Kintaro | SKU: KATO_VGBDA_GY210EB

Yoshimi Kato VG10 Etched Damascus Gyuto 210mm Ebony Handle

Name: Yoshimi Kato VG10 Etched Damascus Gyuto 210mm Ebony Handle
Brand: Kintaro
SKU: KATO_VGBDA_GY210EB
Price: 10336.00 TWD
Availability: OutOfStock

$10,336.00

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K&S Price: AU$10,336.00^*inc. tax，vs:

Store CK	AU $563.0	--94.55%
Store C	AU $491.19	--95.25%

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Last Update:2026-04-29T17:08:21Z

Detailed Specifications

Line	Yoshimi Kato VG10 Kurozome Damascus
Profile	Gyuto / Chefs Knife
Bevel Type	Double Bevel
Weight	169 g \| 6.0 oz
Edge Length	216 mm \| 8 1/2″
Heel Height	48 mm \| 1 57/64″
Width @ Heel	2.1 mm \| 5/64″
Width @ Mid	2.1 mm \| 5/64″
Width @ 1cm from Tip	0.9 mm \| 1/32″
Steel	VG10 \| Stainless
Blade Construction	Sanmai - Stainless Damascus Clad
Hardness (HRC)	59 - 61
Handle	Octagonal Ebony
Region	Echizen
Best for	Enthusiasts Pro chefs

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This VG10 line forged by Yoshimi Kato is one of the most elegant knife I've ever seen, the geomety, profile and finish are all dialed in precisely and combined into a package that offers great cutting performance and appearance.

As a managerial member of the Takefu Knife Village, Yoshimi Kato works closely with Yu Kurosaki, the current representative of this leading association in the industry. As a result, their knives shares many similarities like very thin grind, innovative finishing and high level of finish.

This line is a good representative of those features: the blades takes a slender profile, with a thin neck, the length is measured from the heel, which leads to a long, elegant knife which is good for slicing; the fit and finish is excellent, all the exposed cornes are rounded and polished, with the spine being polished all the way to the tip; damascus pattern is uniform, paired with a Kurozome etching, leads to a dazzling look with quite a high contrast.

Besides the look, these thin blades cuts extremely well, due to the bevel that starts half way of the blade, there is nearly no sticking compair with other knife with same finish, the potato slice still automatically peel off naturally with a relatively thin slice. Spliting roots and slicing iup oninion is a breeze, as the thin blade offers superb food penetration and minimal resistance throughout the cut.

One downside I can say about this line is the core steel, at its price, you can have a lot more options that use SG2 as core steel, which offers more edge retension and hardness compare to VG10. The etched finish can take a more obvious mark when scratched. However, by going one step down in core steel, you would gain a much higher level of craftsmanship, this knife is definitely ranked at the top for the users seek ultimate level of finish and wouldn't mind a different core steel.

Video Review

Pros	Cons
Excellent performance Thin behind the edge Great artistic	High budget Etched damascus can be hard to maintain

Care Instruction

Don't cut hard things! Japanese knives are brittle so bone hacking is a NO NO!
Wash with neutral detergent after use, and wipe dry;
Please don't wash knife with dishwasher, it will damage the wood handle;
Be careful not to leave the knife close to a heat source for a long time;
It is a lot more dangerous to cut with a blunt knife than a sharp knife!
It is best to sharpen a Japanese knife regularly on a waterstone.

Yoshimi Kato

Yoshimi Kato — The Master of Damascus in Takefu

Kato Knife Manufacturing Inc., spearheaded by Yoshimi Kato, is a renowned entity in the Takefu Knife Village, known for its exquisite craftsmanship in knife-making. Yoshimi Kato, originally a construction project manager, married into the Kato family and apprenticed under his father-in-law Hiroshi Kato — one of the co-founders of Takefu Knife Village. Despite his unconventional start, Yoshimi took over the smithy after just five years and earned his traditional craftsman certification (伝統工芸士) in 2008. The company's focus on hand-forged Damascus and masterful heat treatment of high-end steels has made Kato one of the most sought-after makers in Echizen.

Kato Knife Manufacturing — or カトウ打刃物製作所 — has its roots in the postwar era of Echizen blade-making. The workshop traces back to 1948, when the Kato family first established themselves in what would eventually become the Takefu Knife Village cooperative. Hiroshi Kato (加藤弘), the second-generation master, spent over fifty years at the anvil and was instrumental in co-founding the Takefu Knife Village itself — the cooperative that would bring together some of Echizen's finest blacksmiths under one roof.

Yoshimi Kato's path to the forge is one of the more unusual ones in the industry. Before picking up a hammer, he worked as a project manager in construction. It was only after marrying into the Kato family that he began his apprenticeship under Hiroshi. What makes his story remarkable is the speed — Yoshimi took over the smithy after just five years, a timeline that typically takes fifteen or more. He trained alongside Yu Kurosaki and other masters at Takefu Knife Village, absorbing decades of collective knowledge at an extraordinary pace. In 2008, he earned his certification as a traditional craftsman (伝統工芸士), and in 2018 he formally took over the business.

Today, Kato is best known internationally as the “Master of Damascus.” His multi-layer Damascus patterns are among the most striking in the industry, but what sets him apart is the consistency of his heat treatment across a wide range of steels — from SG2 and VG10 to Aogami Super and Ginsan. Every step of production happens in-house, giving him complete control over the final product. The Kintaro and Kanehiro lines, both produced under the Kato workshop, have built a devoted following among enthusiasts who value the combination of visual artistry and genuine cutting performance.

“Echizen's master of Damascus — three generations of forging excellence from Takefu Knife Village.”

Est. 1948 | 昭和23年

Known for Hand-forged Damascus, masterful heat treatment of SG2 and Aogami Super

Website kato-knife-mfg.jp Read more about Yoshimi Kato

Profile

Gyuto

Chefs Knife

A Japanese chef's knife is known as a gyuto (牛刀ぎゅうとう） gyūtō), literally meaning 'beef knife'. Its blade resembles a flatter version of a French chef's knife. Japanese cutlery is known for sharpness due to its acute blade geometry, and the hardness of the steel used, sometimes exceeding 60 HRC on the Rockwell Scale A typical western chef's knife may be sharpened to an edge angle of 20-22°, while a Japanese gyuto generally has a sharper edge angle of 15-18° (or even lower), which requires a harder, more brittle grade of steel. In recent years Japanese gyuto have gained in popularity with western chefs.

A modern chef's knife is a multi-purpose knife designed to perform well at many differing kitchen tasks, rather than excelling at any one in particular. It can be used for mincing, slicing, and chopping vegetables, slicing meat, and disjointing large cuts.

Compare with

VG10

—

15.0% 11.3% 7.5% 3.8% 0

1.0%

15.0%

0.25%

1.0%

1.55%

C — Carbon Cr — Chromium V — Vanadium Mo — Molybdenum Co — Cobalt

Hardness 59–61 HRC

555759616365+

Steel

VG10

Manufacturer
- Takefu Special Steel, Japan
Nature Stainless
Hardness59–61 HRC

Takefu VG10, is a high-end stainless steel celebrated for its exceptional edge retention and sharpness. It is a popular choice among Japanese kitchen knife makers and widely used in various types of knives, including kitchen knives, folders, and fixed blades.

VG10 achieves a hardness of around 60-61 HRC, with some makers pushing it to 62 HRC, ensuring good edge holding and stain resistance. The steel's composition includes 15% chromium (Cr) for corrosion resistance, 1% molybdenum (Mo), and 1.5% cobalt (Co) for matrix strengthening, leading to high hardness and durability. The addition of vanadium (V) refines its microstructure and, along with Cr and Mo, produces hard carbides that enhance wear resistance. VG10 is easy to sharpen, has good machinability, and supports secondary hardening with high-temperature tempering, making it suitable for blades that may undergo surface coating treatments up to about 450℃. Its well-rounded attributes make VG10 steel highly versatile, performing excellently in a range of applications from kitchen and general-purpose knives to machine blades.

Construction

Sanmai - Stainless Damascus Clad

Sanmai(Three-Piece) is a common construction for double bevel knives where two pieces of softer cladding steel are forgewelded to each side of a harder core steel. The harder but more brittle core steel will form the hard cutting edge after heat treating, and the softer cladding will support the core to increase the overall strength of the blade.

Damascus Sanmai utilize damascus steel as the cladding material for the Sanmai construction, which adds aesthetic feature to the blade. On the Kitchen knives with stainless core steel, the damascus cladding will be stainless, this means they will also protect the carbon/semi-stainless core from rusting/discolouration.

The soft cladding enables the thinning process to be a lot easier than a honyaki or monosteel construction. However, when the cladding is made of damascus, whether etched, polished or mirror polished, the thinning process will take a toll on the cladding, meaning the damascus won't look the same as when it was taken out of the box.

Handle

Handle Specs

Profile Octagonal WA
Material
- Ebony

This handle, crafted from a single piece of ebony, exemplifies minimalist elegance and functional design. Its unique octagonal shape, featuring a subtle taper, offers a comfortable grip and a visually appealing geometric profile. The ebony wood, known for its deep, rich color and durability, has been meticulously milled from a single block, ensuring a seamless construction that highlights the wood's natural beauty and grain. The handle's surface has been highly polished, achieving a glossy finish that not only enhances the ebony's luxurious dark hue but also provides a smooth, tactile experience for the user. This design choice reflects a minimalist approach, focusing on simplicity, quality, and usability. The combination of the octagonal shape with the taper adds a modern twist to the classic material, making it a standout piece that blends traditional craftsmanship with contemporary aesthetics.

Yoshimi Kato VG10 Etched Damascus Gyuto 210mm Ebony Handle

Detailed Specifications