Old style forged carbon steel Kanto knife. These represent the original yo-bocho style, whose design remained relatively unchanged for decades. We are big fans of carbon steel knives like this. They cut smoothly, sharpen easily, and are not terribly delicate if a few basic rules are followed.

The out-of-the-box sharpness on these is one of the best out there, as they receive a natural stone finish at the Morihei workshop before being boxed up. Bonus points if you follow up with a Japanese natural stone on these. Any self slurrying honyama stone in the 3-4 hardness and 3-4 fineness (1-5 scale) range is great.

Being forged, these have a longer edge life and a wider range of finishes they work at. While we are a big fan of stamped Carbon Steel Nihonkou style knives these are a step up in quality that is commensurate with the higher price.

These have a strong right hand bias to the face of the blade and are not recommended for left-handed users.