Omura City sits in Nagasaki Prefecture in the south of Japan - not a city that appears on most Japanese knife maps, but home to Tanaka Kama Kogyo and four generations of blacksmith craft with roots going back over 800 years. Katsuto Tanaka is the principal blacksmith and the craftsman behind the Matsubara line. Mark has visited and knows the family personally. CKTG is the exclusive US source for Matsubara knives.
Natalie has used this nakiri in a restaurant for two years of daily use and still gets excited to use it. She recommends having your own stones before buying - the Blue #2 edge rewards proper sharpening technique and delivers remarkable results. At 161mm blade length and 58mm height with a 4mm spine this is a substantial nakiri with real board presence. Walnut octagonal handle. Even 50/50 double-bevel grind. CKTG exclusive US source for Matsubara. Free US shipping over $100.
What Customers Are Saying: Two five-star reviews. Natalie used this daily in a restaurant for two years and still gets excited to use it. She strongly recommends having your own sharpening stones before buying - the Blue #2 edge rewards proper technique and delivers remarkable results. A knife that earns loyalty.
Care Instructions: Blue #2 is a reactive carbon steel - the stainless cladding protects the flanks but the exposed carbon edge will patina naturally with use. Wipe and dry the blade immediately after every use. Avoid leaving acidic foods on the edge. Hand wash only, never dishwasher. Apply camellia oil for long-term storage. Sharpen on quality water stones - Blue #2 at 62-63 HRC sharpens easily and rewards good technique. Strop regularly between sharpenings.
Natalie has used this nakiri in a restaurant for two years of daily use and still gets excited to use it. She recommends having your own stones before buying - the Blue #2 edge rewards proper sharpening technique and delivers remarkable results. At 161mm blade length and 58mm height with a 4mm spine this is a substantial nakiri with real board presence. Walnut octagonal handle. Even 50/50 double-bevel grind. CKTG exclusive US source for Matsubara. Free US shipping over $100.
What Customers Are Saying: Two five-star reviews. Natalie used this daily in a restaurant for two years and still gets excited to use it. She strongly recommends having your own sharpening stones before buying - the Blue #2 edge rewards proper technique and delivers remarkable results. A knife that earns loyalty.
Care Instructions: Blue #2 is a reactive carbon steel - the stainless cladding protects the flanks but the exposed carbon edge will patina naturally with use. Wipe and dry the blade immediately after every use. Avoid leaving acidic foods on the edge. Hand wash only, never dishwasher. Apply camellia oil for long-term storage. Sharpen on quality water stones - Blue #2 at 62-63 HRC sharpens easily and rewards good technique. Strop regularly between sharpenings.
- Blacksmith: Katsuto Tanaka
- Workshop: Tanaka Kama Kogyo
- Location: Omura City, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan
- Construction: Hammer Forged, San Mai
- Edge Steel: Blue #2 (Aogami #2) Carbon Steel
- Cladding: Stainless
- HRC: 62-63
- Finish: Nashiji
- Edge Grind: Even 50/50 Double Bevel
- Handle: Walnut Octagonal
- Weight: 5.9 oz (168g)
- Blade Length: 161mm
- Total Length: 310mm
- Spine Thickness at Heel: 4mm
- Blade Height: 58mm
Reviews
2 review(s) WRITE A REVIEW (Reviews are subject to approval) 2 Years of ExcellencePosted By: Natalie
41 people found this review helpful
2 years of daily use in a restaurant, and I still get excited to use this knife. After getting some stones to practice sharpening (If you don't have stones don't even think about it. Your own stones, not the questionable ones living in a musty 1/3 pan at your job), I must have spent at least a month choosing a nakiri. It was worth the time and money. I suppose there are a few notes I could give, though. If poor food release OOTB is a deal breaker for you, then you might want a different knife (setting up shallots for a bruniose can be a bit troublesome). If you don't already have thick callouses on your grip fingers, then 1+ hour of intense, continuous use might make your hand feel a little raw from the choil (slicing an entire case of banana peppers followed by an entire case of cabbages, for instance). However, This knife will breeze through those cases of veg and still be happy to bruniose some shallots and slice chives as thin as your skill allows. This is more general to nakiris, but with chives as an example, I can go through 2x-4x as many in a pass, and do it as fast if not faster than when I was limited to a rocking cut.
The geometry of the edge was exactly what I was looking for OOTB. The tip and the heel are ever so slightly angled away from the belly, all of which are perfectly flat. The heel is quite thick. At first I wasn't sure how to feel about that, but being able to separate garlic bulbs by cutting through the root changed my mind. Perhaps not something you'd want to do with harder steel, but the Blue #2 has survived so far without anything chipping. The sharp point at the end of the heel hasn't given me any worry, and has even found a few niche uses. On the other end, the tip section is much thinner. Angled slightly, it stays protected when doing vigorous chopping cuts with the belly, ready to give you paper thin, translucent slices of garlic. The spine extending past the blade tip is super fun, assists in getting a super fast and bouncey chop going with the tip. The belly is flat, and a good average of thickness between the heel and tip, both properties which I've noticed set this knife apart from some other nakiris I've seen in person. I suppose food release suffers slightly, but the thickness helps keep me centered when doing very fast chopping. The flatness allows for very fast chopping without any extra motion. I tried a co-workers nakiri that was ever so slightly curved through the belly, and it was a completely different experience.
It's very pretty, of course. Some might say pointlessly pretty for a restaurant, but I wanted something that I'd feel utterly ashamed if not cared for with the utmost attention. Food debris stuck in the najishi finish isn't a worry with continual cleaning like one should. I know some people are very picky about handles, but I don't really care. I think it's a great handle. I hold it. It is held. I keep it oiled, no complaints, love the octagonal shape.
Steel is steel, so I won't say too much on it, but I think the Blue #2 was a great choice for my first carbon steel knife. Hard enough to last through a few days of heavy use, not so hard that I would overthink whether to use it for most anything (I do keep it away from hard squash and sweet potatoes) or be worried about the slightest lapse in technique dulling the edge, or worse. I've used this knife hard and fast. Heads turn when I really get going. My neighbors even came to check on me once when I was using it at my apartment. Stropping it daily with some diamond paste keeps it beautifully in shape. Never had to go lower than my 2k stone when actually sharpening (it will bite through old pepper/tomato skin like it's not even there at 2k). I hope CKTG can re-stock this knife so that even more people get a chance to fall in love with it.
41 people found this review helpful
2 years of daily use in a restaurant, and I still get excited to use this knife. After getting some stones to practice sharpening (If you don't have stones don't even think about it. Your own stones, not the questionable ones living in a musty 1/3 pan at your job), I must have spent at least a month choosing a nakiri. It was worth the time and money. I suppose there are a few notes I could give, though. If poor food release OOTB is a deal breaker for you, then you might want a different knife (setting up shallots for a bruniose can be a bit troublesome). If you don't already have thick callouses on your grip fingers, then 1+ hour of intense, continuous use might make your hand feel a little raw from the choil (slicing an entire case of banana peppers followed by an entire case of cabbages, for instance). However, This knife will breeze through those cases of veg and still be happy to bruniose some shallots and slice chives as thin as your skill allows. This is more general to nakiris, but with chives as an example, I can go through 2x-4x as many in a pass, and do it as fast if not faster than when I was limited to a rocking cut.
The geometry of the edge was exactly what I was looking for OOTB. The tip and the heel are ever so slightly angled away from the belly, all of which are perfectly flat. The heel is quite thick. At first I wasn't sure how to feel about that, but being able to separate garlic bulbs by cutting through the root changed my mind. Perhaps not something you'd want to do with harder steel, but the Blue #2 has survived so far without anything chipping. The sharp point at the end of the heel hasn't given me any worry, and has even found a few niche uses. On the other end, the tip section is much thinner. Angled slightly, it stays protected when doing vigorous chopping cuts with the belly, ready to give you paper thin, translucent slices of garlic. The spine extending past the blade tip is super fun, assists in getting a super fast and bouncey chop going with the tip. The belly is flat, and a good average of thickness between the heel and tip, both properties which I've noticed set this knife apart from some other nakiris I've seen in person. I suppose food release suffers slightly, but the thickness helps keep me centered when doing very fast chopping. The flatness allows for very fast chopping without any extra motion. I tried a co-workers nakiri that was ever so slightly curved through the belly, and it was a completely different experience.
It's very pretty, of course. Some might say pointlessly pretty for a restaurant, but I wanted something that I'd feel utterly ashamed if not cared for with the utmost attention. Food debris stuck in the najishi finish isn't a worry with continual cleaning like one should. I know some people are very picky about handles, but I don't really care. I think it's a great handle. I hold it. It is held. I keep it oiled, no complaints, love the octagonal shape.
Steel is steel, so I won't say too much on it, but I think the Blue #2 was a great choice for my first carbon steel knife. Hard enough to last through a few days of heavy use, not so hard that I would overthink whether to use it for most anything (I do keep it away from hard squash and sweet potatoes) or be worried about the slightest lapse in technique dulling the edge, or worse. I've used this knife hard and fast. Heads turn when I really get going. My neighbors even came to check on me once when I was using it at my apartment. Stropping it daily with some diamond paste keeps it beautifully in shape. Never had to go lower than my 2k stone when actually sharpening (it will bite through old pepper/tomato skin like it's not even there at 2k). I hope CKTG can re-stock this knife so that even more people get a chance to fall in love with it.
A joy to usePosted By: Christopher Willett - verified customer
22 people found this review helpful
I've been using this knife for about four months in a home environment (feeding 5) and have really enjoyed it. This nakiri feels thin at the edge and I can now cut more precisely that was possible with the German knives I had used previously. Paper this onion, tomato, etc, are very easy to produce. Brunoise is simple. The geometry of the blade is excellent. The tip is slightly rounded allowing for easy tip draw strokes on the board in addition to chopping and push/pull cutting. The height of the blade is about standard for a nakiri, but I wish it was a bit taller to help with scooping.The aesthetics of the bladeare fantastic and it is a handsome addition to our kitchen. The nashiji finish is quite well done and the cladding line shows off the core steel nicely. The handle isn't especially nice, however. Sanding and sealing didn't help much and now it feels sticky. I'll try re-sanding with coarser sand paper to try to improve grit. The spine of the blade had a noticeable ding in it near the handle junction and I'm unsure if this was a manufacturing defect or something done intentionally (a wabi sabi thing). The geometry of the blade (flat, tall) makes sharpening very easy. The edge was top notch out of the box. I managed to put some microchips in the blade within the first few weeks as I was getting used to it, but these came out quickly and without much effort on a Rika 5k. I now maintain the edge with a Kitayama 8k stone and a strop, spending about 5 minutes on the weekend to maintain the edge. The blade is extremely sharp now and blows through vegetables. I use the Matsubara nakiri on a daily basis and very heavily on the weekend (food prep for the week). We eat meat, but vegetables form the majority of our diet and as such the knife gets a work out (at least for a home cook knife). I would absolutely buy the knife again, though if I had the opportunity to add another 10-20 mm on to the height and put on a more textured, nicer handle I would certainly do so.
22 people found this review helpful
I've been using this knife for about four months in a home environment (feeding 5) and have really enjoyed it. This nakiri feels thin at the edge and I can now cut more precisely that was possible with the German knives I had used previously. Paper this onion, tomato, etc, are very easy to produce. Brunoise is simple. The geometry of the blade is excellent. The tip is slightly rounded allowing for easy tip draw strokes on the board in addition to chopping and push/pull cutting. The height of the blade is about standard for a nakiri, but I wish it was a bit taller to help with scooping.The aesthetics of the bladeare fantastic and it is a handsome addition to our kitchen. The nashiji finish is quite well done and the cladding line shows off the core steel nicely. The handle isn't especially nice, however. Sanding and sealing didn't help much and now it feels sticky. I'll try re-sanding with coarser sand paper to try to improve grit. The spine of the blade had a noticeable ding in it near the handle junction and I'm unsure if this was a manufacturing defect or something done intentionally (a wabi sabi thing). The geometry of the blade (flat, tall) makes sharpening very easy. The edge was top notch out of the box. I managed to put some microchips in the blade within the first few weeks as I was getting used to it, but these came out quickly and without much effort on a Rika 5k. I now maintain the edge with a Kitayama 8k stone and a strop, spending about 5 minutes on the weekend to maintain the edge. The blade is extremely sharp now and blows through vegetables. I use the Matsubara nakiri on a daily basis and very heavily on the weekend (food prep for the week). We eat meat, but vegetables form the majority of our diet and as such the knife gets a work out (at least for a home cook knife). I would absolutely buy the knife again, though if I had the opportunity to add another 10-20 mm on to the height and put on a more textured, nicer handle I would certainly do so.
