Kasumi

Kasumi knives are made by Sumikama Cutlery in Seki City, Gifu — the same region that produced samurai swords for more than 780 years, and still the centre of Japanese blade making. Sumikama was among the first large Japanese manufacturers to fold Damascus steel around a VG-10 core, a construction now widely imitated. The name means "mist", after the haze that settles over the mountains around Seki.

What that heritage delivers on the bench is a hard blade — typically above 60 HRC — ground to a 15-degree bevel rather than the 20 to 22 degrees usual on European knives. The result is a thinner, sharper edge that holds longer and glides through product instead of pushing it.

Hospitality Connect stocks Kasumi for chefs, caterers and serious home cooks, with delivery Australia-wide from our Penrith warehouse.

• Damascus — the original and best known. A VG-10 core wrapped in 32 layers of stainless Damascus, giving the distinctive rippled pattern, with laminated wood handles. The broadest selection of shapes and sizes in the range
• Titanium — VG-10 blades with a coloured titanium coating. Corrosion resistant and visually striking, popular in open kitchens and for gifting
• Hammered (HM) — a tsuchime hammered finish over a three-layer VG-10 construction. The dimpled surface traps air pockets that help release food from the blade, with hygienic POM handles suited to commercial use
• VG-10 Pro — forged from a single piece of solid VG-10 at 60–61 HRC, finished with marble resin handles and a mosaic pin. The professional workhorse of the range
• Masterpiece — hand-finished blades ground on rotating water stones by Seki's most experienced craftsmen