Yu Kurosaki Ko-Santoku Shizuku R2 150mm (5.9″)

Kurosaki Ko-Santoku from Shizuku line is another uniquely looking blade from the hands of a talented master blacksmith Yu Kurosaki. The unique hammer imprints on the top part of the blade resemble water droplets – hence the name Shizuku. The blade is treated to a high polish.

BLADE SHAPE:
Ko-Santoku is a smaller version of Santoku so if you guessed that “ko” means small or short, you nailed it. Ko-Santoku, 150mm long, is a love child of the Santoku and Petty knife. It has a characteristic Santoku shape which makes it easy to identify: the cutting edge is fairly straight (giving santoku a limited rocking motion), while the spine of the blade curves towards the tip continuously at an approximately 60-degree angle, making it resemble a sheep’s foot.

The Japanese word Santoku roughly translates to “knife of three virtues” and may refer to the wide variety of ingredients that the knife can handle: meat, fish and vegetables, or to the tasks it can perform: slicing, chopping and dicing – the emphasis being on the number 3 (San). 

STEEL:
The core of Shizuku knives is made of R2/SG2 powder steel, hardened to around 62 HRC. Two layers of softer stainless steel protect the core steel. R2 steel is high-quality steel, easy to maintain and sharpen and has long edge retention.

HANDLE:
The handle is made from beautiful dark rosewood and shaped octagonally, so it fits the hands of both left- and right-handed users. A great knife to own, use and to marvel at the amazing skills of the master blacksmith. 

BLACKSMITH:
Yu Kurosaki is a young, talented master blacksmith, located in Takefu Knife Village, close to the city of Echizen. His knives are well known in Japan and around the world for their beautiful, special-looking design and great quality. Hammer’s dents on the blade are his unique signature, and like snowflakes, not a single dent is alike. Needless to say (but we will say it anyway), his knives not only look great, they are made of high-quality steels and come with a razor sharp, long-lasting edge.

Before opening his own smithy, Kurosaki-san was the apprentice of Hiroshi Kato, a master blacksmith with more than 50 years of knife making experience. Kato-san is one of the founders of the Takefu Knife Village, where now more than 10 master blacksmiths make handmade knives on display for visitors to observe and learn more about their craft. Kurosaki-san is the youngest blacksmith to be granted the title of Master Nokaji by Takefu Knife Village Association and is the senior teacher there.

☝️When you visit Japan, make sure to put the Takefu Knife Village to your itinerary!

Here’s a short video of Kurosaki’s workshop: