Hatsukokoro x Nigara Yorokobi SLD 銅土大馬士革 K-tip Gyuto 210mm 樺木手柄

The Yorokobi(よろこび, Joy) Copper Damascus series designed by Hatsukokoro is a series under constant evolution, after two iterations of Sanjo style designs, the current Etched Kurouchi version under production by Nigara received a small tweak: A vertically oriented Tsuchime(hammer tone)pattern is now added to the surface of the knife above the Shinogi line to add more texture and character to the blades.

Being one of the more artistic design coming out of the collaboration between Nigara and Hatsukokoro, Yorokobi and other similar lines really stand out with their dazzling look. Laminated composite material undergone complex forging, grinding and surface finishing processed to obtain a unique combination of texture, colour and contrast. The bright orange copper bands flows over the dark, etched steel and textured surface like a lava flowing over dark earth, paints a vivid and organic scene onto a sharp blade. Nigara is now well known for their special grinding on their K-tip knives: an additional bevel on the spine exposes the Damascus cladding, create a bland of copper flows around the entire blade, which makes these knives even more desirable.

A focus on the look and style doesn't mean the blade falls behind on performance, the SLD steel core can offer a combination of very good edge retention, decent toughness and a relatively low maintenance(thanks to its higher chromium content. The Yorokobi line used to suffer from a thicker grind that was common on these Nigara "designer" knives, but the recent Yorokobi we receives have a noticeable reduction in thickness, and they now have quite a decent cutting performance.

I would recommend these knives to those who enjoys collecting unique knives or are looking for a very special gift, the combination of black etching and bright copper is definitely packed with wow factor, making these blades pieces of art while being perfectly functional as knichen knives.