Kotai Kiritsuke 8′ Knife Review
March 15, 2021
Star Rating: 5.6 Stars
Overall Rating: Excellent Quality Professional Knife
Knife: Kotai Kiritsuke 8″ Knife
Brand: Kotai
Made In: Yang Jiang, China or Seki, Japan
Steel: Japanese 440C high-carbon steel
Rockwell: 59 HRC
Blade Construction: Japanese 440c cryogenically treated steel
Edge: 15° ±1° degree double-beveled blade
Handle: Ebony wood octagonal handle with an intricate mosaic pin and engraved end cap
Tang: Full tang
Weight: about 6.7 oz (190 gm)
Length: Blade = 8″, Total length = 13″
Spine Thickness: 2mm
NSF approved: Unknown…but its quality and clean lines certainly suggests that it is
Cleaning: Dishwasher safe but highly recommend hand-washing only
Cost: About $154 (including tax & shipping)
Availability: Currently available (March 2021)
Warranty: Lifetime
Website: Kotai Kitchen
Knife Stats and Review
The Kotai Kiritsuke knife performed well through all of the cutting tests I put it through. On the thick onion there was a small amount of resistance on the horizontal slices, but virtually no resistance on the vertical slices or dicing. On the carrot pull test the blade performed better than I expected for such a light knife…there was some resistance but it did a good job, especially considering that you usually use a slicing action on a carrot, not a pulling action (which is why I choose to do a pulling test…slicing is too easy!)
For the shallot and basil chiffonade the Kotai Kiritsuke did a phenomenal job! And the free hand tomato slicing test also did pretty good. The tomato was ripe and getting the initial cut through the skin took a couple of soft strokes, but if I had put the knife on a steel for a few strokes to realign the edge it would have done even better (this is an out-of-the-box review so I don’t usually hone the edge before testing).
Overall, the knife performed very well and I feel that it is well designed, comfortable in the hand, elegant looking, and worth the selling price of $154.
Video Review of the Kotai Kiritsuke
Below is the actual video review of how the knife performed through all the cutting tests which we used to evaluate this knife.
| Kotai Kiritsuke Knife Review | |||
| Possible | Actual Rating | Test | Notes |
| Sharpness | |||
| 5 | 4 | Carrot-Lengthwise Test | It pulled through the carrot with a small amount of resistance. |
| 5 | 5 | Shallot Test | Performed very well on the shallot w/ clean cuts. |
| 5 | 4 | Onion Test | Experienced a small amount of resistance on the horizontal cuts & virtually none on the vertical cuts. |
| 3 | 3 | Tomato Test | Cut nice thin slices of tomato on the free hand slicing test (honing it on a steel would improve the initial cut through the skin) |
| 3 | 3 | Basil Test | Fabulous job on the basil chiffonade w/ no bruising or tearing. |
| 3 | 3 | Paper Test | Fabulous job on the paper test. |
| Comfort | |||
| 5 | 5 | Comfortable Handle | Love the octagonal shaped handle! Very comfortable ambidextrous handle with nicely tapered bolster for the “pinch grip”. Has a good, firm “feel” in the hand, is not slick, doesn’t have edges which “bite”. |
| Quality Materials | |||
| 5 | 5 | Steel Quality | Janpanese 440C hig-carbon steel |
| 3 | 3 | Durability | This knife should hold up well for professional kitchen work |
| 3 | 3 | Handle Quality | The full tang and Ebony wood make for excellent handle construction |
| Quality Construction/Design | |||
| 4 | 4 | Overall Construction Quality | The materials and steel are high quality |
| 3 | 3 | Design, Engraving, End-cap, etc | High-end steel blade, etched name on the blade, tapered bolster, rounded edges on the spine, mosaic pin, and engraved end cap |
| General Ratings | |||
| 5 | 3 | High-end Knife? | 1 = under $25; 2 = $26 – $75; 3 = $76 – $150; 4 = $151 – $300; 5 = $301+ |
| 5 | 5 | Utility | Nicely designed chef knife with kiritsuke style tip. The edge has a good roll to it (not too flat), the handle is comfortable and doesn’t slip |
| 7 | 7 | Overall Impression | This is both an elegant looking knife and a practical one. I was very impressed with this knife’s appearance and performance |
| 5 | 5 | Our Star Rating | Overall this is a fabulous knife. |
| Total | |||
| 69 | 65 | 5.6 Stars = Excellent Quality Professional Knife – See Overall Ranking Below formula: (actual score/total possible*6) |
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Get a 15% discount on the purchase price by following the link below and using the referral code: CHEF15PT
https://kotaikitchen.com/?ref=CHEF15PT
Full disclosure: this is an affiliate link and I will receive a commission for each knife purchased. With that said, I stand by the review presented here.
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