Sukenari Knives Best 5 & Reviews

Sukenari has gained much popularity thanks to its proactive and practical business style and a producer of high-quality professional knives.
In 1933, Master Hanaki Toukichi founded Sukenari. He mastered the traditional methods of forging and making knives through his experience working with the famous Japanese sushi chef knife-maker Masamoto.

Sukenari specializes in making professional cooking knives. Sukenari uses Japanese sword manufacturing technology that is very time-consuming and difficult. Sukenari forges high-speed steels and hard steels to maintain the same blade quality and edge retention.

Sukenari is widely known for being one of the few knife makers that can treat hard steels. You can rely on Sukinari’s expertise in treating steels like ZDP189, HAP 40, and its unmatched treatment for Aogami Steel. Aside from it, Sukenari also is certified to create Honyaki knives with unparalleled edge retention, durability, and cutting edge.

Brand History of Sukenari Knife

The manufacturer that is now known as Sukinari was previously known as Yusei Knife store. Tokichi Hanaki established this store in April 1933 in Asakusa-Ku, Tokyo (currently Taito-Ku). Sukenari was a small artisan maker. Their goal was to sell and manufacture cooking knives.
Due to the damage of the war in 1945, Tokichi resumed work as “Yusei Knife Mfg. Co., Ltd.” located in Fuchumachi Nagasawa, Toyama Prefecture.

Shigeo Hanaki, the second generation, opened “Yusei Knife Store” in Nagoya City around Showa 43.

He also opened another store in 1975 known as “Kanazawa Store”. This store is in Kanazawa City in Ishikawa.

In 1985, they opened “Yusei Sohonten” in Toyama City.
Finally, in March 1989, the name of the store became Sukenari Co., Ltd. They relocated on September 1, 1995, in Fuchu town to expand production.

Shigeo Hanaki was awarded the Medal with Yellow Ribbon in June 1997. This medal of yellow ribbon is for those individuals that became public role models with diligence and perseverance.
Now, Sukenari is in the hands of the third generation – Mr. Nobuo Hanaki, the representative director. Shigeo Hanaki, on the other hand, becomes the chairman of the board.

With their leadership and skills, Sukenari will continually commit to creating the best chef knives through the tradition of Japanese knife making.

The 80 years traditional forging techniques are now fused with state-of-the-art new steel, resulting in the finest kitchen knives of the next generation.

Feature of Sukenari Knives

Like other manufacturers, Sukenari also produces Japanese and Western knives. These include Chef’s knife, Santoku knife, Deba knife, Petty knife, Yanagi, and other knives.

Sukenari groups their Japanese knives into three types. These are stainless steel Benxia knives, Qinggang Benxia knives, and Special steel knives.

Sukenari also has a collection of Dashi knives.

Sukenari takes pride in their works of hard steels. Sukenari likes to forge new and exciting steels such as ZDP-189, HAP 40, SG2, VG10, Aogami Super, R-2, and Super X to create knives with superb performance and practicality. These Japanese special steel knives are for professional use.

Sukenari crafters use different materials for their handles. They use zebra wood, magnolia, Ebony, Bocote, and buffalo horn ferrule. Some knives come with Saya or sheathe made from black lacquered wood with black pakkawood Saya pin.

Sukenari proactively preserves the traditional Japanese method of forging and knife making. Though they are practicing the traditional Japanese way, they never forget to innovate.

The Best 5 Sukenari Knives

1.Sukenari ZDP189 Damascus Gyuto Japanese Knife 210mm Shitan Handle

This knife is a Gyuto knife. This knife is suitable for a wide range of tasks such as cutting meat, fish, vegetables, and fruits. Sukenari crafters forge this knife using ZDP 189 that is one of the hardest alloys for knife making. Crafters can grind this metal much thinner than other steels making its sharpness much longer than the others because of its hardness.

The knife also has softer stainless steel clad in the inner core of the ZDP189 that makes it easy to clean.

The blade is stunning with its mirror-polished Damascus face. It perfectly matches its Shitan handle and water buffalo horn ferrule.

2.Sukenari HAP40 3 Layer Petty-Utility Japanese Knife 165mm Shitan Handle

This knife is a Petty knife. This knife is mainly used for chopping vegetables, herbs, and even filleting fish.

Sukenari crafters use HAP 40 semi-stainless steel. This kind of steel holds its edges better than other steels and known for sharpness, superior abrasion resistance, and impressive edge retention. It is three-layered. The core is hardened steel jacketed with soft steel.
The blade is double-edged and comes with a nicely polished shitan and buffalo horn handle.

3.Sukenari ZDP189 Damascus Kiritsuke Gyuto Japanese Knife 210mm Shitan Handle

This knife is a Kiritsuke knife which is a cross between a Gyuto and a Yanagi. This knife is suitable for slicing fish and is hard to use because of its long blade and angled tip. Executive chefs commonly use this knife.

Sukenari crafters forge this knife using ZDP 189 that is excellent in edge retention.

The blade is double-edged and paired with a Shitan handle and water buffalo horn ferrule.

4.Sukenari White Steel No.2 Hongasumi Yanagiba Japanese Knife Magnolia Handle

This knife is considered an entry-level range. It is priced economically and is popular for first-time and inexperienced users.
The knife is an example of a Yanagiba knife primarily used for slicing boneless fish fillets for Sashimi and Sushi dishes.

Sukenari crafters forged this knife with a cutting-edge high carbon Hitachi Shirogami #2. It is welded with soft iron to increase the toughness and easy resharpening.

The blade is hand polished and has a comfortable grip through its D-shaped magnolia wood handles complemented with water buffalo horn ferrules. A matching wooden Saya or sheathe also is included to protect the blade.

5.SUKENARI SUPER GOLD 2 SG2 GYUTO CHEF KNIFE 240MM WATER BUFFALO

This knife is a Gyuto knife which is very famous for being an all-rounder knife. You can use it for a wide range of activities.

This knife is from Super Gold 2 powder steel. This steel is high-quality steel having high corrosion resistance properties, superior hardness, toughness, and wear resistance. This knife is also easy to resharpen and is famous for its edge retention.

The knife is simply elegant with its octagonal magnolia handle together with its water buffalo horn ferrule.

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Sukenari Knives Reviews

Sukenari knives are famous for having blades with unparalleled edge retention because their material is usually hard steel. The reviews below show how Sukenari is on top of others when talking about edge retention and sharpness.

Sukenari HAP40 3 Layer Petty-Utility Japanese Knife 165mm Shitan Handle receives a 5-star rating from 3 reviews. Users highlighted their experience with this product that it is an excellent “laser” preparation knife. It is simply amazing when slicing, dicing, and even taking large products. Another user quoted, it is a dream come true to anyone into food because of its right beveled edge that is relatively easy to sharpen. Overall, users, experience shows that this product is an excellent purchase and highly recommended.

Sukenari HAP-40 Series Kiritsuke receives a rating of 4.9 stars from 7 reviews. Buyers adore this knife because of its long-lasting sharp edge.

One user shared that Sukenari’s craftsmanship is superb for being able to construct this knife. The fit and finish are excellent. The surface is polished in a way that friction of the blade with food is reduced. Overall, this product has brought happiness and satisfaction to the consumers.

Sukenari HAP-40 Series Wa Gyuto receives a 4.9-star rating from 13 reviews. Users have commended this knife with the superb edge retention and capable of holding its edge better than other knives. One user quoted that it never rusts even when not cleaned for hours. It is also beautiful with its mirror-like finish. Overall this knife is perfect and must be tried by other buyers.

Summary

Sukenari might be a small artisan knifemaker. However, Sukenari is also an example of one of the few manufacturers capable of handling hard steels.

Sukenari maintained and passed its Japanese way of forging knives specialized on hard steels. This skill is unique for knife manufacturers since not all are capable of treating hard steel.

Today, Sukenari is led by the third, Nobuo Hanaki, with the help of the second-generation Shigeo Hanaki. Together they will lead Sukenari to better heights in improving the quality and performance of their knives.