# Kurouchi Nakiri comparison (from my archives 2017)



## Iggy (Nov 15, 2019)

Hi,

this is a review I originally posted in a german kitchen knife forum about two years ago. At this time, I really was looking for MY perfect KU Nakiri. I just post the translation here because I was asked to  ... mostly google-translate due to time and so on but here we go......

Hi together,

I admit it, I have an irrational weakness for Kurouchi Nakiris. Or is this so irrational? Well, I can handle the knife shape and size (180 mm) well and quickly ... they are straightforward and usually easy-care knives ... and it is probably the cheapest option to test the skills of a blacksmith on a fully operational knife ...

With this review, I would like to create a first comparison or a non-binding form of the subjective database which can of course be extended arbitrarily. Of course I can not compare all 180 Kurouchi Wa-Nakiris on the market. Therefore, I make no claim to completeness! I compare the Nakiris which are currently in my possession as well as some provided by helpful forum colleagues.







What am I looking for in a Kurouchi Nakiri?

What makes a good Kurouchi Nakiri? ....
... that's not so easy to answer. As with Gyutos etc., Nakiris are potentially extremely different in profile, weight and geometry. From laser to workhorse. From flat to bulbous pretty much everything is there. The properties must be v.a. Overall, be consistent. With a Nakiri I chop a lot and work in the pressure / shear section. Therefore the center of gravity in the Pinchgrip should be something out of the hand.

Therefore, the profile should also be rather flat.
The front corner is especially critical as it replaces the Nakiri point in some ways. A good Nakiri should not be too round here to be able to do certain fine work and thus the cutting ability in the front does not suffer. However, it should not be completely flat, so that you can weigh herbs to a certain extent, etc., and gain some reserves, which gives deviations in the cutting angle.
The geometry should fit and be more on the cutting side. Especially for chopping a good food release is important to me. A "Workhorse" -like geometry (slightly thicker at the back, thinner at the front) also has its charm in use, but is rather a "nice-to-have" Especially important in the front area is a thin, cutting-ready geometry for cutting of onions etc.
A Nakiri has a Wa-grip... has to have a Wa-grip (for me) 
The Kurouchifinish should of course be aesthetically pleasing and as stable as possible. Nobody wants to have black flakes in the vegetables. High reactivity also has a negative impact here.











The candidates

From the well-known KU Nakiri recommendation (Wakui) to true exotics, the test candidates are quite broad. Left to right:
Moritaka Aogami Super,
Heiji Custom,
Wakui V2,
Kamo-To Kirime,
Hinoura Aogami Super,
Aoki Tokujho Warikomi Shirogami 2,
Watanabe Pro Aogami 2 with stainless clad and Xerxes handle,
Kato Workhorse with Xerxes handle,
Shigefusa






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The test conditions

I am not under the illusion of offering objective comparison criteria here. So I do not nail down which knife might have a little more life and which less ...
Some Nakiris (esp. The Aoki, but certainly also Heiji, Kato, Hinoura) I have been using for months or even years. I have only been able to use some Nakiris in the last few weeks. Also, I have not made any targeted pseudo-scientific tests. I just tried to work almost exclusively with Nakiris in the last time. I usually have min. Two Nakiris used in parallel or directly after each other to be able to compare better. Pretty much everything was cut, but of course vegetables.



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## Iggy (Nov 15, 2019)

Aoki Tokujho Warikomi


The Aoki was my first KU-Nakiri. I had chosen it after a telephone conversation with Mr. Horie from JMS, who had praised the careful heat treatment. The profile is very flat. Of the processing certainly not the most meticulous but also allowed no major flaws. The HoWood Ho handle is one of the most comfortable in my collection with its Rokkaku Hanmaru handle shape. The ferrule one of the most beautiful 

The geometry was not tailor-made enough on delivery, so I had thinned it out some time ago. The cutting pleasure is fine now. Food release on a medium level, but also my thinning on the stone may be owed (I used to lern back then...). I really like the cutting profile and it is suitable for allrounds. Geometry does not change much from front to back








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Shigefusa KU


Ok, Shigefusas do not have the best reputation in Germany ... I think "hype" and "overpriced" are probably the most common terms in the context. KU Nakiri is now my third Shigefusa. The other two are / were one-sided cut knives whose quality in my eyes is beyond all doubt. The Nakiri, by the way, with 180 mm blade length quiterare in size, Is my first on double edged Shigs (have/had some single edged though).

The expectations were correspondingly high. But it did not disappoint when I finally held it in the forums meeting in Amstetten. I've never seen a nicer KU Nakiri or Japanese knife with Kurouchi finish! Classic, simple, perfect KU finish, beautiful Kasumi, flawless workmanship ... perfect 








The bevel is mercilessly executed to zero and likes to cut. But of course, in the delivery condition, it's more like a steady hand. According to experience, the "Swedish Carbon" used by Shigefusa is not necessarily the most robust steel. Therefore, for the first time a slightly more stable re-grinding was off. Since then, there are no problems with outbreaks in normal use.

The Shigefusa is characterized by a very pronounced "distal taper". In the back already a workhorse it is already in the middle very schneidfreudig and forward out almost in the laser category. In conjunction with the good food release results in a wonderful cutting feel. Profile fits too. The reactivity is quite moderate... promising!








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Kato Workhorse (with custom handle from Xerxes)


For the Katos is actually the same image as for the Shigefusas. By comparison, the Kato comes across much more rustic, both visually and by the processing and the geometry. The KU finish less fine, but provided with a visually interesting structure. The Kasumi a bit coarser. The original handle was also quite simple and I quickly swapped by a custom handle (bog oak, buffalo horn, brass spacer) by Jannis.

From the cutting properties makes the Kato its nickname all honor, it is a real "Workhorse". Rear really fat and a little thinner in the front, but still not really really tailor-made. In the analog Kato Kasumi Gyuto the effect is better over than the 180 Nakiri. Nevertheless, the Kato is fun, especially with softer with medium-solid vegetables. Profile, height, food release are IMHO on a very good level and fit well with my habits. I would hope that the Workhorse would also have a steel suitable for Workhorse ... this one is very good sharpenable, but just from the life and cutting edge stability only "ok". (I really liked the steel better on the standard Katos I had). Reactivity and stability of the Korouchi finish are also very good after prolonged use.








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Watanabe Pro Aogami 2 / Stainless clad (with custom grip from Xerxes)


The Nakiri of Watanabe's pro-line is here in the forum in particular also known by tests in which the heat treatment, durability and stability of the Aogami 2 has been praised after resharpening. My Nakiri actually still has the original grind (small microbevel) with which I have come quite well so far I have to say. It is also extremely fine and very very thin. After several months of occasional use I still have no problems with it.

The delivered handle was (sorry) a disaster ... flamed chestnut with protruding plastic ferrule ... the blade in no way appropriate and not comfortable or nice ... in this aspect but could be done with a Xerxes-Custom handle (bog oak with a bright horn) remedy.

The dark finish of the stainless flanks has little to do with a "real" Kurouchi and is very smooth. You may like it or not. It's definitely a different look and IMHO has a slightly negative impact on the food release. The profile seems to suit me very well. The Watanabe is definitely something for lovers of high blades. For some aspects, I like it very much. But felt for the Nakiri, of course, a little maneuverability is lost.








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Wakui V2 Kurouchi


The Wakui is clearly the cheapest Nakiri in the test. And yes, you already notice it on some little things, especially on the obviously not really done by hand Kasumi. But on the whole you get already "a lot of Nakiri" for the money. Geometry and profile fits. You are looking for rough processing defects in vain. The grip is ok. Balance is good. Overall a solid decent Kurouchi Nakiri. No more and no less and IMHO a great knife to try, whether the knife shape is one.

The steel (V2) may not have the prominence of Shirogami or Aogami 2. From my perspective, he is by no means inferior. I see the steels at a comparable level, depending on the heat treatment. And that agrees with Wakui for everything you hear / read. Since it was a borrowed knife, I can not afford a real verdict on it. In any case, there were no problems with outbreaks.

From the cutting performance the Wakui is in the midfield. Reactivity is already pronounced. Food Release is surprisingly in the lower midfield.








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## Iggy (Nov 15, 2019)

Moritaka Aogami Super


You can not gloss over it. The Moritaka is an ugly knife!

Well, it must also be said that the present knife probably had a few years in the pro kitchen before it came to me. The processing of the blade seems rough at first glance, but on closer inspection, there are no rough or functional quirks. Also no notorious Overgrinds. The handle is also quite simple model "Rosewood & Pakka".

The profile is quite flat and angular. The geometry is not very sophisticated, not very willing to cut in principle, but at the same time manages to convey a stable impression and to be sufficiently willing to cut that it does not stand out negatively. The fact that the Aogami Super Moritaka can handle a lot ... I was able to convince me in a Gyuto test a few years back. The food release is almost the best in the test! Results in a real workhorse (without "Workhorse" geometry: D) for carefree use. When chopping, the Moritaka is a power.








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Hinoura Aogami Super


To be honest, the Hinoura is a bit hard to rate. The first impression was consistently positive. At the F & F, the Hinoura is almost on one level! Even the handle closure is solved very clean. The contrast between matte outer layers and the delivery state of a beautifully polished cutting position pleases me well. The handle is otherwise a simple model brand "Rosewood & Pakka", but cleanly finished. The cutting performance is quite good but in the test field rather in the lower midfield settled, the food release also by the pronounced Shinogi rather in the upper midfield. The steel has left a positive impression. Pretty soon after the purchase I reground the edge and the Aogami Super has kept the sharpness very well and has proven to be sufficiently robust. Hinoura seems to have a good grip on the heat treatment here. It can be quite a bit  ... Due to the relatively flat short blade, it looks very nimble and easy.

However, some of the potential of the knife is given away for me. How? By the design of the front area of the edge. The front edge of the nakiris often takes on the function of a tip for me. It is therefore important that this is not too round but thinly executed. This is unfortunately not the case with the Hinoura. The tip is strongly rounded, but the cut remains linear, so that the front cm is anything but a laser ... too bad. Of course, this concept is advantageous when used in the rock chopping... where the priorities lie everyone must know themselves.








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Heiji Custom KU Carbon


For the Heiji, I wrote down my impressions here not so long ago in a different review

...


I have to say that I am still 100% behind my positive statements. It is certainly not beauty like the Shigefusa or the Heiji but rather has a slightly rustic charm, but makes (except the poor grip closure) no gross blunder. In direct comparison, I like the Heiji way better than the Wakui way because it looks real, more authentic ... As you can see in the data area, it is relatively long for a "180 Nakiri" and has a pretty far forward center of gravity. This makes the Heiji a really efficient chopper. The profile has worked out for me as the optimum for a Nakiri ... the reactivity is relatively low.

The steel does not cause any problems. It can be sharpened very well, has a decent edge retention and tends very little to chip.








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Kamo-To Kirime KU


Coming to the last Nakiri in the test, the Kamo-To Kirime KU ... my very first impression was "damn that's light". Well, I know, some like that. But purely tactile Kamo does not look very high quality. You just have to say that. The handle is very light and somehow cheap, compared to the Ho wooden handles of Aoki and Shigefusa. The blade is also very light and both the polished area and the Kurouchi look rough and "blasted". Not nice…

Of course, the lightness points to something else ... the thin blade. From Kamo one is used to a lot and here you will not be disappointed in this discipline! As a reminder, I would classify the present Kamo of the cutting ability over the "old" Kamo-To-Nakiri which I had to test a few years ago. But of course that's just a subjective assessment based on memory. The light grip keeps the balance in a good range, which makes in the IMHO weight class but not so much difference. The knife came sharply sharpened to me. Therefore, I could start immediately and found that the visual impression regarding the good cutting geometry is also transferred to practice. The reactivity is higher than estimated. In fact, it is probably the highest even of the Nakiris listed here in short term use (brown coloration & smell of onions). The life I would classify as part of the test period something under the other blades here. But this would probably have to be validated in an extra test under controlled test parameters. The cutting edge stability leaves IMHO nothing to be desired.








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The cutters


If I am to name the easiest cutting Nakiris in the test, the answer is easy: "the Kamo and the Watanabe". Detached from other properties such as food release etc. there is no doubt about it 








The Workhorse Nakiris


Here I want to differentiate something. Classical workhorse geometries, in the sense of the term commonly used here in the forum, have two of the Nakiris, the Kato and the Shigefusa. Both are much thinner at the front than at the rear. The Shigefusa, however, is much finer and cuts easier. The Kato is more "workhorse" in this regard. Unfortunately, the steel is not quite the most robust, which is why geometry is a real workhorse, but not necessarily in use.








Here scores the Moritaka. Here, the ugly piece of metal can shine. It really does cope with a lot and still offers a pleasant cutting performance. So maybe the "real workhorse" ...



Conclusion


What draws you for a conclusion after such an elongated review of so many knives? I think my personal test result is that I am much more aware of what I am looking for in a nakiri ... where my preferences lie and how I can better classify them based on data and images (see the beginning of the review).

Of course, there can not be a clear objective test winner, as many subjective preferences play a role here as well. What I can say is that the Heiji and the Shigefusa are my favorites, and very clearly! With the Heiji I can work best of all, the Shigefusa causes the biggest grin in the appraisal and also in the cutting








From the price-performance ratio, I see the Wakui up front. It is by far the cheapest knife in the test acts neither as the least high quality and is also in terms of performance in the midfield. The Watanabe offers a bit more cutting performance (and also Watanabe's good heat treatment), but the normal handle on delivery is really bad. However, Watanabe offers it now for a reasonable fee with reasonable handles!

Really "bad" is none of the Nakiris shown here. I did not experience catastrophes. Surprises tend to be more positive (the Shigefusa honestly did not expect that to be as good as a cutter as it is ...). Most have their strengths and weaknesses, which I have essentially tried to make as open as possible on this few pages of review. If I could put together my perfect nakiri, it would be the heiji's profile and blade length / height with the blade finish of the shigefusas, the aokis handle 


I would like to conclude with a few impressions from the test phase and thank everyone who had the patience to read my debauchery


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Regards, Iggy


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## Iggy (Nov 15, 2019)

Update for the Heiji (from 2019)


Hello,


I thought I'll get an old review out of me and give you a long-term review.


In short, if you look at my "What is it today?" and "Set of the day" photos, a knife appears disproportionately often ... the Heiji Nakiri.


The reasons are simple:


1. It offers an IMHO ideal compromise of cutting ability and food release (definitely my knife with the best "eggplant release" 


2. The steel is totally uncomplicated. Lifetime is at a decent level somewhere in Aogami, but can do a lot more and can also keep sharp with the Dickoron. Outbreaks rarely occur. Thus, it comes in my personal ranking of the Japanese (even if he is actually Swedish) carbon steels in second place after the AS of the TF Denka.


3. It has formed a fairly stable patina ... there is not much happening ...


4. The profile is flat where it should be at a Nakiri (over 95% of the cutting edge) and is slightly rounded at the front, so that you can sometimes "weigh" herbs


5. Balance


I find the performance of the steel particularly interesting. The "Iwasaki Swedish Carbon" is used (except by Iwasaki himself for his Kamisoris) in principle only by Shigefusa, Kato and Heiji. Of all three manufacturers I already had several knives (also in the steel). What all have in common is the easy fast and high sharpenability. Since the similarities already stop. Feeling the steel of Heiji is much tougher than Shig and Kato and thus in reality (without applying a microfiber) much steadier.


But as said ... this observation is based on several Katos and Shigefusas, but so far only one Heiji. Therefore, I would be very interested to hear the opinion of other Heiji users!


Although not a perfect all-rounder (is just a Nakiri ...) and the F & F is now not on a high level (the handle was a disaster as you see above!) But definitely one of my "3 knives for the island" 


In my opinion, Nakaya Heiji is unjustly totally under-represented in the knife-related forum circles. Whether that was a stroke of luck or Heiji's really that good, I'll find out soon. The Nakiri will not be my last heiji.


I could actually sell all the other Kurouchi Nakiris...


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## inferno (Nov 15, 2019)

Veery good review iggy!

i know most native english speakers will not understand jack **** of this since the google translate translation is not really that clever. well it is good but google doesn't really know what subject its translating and then it doesn't really make sense. so it quickly gets weird for some readers. nuances for me i guess. gobbledygook for some.

i however, speak swedish. german and swedish is almost the exact same language except we use different words for everything. but its built the same. its a derivate of german, so i understand it, including the translation errors  and those would have been far worse if it was translated from swedish. trust me.

for all you uk/us guys. always remember this:

Has Anyone Really Been Far Even as Decided to Use Even Go Want to do Look More Like?


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## Marek07 (Nov 15, 2019)

@Iggy - as a closet nakiri lover, thank you so much for reposting your reviews here. Really enjoyed reading them. Only problem is... there are now another couple of nakiris I need to try.


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## ian (Nov 15, 2019)

inferno said:


> Veery good review iggy!
> 
> i know most native english speakers will not understand jack **** of this since the google translate translation is not really that clever. well it is good but google doesn't really know what subject its translating and then it doesn't really make sense. so it quickly gets weird for some readers. nuances for me i guess. gobbledygook for some.
> 
> ...



As a native English speaker, I can understand 100% of Iggy's writeup. Yea, I didn't think I wanted another nakiri, but now maybe I do.


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## bahamaroot (Nov 15, 2019)

A very good summation of your experiences with these knives. Lots of very good information, thanks for taking the time to post it!


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## Iggy (Nov 16, 2019)

Thanks for the warm comments. Usually I think my english is better. But the review is quite long and I have quite a busy week... as every week actually.. so googletranslate just was convinient 

So.. no, these not all weren't my Nakiris (the Wakui and the Kamo were lent to me). The rest were my own.

But nowadays I try to be more a user than a collector and eliminate redundancies in my set. So most of them are gone until now, because I didn't used them anymore. I only kept the Heiji (because its my favorite one) and the Aoki (because its kind of a project knife and I really love the handle). In fact, as I said in the other thread, the Heiji Nakiri is by far my most used knife ever. Has even developed a very stable patina showing nearly zero reactivity (with is not necessarily always the case, especially with iron clad knives).

I find KU Nakiris are quite a decent way to get to know the work of different smiths, because usually they are quite cheap, most of the time easy to get (besides the Kato...) and IMHO easy to mess up. So you can see if the maker knows what he is doing 

For now, I'm not looking anymore into other KU Nakiris.But you never know... there are a lot of KU Nakiri to try ... please feel free to add your comparison if you have some experience how another Nakiri compares to one of these or if your experience differ from mine.

Regards, Iggy


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## Michi (Nov 16, 2019)

Marek07 said:


> Only problem is... there are now another couple of nakiris I need to try.


Yeah, you definitely don't have enough of them yet!


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## Marek07 (Nov 16, 2019)

Michi said:


> Yeah, you definitely don't have enough of them yet!


Haha. Define "_*enough*_".


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## MrHiggins (Nov 16, 2019)

This thread makes me miss my Kochi nakiri so much! I shouldn't have sold that one, even if it did try to cut off my thumb once...


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## tgfencer (Nov 16, 2019)

Perfectly readable in English, thanks @Iggy. Makes me regret selling my Heiji nakiri a little bit.


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## Luftmensch (Nov 16, 2019)

Wow! Great write up. Thanks for taking the time to share!


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