7" (18cm) Carbon Steel Bunka Chef Knife by Dao Vua

This beautiful Bunka Chef’s knife is perfect for slicing fish, meats and vegetables. It is not recommended for chopping bones or frozen foods.  

Please note that these blades are absolutely handmade and no two blades are the same.  Each knife will likely have small imperfections such as hammer marks, scratches and different handles etc.  We call this character!

Blade Material:

Made from Russian Leaf Spring (5160) – High Carbon Steel.  Forged using traditional methods (22 steps to forge each knife).

Handle Material:

Rosewood ergonomically designed handle.

Packaging:

No box. The knife will be securely packed and will be pre-oiled with premium Camellia Oil.

Origin:

Hand forged in Vietnam by Dao Vua. Dao Vua are a multi-generation (since 1288) Vietnamese blacksmith family named Nhat. Based in Hanoi, a handful of blade smiths hand-forge simple, but beautiful knives of various styles. These knives are building a reputation around the world due to the traditional methods used to forge the knives and the excellent quality of the blades themselves.

Specifications:

As each knife is individually hand forged, specifications are approximate.

About Bunka Chef's Knives

The Bunka knife (or bunka-bōcho) is a general purpose kitchen knife for meat, vegetables and fish. Loosely translated the Bunka knife is a "convenient knife" orto be literal it means "cultural knife".  Compared to its alternative options such as the Santoku or Gyuto, the Bunka has a thicker spine and K-tip point making it particularly useful for heavy chopping and chopping at the heel of the blade. The point at the K-tip is also unique and lower down than knives like chefs knives.  These can be used any time a Gyuto or Santoku might be called for. Since Bunkas' have fairly flat profiles they are most adept at push cutting and chopping rather than rock chopping.

This knife is easier to handle than the generally large Gyuto and perfect as a first knife given the all purpose nature of the blade.

Care and Use Instructions

• Suitable for use on vegetables, but can be used on fish and meats also.
• Do not use on frozen foods or bones.
• Only use natural wood or plastic cutting boards. Never use stone, glass or other rigid cutting surfaces.
• Hand wash with warm soapy water, rinse clean and dry after each use.
• Always apply a small amount of oil after each use. We recommend Tsubaki oil (Japanese Camellia Oil) which has been used for centuries by Japanese knife makers to protect all types of steel.
• Avoid prolonged immersion in liquids (water, solvents, etc).
• Do not clean in the dishwasher.
• Sharpen using a whetstone or a quality knife sharpener.
• As this knife is a Japanese style, the blade has been sharpened at a 15 degree angle. This means the edge is sharper and will cut with more precision than a western style 20 degree bevel.
• Store your knife in a dry place (out of the sheath).
• As a minimum, wipe the blade with oil, 3 to 4 times a year to stop rust forming (more often if near water).