Bunmei Knives:
We recently tested Bunmei's line of Japanese Knives. Bunmei is made by the same manufacturer as Global, Yoshikin and they use the same steel as their Western Cousins.
The obvious difference is that Bunmei is a traditional Japanese knife line that uses a traditional wooden handle and the balance of Bunmei knives is also very different from western knives. Our testers found the knives to be much more blade heavy because of the light handles with the tang going only partially through the handle that further reduces handle weight. This is fairly typical traditional Japanese Sushi Knives but it took our testers a little while to get comfortable with the feel of the knives.
Another difference with these knives is the edge. Bunmei knives are are sharpened with a one half to three quarter inch bevel on just one side. This asymmetrical bevel makes the knives much sharper out of the box than most of the Western knives we have tested over the years. The downside is that the knives are more fragile and need to be cared. Many Japanese Sushi Chefs are very particular with their Yanagi Sashimi knives and only cut fish and some vegetables with their knives.
Compared to some other traditional Japanese knives on the market we thought the Bunmei knives performed well and the prices were excellent. This would make a good starter knife if you are just getting introduced to Japanese knives. If you are more experienced and would like the best knife in the category we would recommend Masamoto Knives as another solid, though more expensive alternative.
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