The Harukaze AS Morado Bunka 170mm is a really good knife at an excellent price with an oval handle made of rosewood and maple. It's not easy to find a knife using AS edge steel at this price and finish level. We highly recommend this one.
Brand: Harukaze
Location: Tosa, Japan
Construction: San Mai, Hammer Forged
Cladding: Stainless
Edge Steel: Aogami Super
Edge: Even
Finish: Hammered/kurouchi
Handle: Rosewood Oval
Ferrule: Maple
Weight: 4.3 oz (122 g)
Edge Length: 175 mm
Total Length: 316 mm
Spine Thickness at Base: 1.9 mm
Blade Height: 42.8 mm
Photos by Gustavo Bermudez
Reviews
6 review(s) WRITE A REVIEW (Reviews are subject to approval)
Great Knife!
Beyond expectations
Revised review
Posted By: Ryan R
4 people found this review helpful
OK I wanted to revise my previous review of this knife, I was a little too hard on it initially. After sharpening this knife myself and using it a bit more my opinion of it has improved. These are obviously not hand sharpened and I needed to work out some of the angle variations produced by the initial sharpening, the edge was more acute in some areas than others. I will say it seems they did a nice job heat treating the AS. It is very hard and wear resistant (seems almost as hard as my Moritaka) and it's holding an 8k edge very nicely with no micro chipping. It does seem like one of the more reactive renditions of AS I've worked with but it's producing a very pretty patina. I would still like to see a bit of distal taper but overall for the money this is a good knife. Very nice fit and finish for the price point, I like the handle a lot. Food release is good too. Wedges just a little in harder stuff but I knew this wouldn't be a laser. My only advice would be to get the sharpening service if you aren't comfortable sharpening it yourself. CKTG does an excellent sharpening job from what I've seen on other's knives although I've never had it done to one of mine because that's half the fun
4 people found this review helpful
OK I wanted to revise my previous review of this knife, I was a little too hard on it initially. After sharpening this knife myself and using it a bit more my opinion of it has improved. These are obviously not hand sharpened and I needed to work out some of the angle variations produced by the initial sharpening, the edge was more acute in some areas than others. I will say it seems they did a nice job heat treating the AS. It is very hard and wear resistant (seems almost as hard as my Moritaka) and it's holding an 8k edge very nicely with no micro chipping. It does seem like one of the more reactive renditions of AS I've worked with but it's producing a very pretty patina. I would still like to see a bit of distal taper but overall for the money this is a good knife. Very nice fit and finish for the price point, I like the handle a lot. Food release is good too. Wedges just a little in harder stuff but I knew this wouldn't be a laser. My only advice would be to get the sharpening service if you aren't comfortable sharpening it yourself. CKTG does an excellent sharpening job from what I've seen on other's knives although I've never had it done to one of mine because that's half the fun
Good fit and finish, not so great edge geometry
Posted By: Ryan R
4 people found this review helpful
The fit and finish on this blade is nice. Chefknivestogo got it to me quickly so no complaints there. Very sharp OOTB. I'm not so thrilled with how thick it is behind the edge though. Both directly behind the edge and the primary grind. I have plenty of western knives and much cheaper Japanese knives that have better edge geometry. Even if the steel is excellent I don't like feeling like I have to thin a knife immediately upon receiving it. If you're used to Anryu or Kato knives etc. this knife definitely isn't going to do it for you. It also has zero distal taper and it doesn't have the sturdiest feel due to how thin the tang is left. I feel like I'm left with a knife that has sturdy edge geometry but also a little bit of a flimsy tang. I can't see myself picking this up unless I feel whatever I'm cutting may damage one of my knives that actually has good cutting geometry. If you're looking for a pretty knife that doesn't cut all that well go ahead and pick this knife up. If you're looking for performance this isn't your knife. Again no complaints with Chefknivestogo but I'm probably not going to be purchasing another Harukaze knife based on this example
4 people found this review helpful
The fit and finish on this blade is nice. Chefknivestogo got it to me quickly so no complaints there. Very sharp OOTB. I'm not so thrilled with how thick it is behind the edge though. Both directly behind the edge and the primary grind. I have plenty of western knives and much cheaper Japanese knives that have better edge geometry. Even if the steel is excellent I don't like feeling like I have to thin a knife immediately upon receiving it. If you're used to Anryu or Kato knives etc. this knife definitely isn't going to do it for you. It also has zero distal taper and it doesn't have the sturdiest feel due to how thin the tang is left. I feel like I'm left with a knife that has sturdy edge geometry but also a little bit of a flimsy tang. I can't see myself picking this up unless I feel whatever I'm cutting may damage one of my knives that actually has good cutting geometry. If you're looking for a pretty knife that doesn't cut all that well go ahead and pick this knife up. If you're looking for performance this isn't your knife. Again no complaints with Chefknivestogo but I'm probably not going to be purchasing another Harukaze knife based on this example
Beautiful Bunka
Posted By: Natty
2 people found this review helpful
This is now my favorite kitchen knife. I love the traditional finish. Extremely sharp edge out of the box. Handle is a good size/diameter for med. sized hands. Haven't used it enough to assess edge retention or ease of sharpening. Anyone in the market for a used 8" Henkel chef knife (I don't see myself using it anymore)?
2 people found this review helpful
This is now my favorite kitchen knife. I love the traditional finish. Extremely sharp edge out of the box. Handle is a good size/diameter for med. sized hands. Haven't used it enough to assess edge retention or ease of sharpening. Anyone in the market for a used 8" Henkel chef knife (I don't see myself using it anymore)?