The Hatsukokoro by Myojin Shirasagi(白鷺)Blue 2 Kurouchi signle bevel is a line of "practical single bevel" knives produced by Myojin Riki Seisakusho and comisioned by Hatsukokoro. It has a twin sister line Shirasagi White 2 that offers a dofferent look made by same maker. If you are not familiar with Myojin is a father and son knife workshop based in Tosa prefecture, in the island of Shikoku. Father Tateo, is specialised in single bevel knife sharpening, whereas son Naohito Myojin specialises in double bevel knife sharpening, and Toru Tamura is their primary blacksmith.

This line as a single bevel line, is sharpened by Tateo Myojin(明神 健) and forged by Toru Tamura(田村 徹). Rarely, you can find not only the traditional profiles like yanagiba in this line, but also modern shapes like gyuto, all made in single bevel fashion. The fit and finish is superb as expected from Myojin Riki Seisakusho, a very uniform finish can be seen across the entire blade, even on the Kissaki of the Sakimaru Yanagiba, some other knives at highter price can have some trouble achieving that. Hatsukokoro have given this well-finished line a well deserved name Kirasagi(Little Egret), the smooth polish working in conjunction with the Kurouchi finishi, match the elegant white feather and dark beak of egret perfectly.

This line can be an opportunity for those who are interested in the experience of owning a single bevel knife, but found the Yanagiba, Deba and Usuba being too job-specific. Having a single bevel gyuto will give you an idea of how single bevel blade works, while not restrain you with what could be cut with it. In addition, the combination of Kurouchi and carbon steel will offer some level of rust protection while maintain that authentic carbon steel "cutting taste"

That being said, the single bevel construction does make these knives quite thicker than typical knives of same size and shape. This not only makes the knives heavier, but also create more resistance when cutting into denser food like potatos. However, the traditional single bevel knives in this line still have great value, with great fit and finish that are found on any blade sharpend by Myojin Riki Seisakusho, the Kurouchi finish and light Tsuchime pattern can make this line an interesting alternative to the typical shiny silver Yanagiba/Deba with quite a lower price. If you want that traditional look, the twin sister line Shirasagi White 2 line will off you the same level of craftsmanship.