Yu Kurosaki SG2 Senko Ei Nakiri 165mm

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 – A Nakiri is a vegetable knife. Under utilized in the Western kitchen, the Nakiri’s flat blade is meant for the push/pull chopping of vegetables. Since the entire flat edge of the knife kisses the cutting board at once, you wont be turning the vegetable into an accordion. Accordion vegetables are still connected like a paper doll after you’re “done” cutting them. To truly understand the awesomeness of a Nakiri we recommend making onion soup your first night with the knife. The ease of chopping will blow you away.