Hatsukokoro Ryuhyo SG2 Kurozome Damascus 7" Bunka

I was a bit skeptical about this knife. I knew it was going to be quite sharp & being SG2 I also knew that it would be pretty good at retaining a sharp edge for decent time. But I just wish i knew more about who forged it & where in Japan was it made. I also was worried about food sticking the blade because of how thin it was. But to my surprise, I was blown away how easily food slid right off, even garlic , fresh mozz & hard aged sharp cheddar cheese which tends to anchor itself onto knives just fell right off. It something about the kurozome etching I believe that is almost hydrophobic that makes food release so well, because even water beads right off when washing.

As for sharpness, this thing is a razor!! Even cutting through a hard stick of salami, it glides through like a hot knife through butter! I was able to get super thin slice cut on that hard salami. I also have a Shun Premeir Santoku knife that I have owned for about 15yrs which is a great knife but it's nowhere close to this. And even though it has a hammered finish, food doesn't release anywhere as nice as this knife. I just hope that the finish remains the same for a long time.

As for blalance, it's pretty balanced & very light compared to my Shun premier santoku. The octogonal handle feels very comfortable for my medium sized mens hand. Pretty easy to handle while slicing & chopping.

All in all I am quite pleased with this knife & recommend it! And the damascus finish is absolutely gorgeous, the pictures…

This knife is a laser that maintains an edge. I have two of them.