---
title: 'Knife of the Year: Insane Value Under $100'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=0PewcWjZV-E'
video_id: '0PewcWjZV-E'
date: 2026-06-30
duration_sec: 777
---

# Knife of the Year: Insane Value Under $100

> Source: [Knife of the Year: Insane Value Under $100](https://youtube.com/watch?v=0PewcWjZV-E)

## Summary

The video presents the Naru Bunka as the top knife pick for under $100, highlighting its hand-forged construction in Japan, blue #2 steel core, and excellent value. The creator details the knife's specifications, the story behind its development with Tosa artisans, and compares it to other affordable options like the Shiro Kamo. The video also features a custom cutting board and a prototype knife stand from Dun Board.

### Key Points

- **Best Value Knife Under $100** [0:48] — The Naru 165mm Bunka is identified as the best value knife for $100 or less. It features a blue #2 (Aogami #2) steel core, heat treated to 62-63 HRC, with a spine thickness of 2.6-2.8mm, a height of 46mm, and a weight of 149g with an ebony handle. It has a kurouchi (KU) finish.
- **Hand-Forged Uniqueness** [1:57] — The Naru is the only knife available for $100 or less that is hand-forged in Japan. This is presented as the most important detail for Japanese knife enthusiasts, as most knives at this price point are stock removal.
- **Runner-Up: Shiro Kamo** [2:18] — The Shiro Kamo knife is the runner-up for knife of the year. It is a great performer for $15 less, but it is not hand-forged, which is the main differentiator from the Naru.
- **Bunka Shape Explained** [3:27] — The Naru is a Bunka shape, described as a cross between a Kiritsuke and a Nakiri. It has a tall profile for vegetables and a fine tip for meat work, suiting the creator's cutting style better than a Santoku.
- **Tosa Knife Journey** [4:10] — The creator's relationship with Tosa knives began on Amazon, where a similar knife would sell out quickly. After the pandemic, it took three years to return to Japan and find a supplier. A year of trial and error was spent to achieve the desired fit, finish, and edge quality while retaining the price point.
- **Labor Shortage and Tosa's Importance** [5:40] — Due to a labor shortage in Japan, Tosa is one of the few regions where 90% of knives are still hand-forged. The creator believes the Naru knives represent the best quality currently available from Tosa, with a focus on a thin edge and thick spine for a good wedge effect on hard ingredients.
- **Comparison to Moritaka** [6:21] — Moritaka knives are referenced as a benchmark for affordable hand-forged knives (under $200), but they had issues with fit, finish, and edge sharpness (6/10). The Naru was designed to improve upon these aspects.
- **Dun Board Cutting Board** [9:41] — The creator uses a custom 2x4 cutting board from Dun Board. He recommends the 10x20, quarter-inch thick board for $60 as a top performer. He also mentions a prototype knife stand from Dun Board that holds four knives and is made from the same material.

### Conclusion

The Naru Bunka is the creator's top pick for 2023 due to its unbeatable value as a hand-forged Japanese knife under $100. The video emphasizes the importance of supporting traditional craftsmanship in Tosa, Japan, and highlights the knife's superior fit, finish, and performance compared to other options in its price range.

## Transcript

the number one reason why it is my top
pick in my home is because this knife is
the perfect knife for my
wife I am really tempted to tell you
everything about this new Blackboard
I've got here by dun board and then this
really beautiful knife stand but I'll
tell you about them at the end of the
video so if you're going to hear about
what I've got here just go to the end of
the video or just watch till the end I'm
going to make it really short and sweet
for those who don't want to sit around
forever if you're looking for the best
value knife I would say for $100 or less
it's the Naru this is the 165 mm knife
that is incredible I'll give you the
spec breakdown of this knife knife and
then for those who want to sit around
and hear my story of how this knife came
to be I'll tell you all about that as
well but core steel is blue number two
or Alami 2 heat treated to about a 62 to
a 63 on the Rockwell scale and the spine
thickness is about a 2.6 to maybe a 2.8
depending on what sample you've got
height is 46
mm and spine thickness at the center is
about 1.8 it has a nice thickness at the
spine above the heel and has a nice diso
taper to the tip of the knife here we go
one yeah 149 every time I talk about a
knife I always get like a dozen comments
asking me what is the weight of the
knife so here you go 149 for the ebony
handle now it's got a Cuchi finish or
sometimes referred to as a KU finish now
there's one Last Detail you need to know
about this knife and this is probably
the most important detail for those who
are into Japanese knives or those who
are getting into Japanese knives it is
Hand Forged it is the only knife
available at least on my store and for
years of years of searching it's the
only knife available for $100 or less
that is Hand Forged made in Japan that
is the short version of this video you
can go to the link in the video
description or the pin comment and
you'll find a link to this knife and you
can read all about it on our web page
all right so there are a few other
knives here that I do want to talk about
and the next knife is the ski KET sugu
this is the runner up to best knife of
the year at least of the knives I've
tested this year um I posted a video
about this knife just about a week or a
couple of weeks ago if you guys want to
see the full review of this knife go to
that video I'm not going to talk about
all of the specs in this video but the
reason it didn't win knife of the year
is simply because at the price point
that we're talking about at $100 or less
being Hand Forged to me is a really big
deal and that is really the main
difference between the two knives here
if you wanted a knife that is super
clean and overall really good performing
for $15 less or so the Ski kugu Pro m is
a really great knife but for those who
want the craftsmanship of knives being
handmade in Japan the Naru is a knife
that you should consider and the other
knives we have here is this is the Naru
with a stabilized wood handle and then
it's essentially the same Blade with
different handle and then we have a Mor
tet here as reference because of fit and
finish and I'll talk about that at at
later time in the video now as far as
shape goes this is a bunka which is a
little bit different than a short kurit
or a santoku or a niri this is just my
way of understanding a bunka is that
it's sort of a cross between a kurit and
a nakuri The Cutting profile is great
for vegetables because it has a nice
taller profile it gives you a bit more
cutting power but the tip you have this
nice really fine tip that's great for
tip work on meats and things of that
sort and because of that aggressive
cutting profile this knife really suits
my cutting style more than what sent
toku offers so now for those who are
still here this is the long version of
the video it may take me about 10
minutes to explain everything about why
this knife is the top pick in my home
this year okay so I want to talk about
the importance of toasta knives on my
channel and in the broader scheme of
Japanese knives in general I was
shopping on Amazon and most of my
shopping back in the old days when I
first launched the channel was on Amazon
not long after I launched Perfection I
got a hold of a few toaster knives and
every once in a while I would see this
knife pop up in Amazon and I would post
a quick Community post and it would sell
out within 15 20 minutes and then it
would not come back on stock or in stock
for four to 6 months after the pandemic
that knife was not posted on Amazon
anymore I couldn't find it anywhere and
it took me uh really 3 years to after
the pandemic before I was able to return
back to Japan when I went back to Japan
I made a huge effort to go find knife
makers in tosa to offer that knife
because I thought it was such a good
knife and a year ago I was able to
return back to Japan and I found a
seller in tosa that was able to supply
me with knives um the very first tosa
knives that I was exposed to on Amazon
The Edge was not very good and the fit
finish definitely was not very good we
went through a series of I want to say
about a year of trial and era to find
the perfect fit and finish and to retain
the price that we really wanted and this
is the result of that year worth of work
so that is my timeline for this knife
here and my relationship with knife
makers and tosa but there's also
something else that I think you guys
should understand as knife Enthusiast at
this point now because of the labor
shortage in all of Japan and really how
difficult it is for me to get any knife
that's made in Japan especially hand
forg knives tosa right now is one of the
few regions where where 90% of the
knives are coming out of tosa are Hand
Forged now with my insistence when it
comes to fit and finish and Edge quality
and me nagging The Artisans that we're
working with in tosa I believe that the
knives with Naru are the best quality
that you can possibly get at this point
from tosa as far as a knife maker that I
think people would relate to or would
understand would be moritaka now morias
have always held a special place in my
heart they were affordable they were one
of the very few hand Forge knives that
you can get for an agent's knife for
under
$200 but the fit and finish was never
great it was a good fit finish with a
kuchi finish and the edges on their
knives were a bit thicker than ideal and
the sharpness of the knives were like a
six out of 10 so they were never great
when it comes to fit and finish
sharpness and blade thickness that was
one of the things that we were very
careful about when making the Naru
knives I wanted the knives to have a
nice thin Edge but a thick spine when
you have a knife with thick spine and a
thin Edge you have that wedge effect
when it comes to cutting harder
ingredients like spaghetti squash and
squash and pumpkins so here is a summary
of the Naru bunka blue number two it is
made of blue number two or aami 2 core
steel with a kuchi finish and it's got a
46 mm height hand Forge in Japan for
$100 or less so hands down it is the
best value you can find in a knife
that's Hand Forged in Japan today now I
work with about four to five dozen knife
makers in Japan and very quickly we're
seeing a lot of knife makers transition
from hand Forge knives to stock removal
knives I don't have anything against
stock removable knives but there is
something very special to be able to use
a knife that is Hand Forged um that to
me is the most significant reason and
why I'm working with so many knife
makers in tosa is because I'm still able
to support the craft of handcraft made
knives in Japan that to me is a
wonderful feeling and a worthy goal to
attain is that I'm able to support a
whole generation of knife makers that
are still making knives by hand and I
hope that you guys appreciate that um so
head on over to Perfection store.com
look to the bunka section or I'll leave
a link in the video description or the
pin comment you can see where you can
find this knife the video review is over
and I want to talk about this stand here
and my new cutting board now this is a
2x4 cutting board that I had custom made
by dun board I recently got number of
their boards back like a month ago and I
post a video about them which I still
use my home and they have been
absolutely fantastic and then I reached
out to the owner of dun board and I said
hey I want a new board for my Island uh
for my house and he made me a board when
I brought that board home which I was so
proud of I was so excited to use that
board on my Island as a new cutting
board but my wife decided that she
wanted to use that cutting board as a
centerpiece in my home on the island so
I had to have another one cut so I reach
out to Jesse over at dun board I had him
cut me another 2x4 that I can use here
in my studio and that's what we're
looking at here now the 10 X2 is what I
use in my home in the kitchen and then
the 12x 24 is what I use to carry
brisket and Smoked Meats for from my
kitchen to the backyard to my smoker and
it's really great because they don't
flex even though they're only a/4 inch
thick and that material is what I use
for this board here um I don't think you
can find a better performing cutting
board than dun boards 10x 20 board
that's a quarter inch thick for $60 um
now all of the done boards I've shown on
my channel I have paid for so just so
you guys are clear I don't get anything
for free this here is a prototype that I
am being lent by dun board it is a a
really cool knife stand now this is a
prototype this is the very first
prototype um I believe and I'm going to
offer something to Jesse for this
prototype because one I love prototypes
and two if it never gets made I have the
only knife stand that's ever made by dun
board but it's a really cool product let
me just take these these knives down and
show you
um this is the/ in material that you
would normally find on the/ in cutting
boards that they make and this is the/
qu inch material and It just fits
nicely it fits just
perfectly into the slot here and it's
strong I don't see this breaking at all
and when you sit the knife on it it sits
at a perfect angle that the knife
doesn't fall over it just sits nicely
just
just like that and it's just it's really
nice it only holds four four knives but
the knives are spaced out nicely so
here's a 240 mm uh knife you can see it
sits nicely here yeah so I've been using
this knife stand in my studio for the
last well 6 months since I've moved to
this new house and everyone always
comments on it and this always sells out
but it sells for like $180 but it's
constantly selling out for a person with
a small collection if you only have four
knives or less this is just perfect it's
really nice my suggestion and I'll tell
this to Jesse in this video is that
Jesse if you can make this that can fit
six
knives and that's it uh now Jesse may
not be convinced at my words alone but
if you're watching this video and you
like this product and you are
considering buying one go to Jesse's
website let him know in the comments
that you are willing to pick one up and
it will give him a rough idea of of
people's interest and how many to make I
think it's a really cool product being
able to buy a cutting board that's made
right in my city and then having a
prototype sent
me um it's really cool and this is
something that I really want to do more
of I want to work with Artisans all over
the world but as of right now it's much
easier for me to start small work with
artisans in California and in the US and
then slowly I'll expand globally but if
you want to reach out to me and you want
to potentially make something with me
and let's at least get the conversation
going so if you make anything that is
related to Cutlery and knives anything
please reach out to me let me know who
you are I'd love to hear from you who
knows what can happen maybe I can help
you improve a design that you've been
working on or I help you execute and
bring to Market an idea that you've been
working on forever so let me know in the
comments and I would love to hear from
you and I'll catch you in the next video