Hayabusa Petty VG-10 Tsuchime Bubinga 150mm (5.9″)

Hayabusa Petty VG-10 Tsuchime Bubinga 150mm (5.9″) is a versatile Japanese kitchen knife ideal for preparing meat, fish, and vegetables. With this knife, frequent sharpening becomes a thing of the past, as its superb edge retention ensures long-lasting performance. A true star of any knife collection, this blade is anything but basic.

Fun fact: Hayabusa petty shares its name with the peregrine falcon (ハヤブサ), the fastest member of the animal kingdom. This knife may not reach speeds upwards of 350 km/h, but chopping with it will feel just as fast.

BLADE SHAPE:
Petty knives are designed for smaller tasks on and off the cutting board. It’s an indispensable knife in any kitchen and can be used for peeling, mincing, paring, and decorating food. Petty or utility knives are basically a smaller version of gyuto or chef’s knives. Due to the length of the blade, it can also be used as a stand-alone knife if you are uncomfortable with longer blades. A must-have knife in every kitchen!
Use for: peeling, trimming, garnishing, carving, chopping herbs, chopping garlic, slicing small pieces of dried meat, trimming meat, filleting small portions of fish, and similar tasks.

STEEL:
VG-10 (V for Vanadium, G for “gold” as in “gold standard”) is made by Takefu Special Steel Company, a relatively small steel company that around 60 years ago managed to find just the right balance of different elements to create the most popular Japanese knife making steel today. 

VG-10 steel is stainless steel with relatively high Carbon (C) content (1%), 15% Chromium (Cr), 1% Molybdenum (Mo), 0.3% Vanadium (V) and 1.5% Cobalt (Co). The combination of Cr, Mo, and V forms a lot of hard carbides, making the steel abrasion resistant, which translates to long-lasting, smooth sharpness. Heat treated to the hardness of 60-61 HRC.

LAMINATION:
The core layer consisting of the harder Aogami Super steel was sandwiched between two layers of softer stainless steel. This technique is called san-mai and is used to protect the hard (but delicate) core from outside factors and physical impacts, which could lead to breakage.

GEOMETRY:
It has a double bevel (symmetrical) blade. The cutting edge is sharpened to a 50/50 angle and stays sharp even after hours of constant use. The blade is extremely thin, which allows the user to work precisely even with the smallest ingredients.

BLADE FINISH:
The blade features a clean, highly polished mirror finish (also called migaki). The surface of the blade was treated with a special textured hammer, leaving complex geometric impressions on its upper part.

HANDLE:
The knife features an octagon Japanese (Wa) style handle made out of bubinga wood. The octagon shape of the handle provides a comfortable and secure grip, allowing for precise control during use. Bubinga is a durable and dense tropical wood, known for its distinct brown color with dark patterns. Its strength and stability make it popular for crafting knife handles, furniture, and musical instruments. It has a beautiful texture and polishes well, giving it a smooth and elegant appearance.

SMITHY:
Hatsukokoro is a Japanese brand, established in 2019, that aims to be a bridge between Japan and the world. It seeks out the best products Japan has up its sleeve and develops sales channels to distribute them around the world. The meaning of Hatsukokoro comes from the Japanese proverb “do not forget your original purpose”.