初心 x 二唐 巔峰 青鋼二號/白鋼二號 無心 黑打 鎚目 大馬士革廚刀
初心 x 二唐（巓，Peak）這款系列確實無愧於名。我認為這一系列完美展現了二唐在刀製作上的理念，而刀身本身在多方面都令人印象深刻。
最顯眼的特點是，它採用無心/雙芯結構，以鍛焊青鋼二號與白鋼二號碳鋼構成，種鋼材一路延伸至刃口。在日本廚刀的語境中，這種結構通常只出現在高階手工鍛造作品或收藏級刀上，且極難。然而，二唐似乎憑藉某種「魔力」，能夠以相對較大的產量生產此類刀，就如同他們過去推出Yorokobi SLD大馬士革系列時一樣。
我之所以說這一系列是二唐的代表作，是因為它在品牌最長的領域中表現出色，並進一步推進了工藝。近年來我們看到如Ryusui或銀三鋼黑染等高階系列，二唐顯然非常著迷於複雜視覺的藝術性刀，而品牌現任領導吉澤悟（Yoshizawa Go）在多場訪談中也明確表達了他對大馬士革紋理的熱。
巔峰系列在結構與表面處理上達到極致複雜度，將大馬士革、黑打、鎚目以及黑染/蝕刻工藝集於一體。而系列中帶有切付（K-tip）刀尖的款式，更在刀背處設計了獨特的研磨線條，為刀身增添更多質感與層次。雖然製造過程極複雜且難以保持一致性，但二唐成功地讓這些井然有序、乾淨利落，打造出一把值得你近距離細賞良的刀。
仔細觀察時會發現，大馬士革紋並非均勻一致——離刃口越遠，鋼材表面越顯亮。這暗示二唐可能在青鋼與白鋼之上疊加了高鎳鋼層，並將集中在外側以創造對比效果。從刃口向刀背望去，顏色會由黑色漸變為灰色，再轉為銀白色，最後終結於覆蓋著銳利鑿痕的黑打表面——這讓我想起黑崎悠（You Kurosaki）風神系列的獨特質感。當你側持刀身、刃口朝下時，彷彿看到一座山嶺：從深色泥土開始，逐漸攀升至雪線，最終抵達覆蓋著鋒利、風化岩石的陡峭崖壁。這正是高工藝與細膩設計的完美結合，令人歎為觀止。
除了卓越的設計外，實際表現也相當出色。過去一些二唐高階刀款常因厚度偏厚而影響切削性能，但他們在新款SLD Yorokobi Special以及後期大馬士革系列中已有明顯進步，而巔峰系列亦是一把非常出色的切割利器。由青鋼與白鋼碳鋼構成的精細刃口，輕鬆穿透馬鈴薯表皮毫無遲疑，厚重刀身隨即順暢滑落。若要挑剔的話，或許會有些許食材黏附在研磨面（bevel）上，但這在拋與蝕刻處理的表面中難以。
對許多刀愛好而言，無心手工鍛造刀可能顯得遙不可及；而對更多人來說，甚至從未聽聞或過此類刀款。巔峰系列的推出，成功將這種高階精品刀的價格拉至更廣泛愛好可負擔的範圍，這無疑是極意義的突破。透過這個產品線，二唐展現了在設計與生產複雜刀上的實力——當他們命名此系列為「巔峰」時，蘊含的自豪感也顯而易見。
The elephant in the room is, it is a Coreless/Dual Core construction, with forge-weld Blue 2 and White 2 carbon steel that extend all the way to the edge. In the context of Japanese kitchen knives, this construction is usually reserved for pretty high-end, hand-forged pieces and collector items that are not approachable, that is if they happen to be available when you find them. With some magic, Nigara seems to be able to produce them in relative large quantity, just like what they did with their Yorokobi SLD copper Damascus line.
The reason I say this line is a representative piece for Nigara is, it have done really well at what this brand is best at, and pushed it further. From all the higher-end lines we see recently like the Ryusui or Ginsan Kurozome, Nigara seems to be very into artistic knife with complex visual elements to them, and some interview of Yoshizawa Go, the currently leader of the brand, have clearly indicated his passion In Damascus.
The Itadaki reaches the peak regarding complexity in construction and finish, infusing Damascus, Kurouchi, Tsuchime and Kurozome/etching on one blade, and the profiles in the line with k-tip has that unique grind around the spine to add more texture to the blade. While is its pretty complicate to manufacture with great consistency, the truly impressive part is that Nigara manage to keep these elements organised and clean, resulting a knife you can hold up close and look at for a long time.
When inspected closely, the Damascus appears to be not uniform, the steel becomes more shiny as it gets further away from the edge. It is a indication that Nigara may added some more high nickel steel on top of the blue and white steel, and have them concentrate on the outer side to create contrast, and when looking across the blade starting from the edge, the tone will shift from black to grey then silver, ending with the black Kurouchi finish that is covered with sharp chisel marks that reminds me of You Kurosaki's Fujin line. When holding the blade sideway and edge down, it's like a side of the mountain, starting with dark earth, reaching up to the snow line, and ending at a steep cliff face that covered with sharp, weathered stones. This is truly a high level of craft combining with thoughtful design that I cannot appreciate more.
On top of the great design, the execution is very good. Some of these high-end design from Nigara happens to be on the thicker side and Doen't perform as great. But their improvement on these blades are noticeable on the Newer SLD Yorokobi Special and the later batch of the copper Damascus, and the Itadaki is a pretty good cutter. With a fine edge composed with Blue and White carbon steel, there is not much hesitation for the blade to pierce through the skin of a potato, the weighty blade then fall through quite smoothly. If I'm picky, I shall say there is a bit of food sticking on the bevel, but it is unavoidable with that polished and etched finish.
A coreless hand-forged knife would felt quite distant for many knife enthusiasts, and for many others they may not consider or even heard of it. The production of Itadaki has brought down the price of this kind of prestige blade to a range that is considered affordable for a lot more enthusiasts, which is a remarkable move. With this product line, Nigara have shown us its capability in designing and executing the production of a blade like this I can see there's a proud element in it when they named it "Peak".,
