Hatsukokoro Sumi Blue 2 Kurouchi

The Sumi(墨, Ink) Blue 2 Kurouchi is another sibling in the family of carbon Kurouchi knives from the Tosa region, it shares many similar characteristics with other series like the Kurogane, Kokugei and Shikkoku. These blades boasts their hand-forged nature with their rustic, unpolished look, but meanwhile the cutting performance don't fall behind.

One character that differs the Sumi from its siblings is the slightly different forging, blades from this line features a thick neck with a noticeable forged distal taper, gives the knives a more solid feel right at where you would pinch them, a balance that I personally like the most.

Overall performance of the Sumi line is similar to the other knives of its kind, the relatively strong convex grind paired with the keen edge offered by the Blue 2 carbon steel allows this knife to have very good food penetration and release, it just have a bit of wedging due to the thickness of the bevel behind the edge.

For Sumi and other blades like it, I shall die them a similar verdict. This is a great "second knife" for buys who want try out a more hand made carbon steel knife after they've owned a good allrounder, the low price and good performance mean many downsides like the rough finish can be somewhat ignored.