Makoto Kurosaki Coreless Kaen Tsuchime Petty 135mm

The Kaen line might be the most interesting thing Makoto Kurosaki has put out in a while — hexagonal tsuchime patterns, a kasumi bevel, and VG10/VG2 coreless damascus construction.  The VG10/VG2 coreless damascus is the fun part here: because the two steels wear at different rates, the edge develops a subtle unevenness with use that gives it a genuine "bite" during cutting — not the kind of edge that just glides through with zero feedback.

Makoto-san runs a few different lines, but they all share that clean, crisp look paired with near-laser performance. If you're coming from Western-style blades, the first thing you'll notice is just how light these feel in the hand. Don't mistake that lightness for a lack of authority though — the Japanese-style handle shifts the balance forward toward the blade, so you're not fighting it during prep. Makoto Kurosaki is the older brother of Yu Kurosaki and now runs his own sharpening workshop, Style K, in Takefu Knife Village. The blacksmith gets the glory, but it's the sharpener who actually turns a forged blank into something that cuts — a job that rarely gets the credit it deserves.

About the Shape: This is the knife for smaller jobs done on the board — slicing shallots, chopping herbs, breaking down smaller cuts of protein. For anyone not yet comfortable wielding a full-size gyuto, a petty is close to essential.

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