Shiro Kunimitsu Kurouchi Usuba 160mm

Shiro Kunimitsu Hamono's forging space is one of the few in Japan that attracts Japanese tour groups by appointment. This family company of sword makers represents traditions that many Japanese hold dear.

That sense of the traditional can be found in their kitchen knives.

Traditional, yes, and at the same time a little out of the ordinary. These days the usuba commonly features a somewhat weighty, finely polished blade with a deep kiriba. The Shiro Kunimitsu black-forged usuba looks more robust in spite of an unusually thin blade, with a look more akin to a black-forged nakiri. But lighter. And single grind. Nice.

There's something else, too, but it's hard to put a finger on. As though the knife maker here knows something that others don't. The blade finish somehow seems to hark from times past, juxtaposed by a precision in the execution of the blade. There's no doubt when you hold it in your hand that it's a hand-crafted item of the highest order.