Naru by Burrfection Store
Naru “Hatsukou Series” Aogami #2 Kurouchi 165mm Bunka with Ebony Handle
Price:
$142.00
Introducing Naru by Burrfection Store - our exclusive in-house brand curating the best Japanese bladesmiths have to offer. Our inauguration "Hatsukou series" features hand-forged in Tosa Japan with Aogami #2 steel hardened to an impressive 62-63 HRC. This knife delivers the authentic experience of traditional Japanese bladesmithing at an incredibly accessible price point. With its rustic charm and reliable performance, it offers excellent value for those seeking their first hand-forged Japanese knife at amazingly affordable price. The center of balance, positioned above the choil and in front of the handle, provides comfortable control for pinch grip users. Each knife comes ready to use with satisfactory sharpness right out of the box. The knives are roughly finished with bare minimum polish to keep the cost low. Despite the unbelievably affordable price, the knife comes with excellent grind and geometry and superb heat treatment. Although you should not expect finishing level that matches a knife 5 times the cost, we are confident that the overall performance of this knife will exceed your expectation for a hand-forged knife at this price point. Paired with a very stylish and classic ebony wood wa-handles.
Spec:
- Origin (Made in): Tosa, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan
- Brand: Naru
- Knife Type: Bunka
- Blade
- Construction: Sanmai
- Grind: Double-edged Blade (50/50 Grind
- Hagane (Core Steel): Aogami #2 (Blue #2)
- Jigane (Cladding): Soft Iron
- Hardness: 62-63 HRC
- Hand-forged, hand-ground, hand-sharpened
- Blade Finishes:
- Kurouchi
- Blade Length (heel-to-tip): 165mm (6.5")
- Blade Height (at heel): 46mm
- Spine Thickness
- Above heel: 2.6mm
- Middle: 1.8mm
- Handle
- Shape: Hachikaku (Octagonal)
- Material: Ebony Wood
- Length: 129mm
- Overall Length: 314mm
- Weight: 156g (5.50oz)
- Stamped Mark (Front): In Japanese Kanji "Naru" (鳴); MADE IN JAPAN
About Naru by Burrfection Store / 鳴 by Burrfection Store
Naru (鳴) by Burrfection Store is the result of an uncompromising journey to make the extraordinary artistry of Japanese bladesmithing accessible to all. Driven by our belief that affordability should never mean sacrificing quality, our team scoured Japan, venturing deep into villages and small workshops to find the superb bladesmiths who could create chef knives of remarkable performance. These artisans, whose craft is rooted in generations of tradition, share our commitment to excellence and our vision of bringing their exceptional work to a broader audience. Through tireless collaboration, rigorous testing, and leveraging our buying power, we negotiated with our partners to ensure that every Naru knife could be offered at an accessible price without cutting corners. Each knife is proudly made in Japan to the superb standards, crafted from premium Japanese steel with meticulous attention to detail. Naru (鳴), meaning “to sound” or “to resonate,” reflects the harmony of tradition and innovation in every slice, making each knife not just a tool but a celebration of Japanese craftsmanship. This is the sound of dedication, the resonance of authenticity, and our promise to bring you a gateway to the world of Japanese chef knives without compromise.
Care:
Aogami #2 (Blue #2) steel is a premium Japanese high carbon steel for knife making. It is not stainless, therefore you must wipe your knife dry after each use, in particular the core steel not covered by the stainless cladding. Patina will develop over time, which will appear as “discoloration” on the cutting edge, but that is the nature of carbon steel - not a defect. Avoid cutting into bones, frozen foods, hard fruit pits.
Cutting Surface:
Recommended cutting surface: wood, rubberized boards and high-end composites, and quality plastics such as polyethene make acceptable cutting surfaces, and will help protect and prolong knife’s edge. AVOID glass, metal, countertops, and other rigid, non-forgiving surfaces.
Sharpening:
We recommend sharpening all quality Japanese knives on whetstones, as we believe they yield the best results for your knives.
P
We couldn’t be happier with our purchase of the Naru Hatsukou Bunka knife. At just $100, this hand-forged blade delivers incredible value and quality that rivals knives several times the price. The Aogami #2 steel is razor sharp right out of the box, and the craftsmanship shows in every detail, from the beautiful Kurouchi finish, to the balanced feel that makes it an absolute pleasure to wield and utilize.
Both my wife and I reach for this knife over our traditional 8-inch chef’s knives. It fits perfectly in our hands, feels exceptionally well-balanced, and handles everything from fine slicing to heavier prep work with ease. It's become our go-to knife in the kitchen, and we genuinely enjoy using it every time we cook. A perfect introduction to Japanese craftsmanship at an unbeatable price. Thank you Burrfection!!
J
I feel so lucky that I managed to get my hand on this. Incredible looking knife. I love the shape, weight, ergonomics. Very nice profile with no belly. If it was about 2cm longer it could easily become my main knife. Needs some care, and doesn't get quite as sharp as my main SG2 chef's knife. But still came very very sharp and perfectly straight. Really beautiful looking knife and just a joy to own and use. 10/10 points to burrfection for supplying this knife as such a low price and with fast shipping. I will definitely be a returning customer.
S
First of all, I bought the knife after seeing the video about it, as most people probably did. It was delivered today; the shipping was good, and it was well packaged. The knife looks like in the pictures and feels good in the hand, at least for me. It had a light oil coating that I appreciate. The fit and finish is good in my opinion, and it was shaving sharp (it could be sharper, but it's better than most knives I've had out of the box; however, the Shiro Kamo was better).
Now, regarding the flaw—at least on my knife—there is a step in the edge. If you rock it, there is about 0,4mm too much material. I will try to show this in two pictures since i cant upload videos for some reason. However, I can't speak for all knives; I think it's probably a defect from grinding that only mine has. I won’t be sending it back for a return because it’s something I should be able to fix with a whetstone.
M
Blade suffered a large chip on the very first use cutting carrots on a soft hasegawa board. It's just been hanging on my magnet as a sort of heirloom since. Bummed
M
Very nice, very sharp, great service from Burrfection, and it's my first blue steel!
R
The blade looks good, my first rough forged blade. The handle is beautiful.
However, will definitely need some work to make it right.
Out of the box it was a dull knife.
On mine the grind on the left side was even heel to tip. However, on the right side it looks like the sharpener was distracted, a very wavy grind down the blade meaning the edge thickness is uneven. It obvious it was only belt sharpened, never by hand on a whetstone, but at this price I don't expect that. I took a video but this website doesn't seem to accept .MOV.
I didn't expect top quality for the price, I expected to have to fine tune it and I will.
If this is going to be your first purchase of a Japanese knife, you may be disappointed, I would recommend spending a little more and getting one more finely finished.
If you're OK with doing some work to get it the way you want then by all means it's a good purchase. Look at it as a highly finished blank on which you must do the fine tuning.
J
Knife is overall nice. Price is ok on page, but you need to add vat and customs, which in my case is 40%. Sharpe enough. Also size is ok for everyday use, my girlfriend like It, whom doesn't like guyto or too big knives for her.
R
OK I got in on the $100 deal for this knife. Overall I am satisfied with this knife - it is a great knife. However, there were a lot of areas that had rough grinding marks still on the bevel that took about an hour to sand out. The knife did not come with the best sharpened blade, but once I resharpened the blade it was able to hold a very sharp blade.
This is a good knife that is worth the price and I would buy it again without hesitation. I know these are hand made so I don’t expect them to be perfect. However, there were just too many blemishes to give it 5 stars.
T
This knife is extremely sharp and handles well. I first used it to prepare a ribeye for grilling and then used it to cut it up for plating. It glided through everything with little to no effort.
A
I bought the Naru “Hatsukou Series” Aogami #2 Kurouchi 165mm Bunka based on reviews of other buyers and I admit the knife is an amazing piece of art. Extremely sharp and functional in the kitchen even for a home chef. Above all I am buying a hand made forged knife by a Japanese bladesman who transferred the knowledge of generations delivered at your home for less money than a factory made is worthy.
R
Just bought the Naru Bunka with ebony handle. It is the best knife in my kitchen. I will now only buy from Burrfection. No more Amazon or cheap Chinese imports. Everything you said about the knife is so true. Burrfection is now my one stop shop for kitchen knives. Ricky, you have just made a lifetime customer... Thank you so much...Ron
P
Excellent fit and finish. Exactly what was portrait and advertised on the YouTube video. Arrived extremely sharp and I am very happy with the quality.
R
Beautiful, hand Forged in Japan, knife at a great price. 3-day delivery to California. The only flaw I see is that the tip is not sharpened to a needlepoint. That I can fix myself. But other than that, excellent experience with Burrfection.
J
Overall I like this knife and would recommend.
There are drawbacks, but for the price it is worth it.
Pros: beautiful finish on blade. Simple but beautiful ebony handle. Sharp.
Cons: pretty decent scratches on both sides of sharpened surfaces of blade. Cutting edge surface of blade not the straightest surface. Spine also not super straight.
I do understand this is hand forged and at very competitive pricing. Overall it is worth it.
C
Beautiful knife with great balance. Cuts effortlessly out of the box and seems to be holding a great edge.
G
Knife is amazing
K
I've bought the "Naru “Hatsukou Series” Aogami #2 Kurouchi 165mm Bunka with Ebony Handle" and although I live in Iceland the knife arrived very quickly.
The knife is everything as was promised and above and I am very pleased about both the actual knife and the description of the knife being very fair and correct so there was no surprise over what arrived compared to what was described other than, how nice a knife it is.
If I should have any comment on the knife it would be that the finished sharpness was not fully what was possible on the knife but it might be extremely arrogant to expect that to be on a 100 $ knife. A few goes on the stone and the edge was quickly there and it keeps. Since I am not used to the Aogami steel I was very positive about how easily I got the edge up and and (so far so good) how well it keeps as well.
Thank you from a very pleased customer and now I am just keen to have a look at other knifes from this maker so please keep me posted if there are more from this maker, especially in the petty, utility kind of area since that is where I have a bit of a possibility of improvement ;-).
R
Perfectly and honestly described in video review and on website. Very sharp (easily passed the paper cutting test) out of the box. I am quite sure, given its Rockwell harness rating that it can be even sharper after seeing some finer grit sharpening. The only reason I gave it 4 stars is because I haven't used it too much yet and have not yet needed to sharpen it. I guess that it will jump to 5 stars with further use and after future sharpening. For those who purchase in the future, don't be alarmed by the fact that it is shipped from Hong Kong. It is NOT some cheap Chinese knife. Shipping via DSL (the gold standard in international shipping) was amazingly good. I received knife in Chico, CA knife 4 days after ordering (!!-I've dealt w/DSL in the past and they are excellent). I can hardly wait to use this knife more, sharpen it, etc. I already think it will become my go to knife. At $100 it is an incredible value.
B
Love the knife. Light, sharp , nimble and easy to keep the rust at bay. Forthright primitive but exactly as described so its honesty makes for a great tool. I reach for it first now. I own a lot of knives but this is my first Bunka. I am almost eighty and have spent many years in kitchens using tools with edges and love new surprises waiting for me. My only complaint is the scratches from the sharpening. I have been working on it so it should be fixed soon. I like the process so it just makes the knife "more mine".
Great price! I appreciate the heads up Burrfection.
J
Great well made sharp all purpose kitchen knife, a bargain, hand forged ! If you had only one knife, it would be perfect. Excellent buy
J
The knife is great and thank you very much
l
The quality for this price is unreal I hope some of the others come back in stock soon
D
Stellar knife at an unbelievable price.
B
Love the black scale finish. Will enjoy it for years.