Kurosaki Sasame COSP Sujihiki 240mm

Between 210 and 270 mm, depending on where it will work. One Japanese maker lists 210 to 240 mm, double-bevel, for home use and 240 to 270 mm, single- or double-bevel, for professional kitchens.

Another, in Sakai, recommends 240 mm at home, with the size of your board in mind, and 270 mm for professional use.

A sujihiki is a double bevel meat slicer: long, narrow, and made for dividing larger pieces of meat into their parts and for slicing roasts. A Sakai knife maker notes that some cooks also use its shape as a double bevel sashimi knife, so it is not limited to meat.

A yanagiba is the single bevel sashimi knife, cut in one pulling stroke from heel to tip. A single bevel cuts thinner, but it needs practice and is handed. A yanagiba edge is too acute for bone or other hard things, so it stays in the sashimi role. The usual lengths differ by job: sujihiki around 240 to 300 mm, yanagiba around 270 to 330 mm.

Choose the sujihiki for meat and general slicing, with sashimi as a secondary use. Choose the yanagiba when traditional single bevel sashimi work is the main job and you are ready for the handling and sharpening that construction requires.

Cobalt Special (CoSP) is Takefu's stainless blade steel for cutlery: Takefu's page describes it as super high-grade and made by a special remelting process that gives a uniform composition and finely dispersed carbides.

Takefu's table gives 1.05% carbon, 16.00% chromium, 1.50% molybdenum, 0.25% vanadium, 0.25% tungsten and 2.50% cobalt, with a hardening hardness of HRC 60 or more. In Takefu's description, tungsten improves tempering resistance, molybdenum adds corrosion resistance, vanadium gives a finer microstructure, and cobalt strengthens the matrix and helps keep a long-lasting edge. Its 16.00% chromium is above the JSSA's 10.5% minimum for stainless, which the JSSA says strictly means rusts less; wash and dry the knife after use.

We think so. Yu Kurosaki established his own workshop in 2014 after twelve years at Kanehiro Uchihamono (カネ弘打刃物), and he was certified as a traditional craftsman (伝統工芸士) in 2019. In a 2022 interview with the magazine Nihonmono, he described his knives as thin, sharp and tough.

We list his knives in steels such as SG2 and Blue Super. For a closer look at his work and approach, you can explore the Yu Kurosaki maker page on the Knives and Stones site.

All four are Yu Kurosaki's own designs. In a 2022 interview with the magazine Nihonmono he named his five original designs, Shizuku, Fujin, Raijin, Juhyo and Senko, and described his knives as thin, sharp and tough.

In our range the steel is in the product title: Senko and Fujin are made in SG2 and Raijin in VG10W. So pick the design you like first, then check the steel in its title.

Yes. Yu Kurosaki worked at Kanehiro Uchihamono from 2002 to 2014, then founded his own workshop, 黒﨑打刃物 (Kurosaki Uchihamono), in 2014, and he is certified as a traditional craftsman. The trade body's profile of him lists double-bevel forged knives and custom knives, and his own site says his Echizen forged knives are made one by one by a craftsman's hand.

The Kurosaki knives we stock, such as the Senko SG2, Fujin SG2, Raijin VG10W and Shizuku lines, carry his name in the title.