8.5" Bunka Knife - Uliassi Series (X03)

This is the knife you pick up when you want something lighter and more nimble than a 10-inch but need a blade that still handles real prep - not just garnish work. The 8.5-inch Bunka gives you a flat belly for clean push cuts through daikon and leeks and a sharp reverse-tanto tip that's built for the kind of detail work a curved chef knife makes awkward. It sits right at the crossover between a daily driver and a specialist.

The Bunka Advantage

Where a Western chef knife curves up toward the tip, a Bunka runs flat along the belly and then drops sharply at the spine to meet that reverse-tanto point. The flat section is what makes it fast for push-cutting thin slices of courgette or ribbons of leek. The tip is what makes it useful for scoring skin, trimming artichokes, or working around bones without swapping blades. You'll reach for it first on most Japanese-style prep and many Western tasks too.

73-Layer Damascus, Powder Steel Core

The core is 14Cr14MoVNb powder steel, vacuum heat-treated to 62 HRC. It's the same steel used in the Lan Series (B37) - a fine-grained powder metallurgy alloy that gets very sharp and stays sharp through full prep sessions. The 73-layer Damascus cladding wraps the core for chip resistance and the flowing wave pattern that runs across the full blade face. Rosewood handle, hidden tang, sized for comfortable pinch-grip use over long periods.

Specifications

• Blade Steel: 73-layer Damascus with 14Cr14MoVNb powder steel core
• Hardness: 62 HRC (Vacuum Heat Treated)
• Blade Profile: 8.5-inch Bunka (reverse-tanto tip, flat belly push-cut profile)
• Handle: Rosewood, hidden tang
• Use: Everyday push-cut prep, thin vegetable slicing, tip detail work on herbs and small produce.
• Series: Uliassi Series (X03)
• Model: X03-8QF

Complete Your Set

Pair it with the Uliassi Series 7.5" Santoku (X03-RS) when you want a shorter, lighter option for faster switching, and the 10" Bread Knife (X03-MB) for the loaves you're slicing after the prep is done.