Miyabi Kaizen Yanagiba 9.5 inch Knife Review

Miyabi Kaizen Yanagiba Knife Features

The Miyabi Kaizen Yanagiba is designed and made in Seki, Japan, the capital of knife making in the country. Miyabi is a Zwilling J.A. Henckels brand thus, it embodies a mixture of Japanese tradition and German high end engineering in knife production. The Kaizen Yanagiba has a purely Japanese design while the blades are hardened through Zwilling’s CRYODUR process. By mixing elements of these two cultures which have a rich tradition of knife making, you get a truly exceptional knife.

Best PriceThe Yanagiba, also known in Japanese as the Yanagi-ba-bocho, is a sashimi and sushi knife. The exact translation is “willow blade knife”, reflecting the characteristics of the blade. LIke the branches of a willow tree, the Yanagiba blade is long and thin in order to make exact cuts in one move without exerting pressure on the ingredient. As most western knives are designed to push and cut, the Japanese knives are designed to pull and cut. Thus the long, thin profile of the blade makes it easy to pull through a block of fish in one move. Also western slicing knives have a “V” shaped edge while Yanagiba’s have a chisel like edge. With only a one side grind the edge angle of the blade will be more acute, making it very easy to slide through ingredients like fish and gives it a certain degree of non stick properties.

Kaizen Yanagiba Blade

The Kaizen Yanagiba’s blade has a 65 layer construction with a VG10 steel core that is covered in 64 layers of damascus pattern steel. The VG10 steel is very popular amongst modern Japanese knife makers because it is basically a high carbon, stainless steel. Traditional Japanese knives were made from high carbon steel but this material is prone to rust corrosion and oxidation. Thus, by adding a 15% concentration of Chromium and other small percentages of Molybdenum, Vanadium and Cobalt, the VG10 steel, of the Kaizen Yanagiba, becomes a stainless steel alloy. Just perfect for a exceptional blade.

The VG10 is a great material for knife making. But, in order to achieve a exceptional blade this material has to be forged and tempered, basically it has to be hardened. In this case, the Miyabi Kaizen line uses Zwilling’s CRYODUR process in order to give the blade a high edge retention. Through this process the steel is first heated in special, vacuum sealed ovens it is cooled down and frozen to -320 Fahrenheit. At the end the baldes edge will reach a hardness of 60 HRC which is pretty high on the scale when compared to most knives on the market. Thus your sharpened knife will hold its edge for a very long time before needing any honing or sharpening.

Kaizen Yanagiba Handle

All Kaizen knives come very sharp out of the box. This fact is possible because of the traditional Japanese 3 step Honbazuke sharpening technique used to sharpen each and every knife. First the knives edge is ground to shape. Second the edge is sharpened on horizontally rotating sharpening stones. And third, the edge is polished on leather belts in order to achieve the sharpest blade possible.

The handle of the Kaizen knives is made from linen micarta. This material is great for knife handles or other kitchen equipment as it is very sturdy and does not get damaged by water. Also because linen is used in the micarta composite the end finish will be finer the if using other fibrous materials. BUt it will still be finely textured (when compared to paper micarta) to help with grip.

Pros of the Kaizen Yanagiba Knife

• CRYODUR Hardened
• 60 HRC Rockwell
• VG10 high Carbon Stainless Steel Core
• 65 layer Damascus Construction
• Honbazuke Sharpening Technique
• Linen Micarta Handle
• Very Sharp Out of the Box
• Lifetime Manufacturer Warranty

Cons of the Kaizen Yanagiba Knife

• Only right handed Yanagiba on offer

Did you like the Miyabi Kaizen Yanagiba? Then check out the entire Miyabi Kaizen knives line.