8.5" Sakimaru Knife - Zhen Series (PM8O)

Reach for this when a whole salmon fillet is waiting and every slice needs to come off clean, in one long pulling stroke, with the flesh staying flat on the board. The Sakimaru is a Japanese slicer with a rounded, katana-style tip, and its whole geometry is built around the long draw cut. No sawing. No tearing. One pass and the slice lifts away.

The Sakimaru Profile

A sakimaru has a mostly flat belly and a tip that sweeps gently upward instead of ending in a point. That rounded tip is how the knife gets its name, and it's what lets you start a long slice through soft flesh without the point digging in. HEZHEN sharpens this one as a modern double bevel at 15 degrees per side, which opens it up beyond traditional sashimi work. Use it to fan bluefin tuna across a plate, then turn around and carve a hot ham or a cold roast into wafer-thin slices for sandwiches.

67-Layer Damascus Over a Powder Steel Core

The core is 10Cr15CoMoV, vacuum heat-treated and deep-frozen to 60-62 HRC. That hardness is what you want under a long edge like this one. It takes a very fine finish and holds it through a whole session of carving, where a softer slicer would start tearing the flesh by the tenth pass. Wrapped in 67 layers of Damascus cladding for corrosion resistance and a forged pattern that follows the length of the blade.

Specifications

• Blade Steel: 67-layer Damascus with 10Cr15CoMoV core
• Hardness: 60-62 HRC (Vacuum Heat Treated)
• Blade Profile: 8.5-inch Sakimaru (double bevel, 15 degrees per side)
• Handle: Olive Wood & Black Buffalo Horn (Octagonal)
• Use: Long pulling slices through sashimi, raw fish, and cooked carving proteins like ham, roast, and brisket.
• Series: Zhen Series (PM8O)
• Model: PM8O-XWD

Complete Your Set

Pair it with the Zhen 7" Nakiri (PM8O-XC) for the vegetable half of the prep, where the Sakimaru's long slicing profile is the wrong tool entirely, and the Zhen 6" Honesuki (PM8O-DY) for breaking down poultry before the carving knife takes over at the table.