Yu Kurosaki SG2 Senko Ei Kiritsuke Gyuto 210mm

About Yu Kurosaki Senko – 

This has to be the prettiest workhorse knife I’ve ever laid eyes upon. The name, Senko, means ‘flash’ in Japanese, inspired by the spark-like hammer marks on the blade. Kurosaki-san clearly loves blacksmithing, as he was inspired to create this unique design by the sparks flying off of steel during forging. I always appreciate a knife maker who does it for a love of the craft.

The SG2 stainless steel used in the blade is wickedly sharp stuff, capable of holding its edge better than most other knife steels. Kurosaki-san has made the edge just thin enough to cut like a laser while keeping it thick enough to be relatively durable.

Yu Kurosaki began his blacksmithing career in 2002 at Kanehiro Uchi Hamono, where he apprenticed with Hiroshi Kato. Kato-san taught him well, and Kurosaki-san is now recognized as a master himself. He told me he wasn’t a natural at first and struggled for a long time, but his first sale inspired him to keep at it. We’re all glad he did. Kurosaki-san has since become best known for his wildly creative blades and finishes that are as much art as they are high-performance kitchen tools.

About the Shape – Inspired by the profile of a traditional European chef knife, gyutos are a multi-purpose knife with a slight meat cutting bias and “gyuto” even translates to “cow sword”. If you want one knife to do it all, This is it. The longer blade typically gives the blade a forward balance that allows it to work for you. While the blade would ideally by slid forward or back while cutting, they are also great for folks that prefer to ‘rock’ their knife while cutting.