Kenshiro Hatono is a young and very talented smith who has been working as an apprentice under Katsuyasu Kamo in the Takefu knife village for about 5 years. He is preparing to open his own business and will begin producing knives under his own name in larger quantities next spring (2024) if all goes to plan. We are very excited to have his knives in our shop and look forward to seeing him grow as a smith over the coming years. He is able to work with a variety of steels, can produce many different finishes and along with his excellent edge geometry we are expecting big things from him!
The Knife
The Bunka can be thought of as the edgier cousin of the Santoku. They serve the same purpose as each other, being general purpose knives at the medium size range and are great for anyone looking for something slightly smaller than a Gyuto that remains very versatile. The more aggressively shaped tip referred to as a "reverse tanto" or "K" tip is largely an aesthetic difference but I do find it very helpful when performing a brunoise on shallots or garlic for instance, the shape and extra height it provides near the tip of the knife give me a stronger sense of comfort when performing such a task.
This petty has a beautiful layered Damascus blade -- truly a showstopper! Petty knives are great for all the little things: Chopping shallots and garlic, mincing herbs and butchering small proteins. They function perfectly as a line knife as well as they're nimble, don't take up much space but can still accomplish a wide variety of tasks. This also makes them a great option for home cooks looking for something capable they can leave out on the counter all day.
