Sakai Kyuba KYU Chef’s Knife 21cm Gyuto
Quality in cut. Beauty in design. Drawing from a 600 year old blacksmithing tradition, The Sakai Kyuba 堺久馬 Gyuto knife is designed to intensify pleasure from cooking. The Gyuto is a general purpose chef’s knife which serves a variety of functions, it will become your go-to knife in the kitchen. The sharp blade is set in a premium-cut, waterproof stabilised maple burl dyed a Mediterranean Blue colour. The knife comes in a handcrafted, minimalist wooden box wrapped in a unique illustration strip. A lifetime guarantee. Used and recommended by world’s top chefs.
Lifetime warranty
Every knife we have ever made, covered for life.
Free UK delivery
Included on every order over £90.
100-day returns
Use it for three months. Send it back if it isn’t right.
Hand-finished box
Hanko-stamped certificate, 5 yen coin tucked alongside.
Why this knife
The blade, and the thinking behind it.
Your Ultimate Japanese Chef's Knife - The Gyuto
If you’re looking to invest in one good quality knife, then you should be looking at a Japanese Gyuto knife. While specialised knives may be easier to use in some applications, there are few chores that a Gyuto cannot do in a pinch. This beautiful 21cm (8.5inc) chef’s knife will make prepping food a pure joy.
Gyuto knives were originally designed for cutting larger pieces of beef, which is where their name comes from – it literally means “a cow sword”. Now, they are the must-have knives in the kitchen as they are very versatile – they can easily cut meat, vegetables and fruit.
The Gyuto has become very popular as more of a general purpose knife and serves a variety of functions. Its double bevel makes it perfect for both left and right-handed use. It is a knife that will serve you in the making of any meal. This Gyuto is as unique and everlasting as the memories you will create using it.
The Blade: Sharpness, Versatility and Tradition
The blade in is designed to make cooking more enjoyable as cutting through produce will become an effortless task.
The blade is handcrafted by skilled Japanese blacksmiths in Sakai, Japan with premium Japanese AUS10 stainless steel.
It is a stainless steel with a high carbon content, making it harder than most stainless steel types. With AUS10, you get the hardness of a carbon steel but the corrosion resistance of stainless. Hence, AUS10 steel offers an excellent balance between toughness, durability, and a razor sharpness.
The blade has a Rockwell Hardness rating (HRC) of 62 which means the edge stays noticeably sharper for a longer time. This means you won’t have to worry about sharpening them often. It is forged with 46 layers of Damascus steel which is legendary for its plasticity, hardness and distinctive patterns. The blade will allow foods to be easily and promptly cut with precision.
No Handle Pattern Is The Same
The beautiful handle is made with extremely limited European maple burl dyed in a Mediterranean Blue colour and feature a subtle copper ring under the oak bog wood kakumaki (collar of the handle). The wood has to be dried for two years before it undergoes the process of stabilisation. This ensures the wood is completely waterproof to avoid bacteria growth and is able to last generations.
The blade’s kakumaki (collar) is made with oak bog wood. A wood ranging from 2,500 to 5,000 years in age. Its age and living conditions give it a unique character and rich natural colour variation determined by its age. Giving you a knife with a rich history.
The stabilised premium-cut maple burl is shaped into an octagonal shaped ambidextrous handle to give you a firm grip on the knife. Not only are the handles aesthetically pleasing, they are also perfectly balanced, light and comfortable. This allows for maximum precision and more controlled movements during use.
No two handle colours or patterns are ever the same as the natural properties of each wood block are unique and will absorb the colour dye differently. This will give each knife a beautiful unique look and it can serve as an unforgettable gift.
Because Presentation And Packaging Matter Just As Much
All Sakai Kyuba kitchen knives come in a handcrafted, minimalist European Oak wooden box with a delicate waxed finish. The box is wrapped in a Oishya signature illustration strip featuring the Onna Bugeisha – Japanese female warriors.
Inside, you’ll see a beautiful note with a genuine 5 Japanese yen coin for luck. There’s an ancient superstition that giving someone a knife is bad luck because it cuts the relationship between the giver and the recipient. The way around this is to attach a coin of symbolic value to the knife, which is then returned to the giver as a form of payment. As we want you to maintain your relationships with your loved ones, here is a 5 yen coin.
The Japanese for five yen go en (五円) is a homophone with go-en (御縁), which means relationship, connection and bond. So by exchanging this coin with the receiver you no longer have to worry about this superstition.
The hands that make it
Sakai. Six hundred years of blade-making.
Sakai, in Osaka, is the birthplace of the traditional Japanese kitchen knife — a craft passed down for six hundred years, descended from the methods used to forge samurai swords. KYU is the flagship of our range, forged there by a master blacksmith whose family has been at this work since 1927. We make his blades under the name Sakai Kyuba.
The steel is AUS10, folded into 46 hammered Damascus layers and hardened to HRC 62. Each blade passes through around two hundred and twenty separate steps over roughly three months — the forging, folding, quenching, grinding, polishing and sharpening all done by hand, on a small scale.
The handle is finished in Małopolska, Poland, by craftsmen who shape every one by hand: a stabilised maple burl body and a bog oak ferrule — the kakumaki. Blade and handle meet at a single hand-fitted copper ring, set with a soft tap of a wooden mallet, in an octagonal profile.
Care, briefly
Three habits, and it outlasts you.
01.
Hand wash, dry immediately.
Never the dishwasher. Sixty seconds at the sink, then a soft towel. Water on hard Japanese steel is the only thing that rusts it.
02.
Wood boards only.
Glass, stone and marble are harder than the steel and dull the edge in a week. End-grain hardwood is the right choice — hinoki cypress if you can find it.
03.
Sharpen on a stone.
Never a honing rod — the steel is too hard, it chips the edge. A 1000/6000 whetstone every three or four months keeps it keen.
What you receive
In the box.
- The knife, sharpened, oiled, wrapped in cloth.
- A hand-finished box for the knife.
- A Certificate of Authenticity, hand-stamped with the maker’s hanko, naming the smith and certifying the blade.
- A 5 yen coin tucked alongside. “Go en” — the Japanese for five yen — is the homophone for luck, connection and bond. Returning the coin to the giver turns the gift-knife into a symbolic purchase, neutralising the old superstition that a knife as a gift cuts the bond between giver and receiver.
- A care card with the sixty-second wash routine and a link to Knife School.
- Your lifetime warranty, registered to you automatically when the order ships.
Frequently asked.
Is it dishwasher safe?
How often will I need to sharpen it?
Can I use it to cut meat?
How long does shipping take?
What if it isn't right for my kitchen?
From the people who cook with it
Reviews.
Exceeded my expectation. Razor sharp and handles cutting and chopping perfectly. Looks amazing as well.
I recently purchased the Sakai Kyuba KYU Chef’s Knife 21cm Gyuto in Mediterranean Blue, and it has completely transformed my cooking experience. Right out of the box, the craftsmanship is stunning — the Mediterranean Blue handle is not only beautiful but feels perfectly balanced and comfortable in hand.
The blade is razor-sharp, effortlessly gliding through vegetables, meats, and herbs with precision. It’s lightweight yet solid, offering an incredible balance between control and power. You can truly feel the quality and attention to detail that went into making this knife.
It’s not just a tool — it’s a piece of art that makes prep work enjoyable and satisfying. I actually look forward to cooking just so I can use it. Highly recommend this to anyone serious about their kitchen tools or anyone who appreciates excellent Japanese craftsmanship. Worth every cent!
I knew from the outset that there was going to be a delay in receiving my order and I accepted the kind offer of a free upgrade. There was also an issue with the courier (nothing to do with Oishya) but I now have my knife.
It arrived in a beautiful engraved box and also contained a Japanese coin. The box and coin are to be treasured.
The knife is a thing of beauty as well as having razor sharp functionality. I have used it for the first time and it made my work in the kitchen effortless and so enjoyable. I am at a time in my life when gazing upon things of beauty has, for some reason, become important. It could be a picture, or something in nature and in my kitchen it’s my Oishya knife. Maybe this says something about the spiritual element to many things Japanese.
Oishya are good to deal with and Kamila, the founder takes personal interest and is responsive to clients.
Was it worth the wait? Absolutely.
After several months, I still have not received the knife.
outstanding
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