a right handed user. The urasuki,, or concave grind on the back side of the blade, is an intentional feature that minimizes adhesion of food. When these two features are combined in the proper ratios, the effect is amazing compared to western knife designs. The chisel grind allows for easy upkeep, only one angle to be concerned with keeping true. Plus, the chisel grind alone allows for less innate resistance than any other knife grind. When this lowest level of resistance is combined with the urasuki, what is achieved is truly the path of least resistance. This knife has achieved all it was designed for and more. My compliments!

Posted By: Matt - verified customer
2 people found this review helpful
Just to echo what Ken said, the blade out-of-the-box on mine had a slight concavity to it in the middle (actually around 3/4ths of the way back on mine). I had no problem reshaping it rather quickly to make it flat with my Atoma 140 plate on my Edge Pro (this reprofiling took around 5 minutes). I also brought the bevel closer to a 50/50 grind, as the factory edge was very close to a chisel grind in fact, probably around 90/10. It's now around 60/40 and I'll bring it closer to 50/50 yet in future sharpenings but it's already enough for there to be no issues with steering, etc.I used my Angle Cube to do 10 degree / side bevel and used my stones all the way to Shapton Glass 16K, followed by stropping on balsa loaded with Ken's .5 micron CBN and then roo leather loaded with .1 micron CBN. It is of course insanely sharp after going that far and thus far (having been a couple weeks of moderate home usage since the reprofiling and sharpening) the HAP40 steel really does seem to be holding such a keen edge very well. I'm also pleasantly surprised by how well food doesn't stick to it - even very starchy russet potato slices have consistently stayed on the board instead of gluing themselves to the side of the knife.It's definitely a 5-star knife after the reprofiling but I'll knock off one due to it needing that.
2 people found this review helpful
Just to echo what Ken said, the blade out-of-the-box on mine had a slight concavity to it in the middle (actually around 3/4ths of the way back on mine). I had no problem reshaping it rather quickly to make it flat with my Atoma 140 plate on my Edge Pro (this reprofiling took around 5 minutes). I also brought the bevel closer to a 50/50 grind, as the factory edge was very close to a chisel grind in fact, probably around 90/10. It's now around 60/40 and I'll bring it closer to 50/50 yet in future sharpenings but it's already enough for there to be no issues with steering, etc.I used my Angle Cube to do 10 degree / side bevel and used my stones all the way to Shapton Glass 16K, followed by stropping on balsa loaded with Ken's .5 micron CBN and then roo leather loaded with .1 micron CBN. It is of course insanely sharp after going that far and thus far (having been a couple weeks of moderate home usage since the reprofiling and sharpening) the HAP40 steel really does seem to be holding such a keen edge very well. I'm also pleasantly surprised by how well food doesn't stick to it - even very starchy russet potato slices have consistently stayed on the board instead of gluing themselves to the side of the knife.It's definitely a 5-star knife after the reprofiling but I'll knock off one due to it needing that.


Posted By: Ken - verified customer
2 people found this review helpful
Got this knife yesterday and couldn't wait to try it out. The cutting edge was very sharp at the toe and heal, but dull in the center of the blade. Upon close inspection I discovered that the cutting edge was concave in the center rather than convex or straight. After a couple of hours of reshaping and sharpening, the blade profile is now correct and the knife has taken an extremely fine edge. I put a 10 degree bevel on it and was surprised how easily it sharpens for such a hard steel. It really does fall through food. I would have given the knife five stars if I didn't have to profile the blade.
2 people found this review helpful
Got this knife yesterday and couldn't wait to try it out. The cutting edge was very sharp at the toe and heal, but dull in the center of the blade. Upon close inspection I discovered that the cutting edge was concave in the center rather than convex or straight. After a couple of hours of reshaping and sharpening, the blade profile is now correct and the knife has taken an extremely fine edge. I put a 10 degree bevel on it and was surprised how easily it sharpens for such a hard steel. It really does fall through food. I would have given the knife five stars if I didn't have to profile the blade.
