Japan is known for many things, perhaps one of their most famous products are their blade. It brings about the imagery of toughness and cutting ability. Because of this, manufacturer have a incentive to capitalize on this imagery. It seems like Kamikoto Knives have done this as well. Kamikoto Knives are slowly becoming one of the more recognizable knife company. However, does this mean that they make great knives? Finding information about their product sure seems difficult. This Kamikoto Knives Review will take a closer look at the design and construction of their blades.

Who is Kamikoto Knives?

Their website is a bit sparse on the information of their origin. There is a lot of talk about the origin of certain regions of China. Which make it seems like its a distraction from their actual origin. I suspect that this company is newly formed one. Which isnt bad, its just might not have the lineage that they might want you to believe.

Is Kamikoto Knives Made in Japan?

Their information article seems to state that its both made in Japan and China. They even have a whole flow chart on how its manufacturer. In my experience if a product is both made in China and Japan, most of the time its made in Japan. But you never know, most of their knives might be made in Japan.

Are Kamikoto Knife Good?

Perhaps one of the most important things about the knives is the construction of it. The steel used, comfort, durability. Knife nuts will go on about the steel used, the grind and the hardness. Finding information on these aspect is a little hard on website like amazon. Even the production information on each knife seems sparse. I was only able to find information on one of their general information page.

Steel Used

Kamikoto Knives seems to utilize two type of steel. 420J2 steel (Genten series) and SLD steel (Ganjo series). The exact composite of these steel are not listed, which is fair. Most companies wont tell you much information about its construction.

I am guessing but these steel are mostly stainless steel to prevent corrosion and ease of use. Most home cooks do not like having to deal with rust. Blades with high carbon content, while preferred by Chef, are not liked by home cook.

Hardness

The hardness of the blade will determine how well it holds on to the edge and whether it will chip. The Genten Series uses a softer blade with a rockwell hardness of around 53 +/-2. This is inline with a lot of German or Western blade. They take more of a beating but will usually dull quicker.

While the SLD steel is more inline with traditional Japanese blades using a hardness of around 62 +/- 2. Blades that are harder retain their edge better. But they will chip if you cut harder object such as bones or squash. I should note that harder steel are more difficult to sharpen.

Bevel

One of the selling points of their knives are the Bevel. Instead of a dual bevel that you see in western knife, you get a single bevel. This means that its sharpen only on one side. This is the type of things you only see on Japanese blades. The main advantage to this design is control. For example, if you are cutting a thin sheet, a double bevel blade will cause uneven cut. As you push, the blade will go up and down creating a wavy sheet. With a single bevel blade, its more uniform and easier to control. These type of blades are great for filleting fish for example. In regular cooking, you wont notice much of a difference.

Shape

Construction aside, the shape of it affects how you cut and chop. The profile of their blade is mostly flat. This means a lot of tap chopping instead of a rocking motion of a western knife. It seems like the shape is a hybrid of western and Japanese blade. Just enough belly so that you can rock chop, but flat enough to tap chop.

Kamikoto Knives vs Shun

You should probably stick with Shun. The information about the knives is pretty straight forward and it seems like Shun have a better reputation for knives. But even then, I think Shun are a bit expensive. There are better choices like Mac Knives. But if I had to choose, I would go for Shun.

Kamikoto Kanpeki Knife Set Review

This set is their starter or standard knife. It comes with a slicing, nakiri and paring knife. While its ok, the slicing knife is not really necessary. The Nakiri is a general purpose knife that is great for vegetable and other task, but generally shorter than a full size Chef Blade. Utility knife is pretty nice. However, this set would have benefited more from a Chef Knife. Its ok, just not ideal if you’re looking for a workhorse knife.

Is Kamikoto Knives Worth It?

I dont think so. They seem like a Random direct to consumer company. There are many other great option out there like Mac, Tojiro, Global, Misono and more. Your have plenty of choices and their knives are better in my opinion. Thats not to say these are bad knives, its just that I think there are better option. But give it a shot if you want.

Looking for a knife a I recomend? Check out our review on Mac Pro Chef Knife.