Store Hours: Monday thru Friday 11am to 6pm PST

Knife Sharpening Services are open

Email us for avaliability of major repairs (thinning, refinishing, etc.)

Custom Saya making services are suspended for the moment

*Free Shipping on Domestic Orders over $100…Want us to take care of initial sharpening? Just ask.

Bontenunryu Kai 165mm Stainless Damascus Wa-Nakiri (With Saya)

Continue Shopping or Checkout

Currently 2 items left


  • The Bontenunryu series features a VG-10 core, clad in stainless Damascus steel. A long time ago, when I was still cooking professionally, I used knives from Ryusen. Ryusen used to be one of the most popular OEM makers in Japan, as they had an excellent reputation for the knives they produced. More recently, the have stopped all OEM work to focus on their own brand. With this shift in philosophy, they have redoubled efforts to constantly make improvements to their various series (profiles, grinds, fit and finish, forging, heat treating, etc.). This is extremely apparent in their most recent offerings. They have done an excellent job at both researching on their own, as well as eliciting in-depth feedback from professional chefs and customers. Their business philosophy is such that they are open to new and better ways of doing things at every step of the way. When visiting Echizen on one of our Japan trips, we met with Ryusen Hamono, the maker of Blazen knives. Their commitment to excellence in grind quality, fit and finish, and consistency in each line they made was most impressive. Likewise, it was clear they took great care and pride in each step of the knife making process, which they do entirely in-house. From the forging to the heat treating to the product design and packaging, they had smart, well thought out processes in place. We are proud to be Ryusen's sole official dealership for the Americas.

    The Bontenunryu series is a medium weight series.  While they aren’t super lightweight in hand, they aren’t heavy… they have a great in-hand feel. The Damascus cladding very elegant, and the fit and finish on the blade is very nice. The western style handles are also extremely well finished. The knives have nice distal taper and are ground quite thin at and behind the edge, with a medium thickness along the spine (by no means thick). The VG-10 core is exceptionally well heat treated, as they use molten salt baths in the process, which we agree is an excellent way to go about heat treating this steel. This knife comes with a ho wood saya.

    • Knife Type: Nakiri
    • Steel Type: VG10 Stainless
    • Handle Type: Octagonal Quince
    • Construction Type: Stainless Damascus Clad
    • Hand Orientation: Ambidextrous
    • Handle Length: 128mm
    • Handle Height: 27.6mm
    • Handle Width: 18.2mm
    • Handle to Tip Length: 176mm
    • Heel to Tip Length: 164mm
    • Width of Spine at Middle: 1.9mm
    • Width of Spine 1cm from the Tip: 1.6mm
    • Width of Spine at Handle: 3.2mm
    • Width of Spine above Heel: 2.9
    • Blade Thickness 1/2 way between the Spine and Edge: 1.9mm
    • Blade Height at Heel: 47.5mm
    • Weight: 166g


Related Items


Website Design by Above Market