The convex 50/50 grind that defines the Moritaka Supreme line is not accidental - it is a deliberate geometry that provides exceptional ingredient separation, pushes food off the blade during cutting, and creates a more durable edge geometry than a flat grind at the same thickness. Moritaka Hamono has been developing this formula in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture for over 700 years. Aogami Super at 64-65 HRC, soft iron cladding, kurouchi (black as-forged) finish, stainless tang. CKTG is the exclusive US distributor.
The tall nakiri occupies a specific and useful niche: the dedicated vegetable knife format scaled up to near-cleaver proportions, with a 75mm blade height that provides the gliding surface and forward weight for efficient push-cutting through large batches of produce. Thomas has used a Moritaka tall nakiri for over five years of home cooking and describes it as a big straight razor - set the bevel, refine the edge, strop to screaming sharp. No issues with the geometry. Even 50/50 convex grind. CKTG exclusive US distributor. Free US shipping over $100.
What Customers Are Saying: Five five-star reviews. Thomas has used a Moritaka tall nakiri for over five years of home cooking. Describes it as a big straight razor - set the bevel, refine the edge, strop to screaming sharp. No issues with the hammer marks or grind. For safety he has a ruler and goes slowly. The Aogami Super holds a remarkable edge through sustained vegetable prep.
Care Instructions: Aogami Super is a reactive carbon steel and the soft iron cladding is also reactive - both the edge and the cladding will patina naturally with use. The kurouchi (black as-forged) finish on the cladding provides initial protection and the patina that develops adds further protection over time. Wipe and dry the blade immediately after every use. Avoid leaving acidic foods on the blade. Hand wash only, never dishwasher. Apply camellia oil for long-term storage. Sharpen on quality water stones - Aogami Super at 64-65 HRC rewards careful technique and responds beautifully to stropping. Keep away from bones and frozen foods.
The tall nakiri occupies a specific and useful niche: the dedicated vegetable knife format scaled up to near-cleaver proportions, with a 75mm blade height that provides the gliding surface and forward weight for efficient push-cutting through large batches of produce. Thomas has used a Moritaka tall nakiri for over five years of home cooking and describes it as a big straight razor - set the bevel, refine the edge, strop to screaming sharp. No issues with the geometry. Even 50/50 convex grind. CKTG exclusive US distributor. Free US shipping over $100.
What Customers Are Saying: Five five-star reviews. Thomas has used a Moritaka tall nakiri for over five years of home cooking. Describes it as a big straight razor - set the bevel, refine the edge, strop to screaming sharp. No issues with the hammer marks or grind. For safety he has a ruler and goes slowly. The Aogami Super holds a remarkable edge through sustained vegetable prep.
Care Instructions: Aogami Super is a reactive carbon steel and the soft iron cladding is also reactive - both the edge and the cladding will patina naturally with use. The kurouchi (black as-forged) finish on the cladding provides initial protection and the patina that develops adds further protection over time. Wipe and dry the blade immediately after every use. Avoid leaving acidic foods on the blade. Hand wash only, never dishwasher. Apply camellia oil for long-term storage. Sharpen on quality water stones - Aogami Super at 64-65 HRC rewards careful technique and responds beautifully to stropping. Keep away from bones and frozen foods.
- Maker: Moritaka Hamono
- Location: Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan
- Exclusive: CKTG Exclusive US Distributor
- Construction: San Mai, Hammer Forged
- Edge Steel: Aogami Super (Blue Paper Steel)
- Cladding: Soft Iron
- HRC: 65+
- Finish: Kurouchi (Black As-Forged)
- Edge Grind: Even 50/50 Convex Double Bevel
- Handle: Octagonal Magnolia Wood
- Ferrule: Buffalo Horn
- Tang: Stainless Steel Welded Tang
- Weight: 8.8 oz (248g)
- Blade Length: 180mm
- Spine Thickness at Heel: 5mm
- Blade Height: 75mm
Reviews
5 review(s) WRITE A REVIEW (Reviews are subject to approval) Moritaka AS Tall Nakiri, May 31, 2025Posted By: Thomas J.
22 people found this review helpful
This tall nakiri is great for leisurely home cooking!
For over five years I’ve happily used a Moritaka tall nakiri for most of my kitchen cutting chores.
Consider this a big straight razor to prepare food; set the bevel, refine the edge and strop to screaming sharp! No issues with over hammer or over grind.
For safety, store in a CKTG knife guard or on a magnetic knife bar. Be cautious of finger and hand placement during use.
Not difficult to sharpen with Japanese water stones, blade road can be thinned with moderate effort and is an excellent candidate for kasumi finishing.
Never felt the need to radius the choil or spine but was tempted to color stain and oil finish Ho wood handle, however, I never did.
The straight cutting edge is perfect for push cuts on flat wooden cutting boards, however, it requires a good technique to avoid digging with tip or heel.
Big enough to quarter melons but small enough not to be intimidating. Slides right through carrots and, with sufficient secondary bevel, strong enough to joint chickens.
The slight weight forward balance, about one inch in front of pinch grip, is comforting and adds power to push cuts through cabbages and eggplants.
I’ve even used it to fillet a few walleyes. Kind of fun to let the weight of a sharp tall nakiri fall right thru big homegrown heirloom slicing tomatoes.
I don’t think you could find a better tool to prepare cole slaw, potatoes O’Brien, most stir fry dishes and charcuterie.
Heavier than a 210 mm gyuto, it doesn’t brunoise onions as well and the kurouchi finish does not aid food release, so maybe not the best for line cooks.
Immediately after use wash and wipe dry. The blade road is pretty reactive until a patina forms but after that not too bad. Does not like prolonged sessions cutting lemons, onions or tomatoes!
Over time kurouchi finish will fade, Ho wood handle will discolor but the knife will just keep cutting and become your trusted kitchen companion.
Sure, there are other tall nakiri that might perform similar but only Moritaka offers hand forged blue super steel (AS) through CKTG at a reasonable price and super fast delivery.
If you like cast iron cooking or old blue jeans, you will probably enjoy using a Moritaka AS tall nakiri.
22 people found this review helpful
This tall nakiri is great for leisurely home cooking!
For over five years I’ve happily used a Moritaka tall nakiri for most of my kitchen cutting chores.
Consider this a big straight razor to prepare food; set the bevel, refine the edge and strop to screaming sharp! No issues with over hammer or over grind.
For safety, store in a CKTG knife guard or on a magnetic knife bar. Be cautious of finger and hand placement during use.
Not difficult to sharpen with Japanese water stones, blade road can be thinned with moderate effort and is an excellent candidate for kasumi finishing.
Never felt the need to radius the choil or spine but was tempted to color stain and oil finish Ho wood handle, however, I never did.
The straight cutting edge is perfect for push cuts on flat wooden cutting boards, however, it requires a good technique to avoid digging with tip or heel.
Big enough to quarter melons but small enough not to be intimidating. Slides right through carrots and, with sufficient secondary bevel, strong enough to joint chickens.
The slight weight forward balance, about one inch in front of pinch grip, is comforting and adds power to push cuts through cabbages and eggplants.
I’ve even used it to fillet a few walleyes. Kind of fun to let the weight of a sharp tall nakiri fall right thru big homegrown heirloom slicing tomatoes.
I don’t think you could find a better tool to prepare cole slaw, potatoes O’Brien, most stir fry dishes and charcuterie.
Heavier than a 210 mm gyuto, it doesn’t brunoise onions as well and the kurouchi finish does not aid food release, so maybe not the best for line cooks.
Immediately after use wash and wipe dry. The blade road is pretty reactive until a patina forms but after that not too bad. Does not like prolonged sessions cutting lemons, onions or tomatoes!
Over time kurouchi finish will fade, Ho wood handle will discolor but the knife will just keep cutting and become your trusted kitchen companion.
Sure, there are other tall nakiri that might perform similar but only Moritaka offers hand forged blue super steel (AS) through CKTG at a reasonable price and super fast delivery.
If you like cast iron cooking or old blue jeans, you will probably enjoy using a Moritaka AS tall nakiri.
.Way better knife than I am a chefPosted By: Henry Padilla - verified customer
26 people found this review helpful
I have had a facination with knives my entire life. I have been around them. I know how to handle them.I knoiw how to care for them.
This knife scares me. It came from the factory razor sharp and has stayed that way for months. The edge is beautiful: flat and straight. The grind is very steep so there's a lot of AS exposed but the knife is tall so there's still a lot of surface to carry material from the board to the pan.
You are going to want something to keep it in. The box it comes in is packed with cardboard to protect it but it does not suffice for storage. Not even to keep it there until you get something else.
26 people found this review helpful
I have had a facination with knives my entire life. I have been around them. I know how to handle them.I knoiw how to care for them.
This knife scares me. It came from the factory razor sharp and has stayed that way for months. The edge is beautiful: flat and straight. The grind is very steep so there's a lot of AS exposed but the knife is tall so there's still a lot of surface to carry material from the board to the pan.
You are going to want something to keep it in. The box it comes in is packed with cardboard to protect it but it does not suffice for storage. Not even to keep it there until you get something else.
Excellent vegetable knifePosted By: Walker - verified customer
27 people found this review helpful
I work almost exclusively with vegetables, and this knife has been my daily driver for a few months now. It's a joy to use. I also own a Takeda gyutou, but I find that it has too much flex for hard vegetables such as squash.
It excels at push/pull cutting, as expected. That flat, flat edge works wonders. The center of balance is about 2 inches past the end of the handle. It feels agile yet substantial in the hand, and surprisingly light given its size (if you're used to Chinese cleavers). No problems using this for many hours of prep work.
I got the finish sharpening service, so can't comment on the edge OOTB, but retention is good. I strop it daily, and sharpen it every month or so. Fit & finish is a bit lacking, but easily fixed. There was a small gap where the tang enters the handle that I had to seal with epoxy, and the handle was not fully finished (felt a bit raw) so I applied a mix of beeswax and mineral oil. I own another Moritaka knife which had the same issue with the tang, but not the handle so YMMV. Can confirm that the cladding is very reactive; it developed rust in one spot the first time I used it.
27 people found this review helpful
I work almost exclusively with vegetables, and this knife has been my daily driver for a few months now. It's a joy to use. I also own a Takeda gyutou, but I find that it has too much flex for hard vegetables such as squash.
It excels at push/pull cutting, as expected. That flat, flat edge works wonders. The center of balance is about 2 inches past the end of the handle. It feels agile yet substantial in the hand, and surprisingly light given its size (if you're used to Chinese cleavers). No problems using this for many hours of prep work.
I got the finish sharpening service, so can't comment on the edge OOTB, but retention is good. I strop it daily, and sharpen it every month or so. Fit & finish is a bit lacking, but easily fixed. There was a small gap where the tang enters the handle that I had to seal with epoxy, and the handle was not fully finished (felt a bit raw) so I applied a mix of beeswax and mineral oil. I own another Moritaka knife which had the same issue with the tang, but not the handle so YMMV. Can confirm that the cladding is very reactive; it developed rust in one spot the first time I used it.
Great knifePosted By: Kyle - verified customer
27 people found this review helpful
I didn't get the sharpening service and it wasn't that sharp out of the box, but this knife is great. The blade edge is as flat as they show it to be, and the steel is very hard. The height of the blade is great and a little better for working with limited space than a taller Chinese cleaver would be. There are no sayas available for it but they sent me a felt protector that works well enough instead. A lot of care must be taken with the blade if you're not used to carbon blades, the patina on this one developed really fast, especially with the humid air around here.
27 people found this review helpful
I didn't get the sharpening service and it wasn't that sharp out of the box, but this knife is great. The blade edge is as flat as they show it to be, and the steel is very hard. The height of the blade is great and a little better for working with limited space than a taller Chinese cleaver would be. There are no sayas available for it but they sent me a felt protector that works well enough instead. A lot of care must be taken with the blade if you're not used to carbon blades, the patina on this one developed really fast, especially with the humid air around here.
Best of both worlds.Posted By: Naven - verified customer
24 people found this review helpful
For some time...I'd been looking for a quality light weight Chinese style vegetable cleaver...except in a hard Japanese steel...well this is it! Out of the box the edge was surprisingly good. I gave it about 50 swipes on a leather strop to maximize the factory edge...and it passed the hanging hair test! The fit and finish is quite good...and the blade is absolutely dead straight. It performs as you would expect from it's appearance. The blade falls effortlessly through vegetables...and it slices tomatoes as thin as the thinnest rice paper! It's also wide enough that an entire large diced onion can easily be cleared from the board in one scoop. I haven't used it enough to comment on edge retention...but I'm betting the Aogami Super will hold up quite well. So if, like me...you've been searching for a small cleaver/large Nakiri...this blade is the perfect combination.
24 people found this review helpful
For some time...I'd been looking for a quality light weight Chinese style vegetable cleaver...except in a hard Japanese steel...well this is it! Out of the box the edge was surprisingly good. I gave it about 50 swipes on a leather strop to maximize the factory edge...and it passed the hanging hair test! The fit and finish is quite good...and the blade is absolutely dead straight. It performs as you would expect from it's appearance. The blade falls effortlessly through vegetables...and it slices tomatoes as thin as the thinnest rice paper! It's also wide enough that an entire large diced onion can easily be cleared from the board in one scoop. I haven't used it enough to comment on edge retention...but I'm betting the Aogami Super will hold up quite well. So if, like me...you've been searching for a small cleaver/large Nakiri...this blade is the perfect combination.
