Yu Kurosaki Gekko HAP40 Oak Bunka

The Gekko are Yu Kurosaki's hardest knives. Thanks to the stamped HAP40 steel, this knife stays sharp longer than all his other series. The knife does not have the recognizable hammered finishes of his other series, but is beautifully polished smooth. The name Gekko translates to moonlight in Japanese.

• Hap 40 Semi Stainless Steel
• 65 HRC
• Oak Handle

HAP40 Steel

HAP40 is one of the hardest steels for knives. It is Semi rust resistant which means it is not as prone to rust as normal carbon knives, but we do recommend rinsing and drying the knife thoroughly.

Due to its high hardness, this knife stays sharp much longer than other knives. It does make self sharpening a little more difficult, but you won't have to resharpen it as often.

Lacquered oak handle

This model has an octagonal oak handle with a Japanese lacquer finish (Urushi).

Bunka

This model is the bunka, a combination of a vegetable axe and a chef's knife. The knife has a wide blade that ends in a sharp point. This allows you to precisely cut small fruits and vegetables. However, the knife is a bit more compact than a normal chef's knife.

Yu Kurosaki Gekko

We recommend this series for the professional slicer. The hard steel is more fragile than other steels so good cutting technique is necessary. Thereby, the sharpening is a little more challenging, but you can cut for a long time when it is sharp.

Limited availability

Due to its popularity, Yu Kurosaki's knives are always in limited supply. As a master blacksmith, he makes his knives himself and thus cannot outsource the work. In addition, it is difficult for blacksmiths to obtain raw materials. Therefore, we only get a few knives from him every month. So never wait too long to decide because if a knife is sold out it can take up to a year before we have stock again.