Katsuto Tanaka of Tanaka Kama Kogyo has been forging blades in Omura City, Nagasaki Prefecture for four generations, inheriting a blacksmithing tradition that arrived in the region with refugees from the Battle of Dannoura over 800 years ago. The HAP40 line pairs that long history with one of the most technically impressive steels available in Japanese kitchen knives: a semi-stainless powdered high-speed steel that CKTG has nicknamed Voodoo Steel for its edge retention. At 65-66 HRC the HAP40 holds longer between sharpenings than virtually any other steel in this category while remaining responsive on water stones - a combination that most steels are forced to trade off against each other.
The bunka - a versatile format sometimes called banno bunka, suited for push-cutting, precise vegetable work, and the kind of all-purpose kitchen prep that the name roughly translates as - runs 171mm on this version with a flat heel section transitioning to a gentle belly toward the distinctive sword tip. That profile handles a wide range of techniques well: push-cutting at the heel, bias slicing in the belly, and precision work at the point. The san mai construction puts the HAP40 core inside stainless cladding, reducing maintenance considerably relative to carbon steel. The migaki (polished) finish runs clean throughout. The rosewood western handle is conventional and well-executed at 4.3 oz and 46.5mm blade height.
What Customers Are Saying: The one review on this knife describes it as an immediate workhorse - ridiculously sharp out of the box and still performing after an intense week of professional kitchen use without a single sharpening session. The reviewer specifically calls out the lightweight construction, the thin blade, the precise tip, and the handle as all contributing to a knife they would not hesitate to use heavily and repeatedly.
Care Instructions: HAP40 is semi-stainless - hand wash and dry after use. Avoid the dishwasher. Use wood or rubber boards and keep the edge away from bones and frozen foods. Sharpen on quality water stones; strop regularly to extend the time between full sharpenings.
The bunka - a versatile format sometimes called banno bunka, suited for push-cutting, precise vegetable work, and the kind of all-purpose kitchen prep that the name roughly translates as - runs 171mm on this version with a flat heel section transitioning to a gentle belly toward the distinctive sword tip. That profile handles a wide range of techniques well: push-cutting at the heel, bias slicing in the belly, and precision work at the point. The san mai construction puts the HAP40 core inside stainless cladding, reducing maintenance considerably relative to carbon steel. The migaki (polished) finish runs clean throughout. The rosewood western handle is conventional and well-executed at 4.3 oz and 46.5mm blade height.
What Customers Are Saying: The one review on this knife describes it as an immediate workhorse - ridiculously sharp out of the box and still performing after an intense week of professional kitchen use without a single sharpening session. The reviewer specifically calls out the lightweight construction, the thin blade, the precise tip, and the handle as all contributing to a knife they would not hesitate to use heavily and repeatedly.
Care Instructions: HAP40 is semi-stainless - hand wash and dry after use. Avoid the dishwasher. Use wood or rubber boards and keep the edge away from bones and frozen foods. Sharpen on quality water stones; strop regularly to extend the time between full sharpenings.
- Brand: Matsubara
- Blacksmith: Katsuto Tanaka, Tanaka Kama Kogyo
- Location: Omura City, Nagasaki, Japan
- Construction: San Mai
- Steel: HAP40 Semi-Stainless
- Cladding: Stainless
- Finish: Migaki (Polished)
- HRC: 65-66
- Edge Grind: Even 50/50
- Handle: Rosewood Western
- Weight: 4.3 oz (122 g)
- Blade Length: 171mm
- Spine Thickness at Heel: 1.7mm
- Blade Height: 46.5mm
Reviews
3 review(s) WRITE A REVIEW (Reviews are subject to approval)
Awesome! My new workhorse!Posted By: D
17 people found this review helpful
I love everything about the knife! Super lightweight, thin blade, great tip, I do like the handle a lot it's not to thin or thick just a straight forward workhorse of a handle and well made as the entire blade is as well. Ridiculously sharp out the box after an intense week at work and I didn't even need to bring it home to give it a sharpening for the coming week. (I work in NYC at a hotel as an event chef , very high volume, lots of knife work)
Very happy with this knife!
Thank you so much!!!
17 people found this review helpful
I love everything about the knife! Super lightweight, thin blade, great tip, I do like the handle a lot it's not to thin or thick just a straight forward workhorse of a handle and well made as the entire blade is as well. Ridiculously sharp out the box after an intense week at work and I didn't even need to bring it home to give it a sharpening for the coming week. (I work in NYC at a hotel as an event chef , very high volume, lots of knife work)
Very happy with this knife!
Thank you so much!!!
My first Japanese kitchen knife...wow!Posted By: Rob N
17 people found this review helpful
I caught the knife bug by way of high quality American folding pocket knives and have amassed a small collection; I enjoy using them for work and sharpening them, nerding out on steel composition and edge geo and using them as a functional kind of "pocket jewelry".
I chose this knife because of the great price and HAP40 is very close to being the Japanese analog of my favorite pocket knife steel, CPM-REX45: it very easy to get razor sharp, and due to its particular carbide makeup is above-average in toughness for how hard it gets in the ~65hrc area, in pocket knives its virtually "too hard to roll, too tough to chip".
This knife for the price and the extremely thin geometry and amazing steel seemed like a great value and I am really glad its my first Japanese kitchen knife! It's so sweet lol i love it. The grind is awesome, nice and thin, laser is right.
As the other review said, the handle fit/finish is not the best but functionally there are no problems with it and it fills and works in the hand very well, I quite like it for what it is.
I'm afraid I've been infected with another strain of knife bug now but I am so excited to get in the kitchen and use this knife!
17 people found this review helpful
I caught the knife bug by way of high quality American folding pocket knives and have amassed a small collection; I enjoy using them for work and sharpening them, nerding out on steel composition and edge geo and using them as a functional kind of "pocket jewelry".
I chose this knife because of the great price and HAP40 is very close to being the Japanese analog of my favorite pocket knife steel, CPM-REX45: it very easy to get razor sharp, and due to its particular carbide makeup is above-average in toughness for how hard it gets in the ~65hrc area, in pocket knives its virtually "too hard to roll, too tough to chip".
This knife for the price and the extremely thin geometry and amazing steel seemed like a great value and I am really glad its my first Japanese kitchen knife! It's so sweet lol i love it. The grind is awesome, nice and thin, laser is right.
As the other review said, the handle fit/finish is not the best but functionally there are no problems with it and it fills and works in the hand very well, I quite like it for what it is.
I'm afraid I've been infected with another strain of knife bug now but I am so excited to get in the kitchen and use this knife!
Lazer of a knife, cheap handle Posted By: Daniel Keown
21 people found this review helpful
First off, I'm a working chef use all my knives everyday. This is an amazing piece of steel, absolute Lazer.
hap40 is legit the perfect blend way better edge retention then VG and half the work to sharpen over zdp. Only complaint is the handle is cheap, short and light. In the process off getting it re-scaled professionally. What I'm paying to get the knife rehandled I should have spent to get a better knife but none the less this is an amazing knife with a really decent price point.
21 people found this review helpful
First off, I'm a working chef use all my knives everyday. This is an amazing piece of steel, absolute Lazer.
hap40 is legit the perfect blend way better edge retention then VG and half the work to sharpen over zdp. Only complaint is the handle is cheap, short and light. In the process off getting it re-scaled professionally. What I'm paying to get the knife rehandled I should have spent to get a better knife but none the less this is an amazing knife with a really decent price point.
