REVIEW - Kisuke x Xinguo Blue 1 Kurouchi Tsuchime Mirror Kasumi Kiritsuke Gyuto
the tsushime melting away in the mirror polish
it's hard to see buut it's actually quite a wide bevel, look where the grind starts at the handle
probably says kisuke sanjo or something
look at them lil bubbles of cladding
super high end hardwood handle with marble horn
actually quite flat but still a gentle curve ya know ?
top notch finish like this sanded choil
really needs a video to explain the finish. it's so dark !
Oh ! Hello there friends !
A few thoughts on an amazing knife. Bought it a syoukon hamono from Hong Kong.
Well first you have to admire kisuke manaka ability to build an instantly recognizable brand. This black cladding, deep shiny thushime is absolutely unique. Makes you think of Tadeka.
On manaka san i recommend you watch the video from knifewear "the rising star of japanese blacksmithing"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5kEeBdGugI
So what's in the box ? the wet dream of a reddit knife nerd. A knife that is very tall, very long and pointy, super flat, very thin, with a super unique cladding and an excellent mirror polish. What's not to like about it ?
cutting edge : 245mm
height : 59mm
spine at the handle : 4mm
mid: 2,2
tip: 2
weight : 238g
impressive numbers huh ?
also the look is amazing ain't it ? How does he do this black cladding ? and why is there two tints in the cladding ? sorcery.
as for the performance it's great. It's heavy and thin and tall and cuts very well. It can feel delicate though. you can feel the tip go "ping" if you inadvertently stick it in the cutting board even a little. It makes me think of the Hado Sumi B1D in terms of performance. Same very tall profile, very thin grind. You just need to have proper technique using those at all time. But when you do it just slays. Carrots, parsnips, onions, you name it. no sound no nothing just peace and quiet and fear for your fingers.
all in all I absolutely love it. I don't know much about xin guo, i know it's a team of chinese craftsman working for a shop in china. And I've heard they're amazing, people frequently went into my dms trying to talk me into buying one of their honyakis.
but let me tell you : those guys fucks. The mirror polish is amazing. really the best I've seen (admittedly i haven't seen much of those anyway). and the grind is really wicked thin.
really it's like manaka san is lurking the forums taking notes of what the people wants. Tall. Long. Thin. Recognizable.
highly recommended. It's expensive but I feel you're getting a lot of knife for the price.
whaddya think ?