SOLD OEM Shigefusa Kasumi 210mm usuba

[refcast]

The brand engraving says Isshin Tasuke 一心太助, but it looks, feels, has banding on the iron, and has an edge feel (on hair) like a Shigefusa. Comes in a blue box like a shig, has a rounded spine and choil like a shig, has the horizontally finish lines on the blade face and ura, has the same cladding line in the back like other Shigefusa usuba, and hasthe burn in marks or kurouchi on the blade where it meets the handle. If it's not a Shigefusa, it's a maker who does things extremely similar to Shigefusa. If it's some sort of Shigefusa second. . . I'm not sure either, because everything is done amazingly well. The engraving is crisp and raised, so it looks like something the dealer would have done after Shigefusa finished their polishing on the face.

There are light scratches on the front bevel and blade face. There is a slight edge micro-bend at the very tip. There is a weird polish spot in front other engraving, which indicates harder iron there, it some sort of harder iron/steel.

I haven't cut with it or sharpened it. I checked on a machined reference flat plate, and the back is flat/straight.

Some pictures are done with flash. . . so the in the images buffalo horn "appears" dried out but it's still quite black, glossy, and smooth in person. The ho-wood also came polished and slightly waxed.

Weight: 306g
Height at heel: 53 mm
Handle to tip: 215mm
Spine at handle: 7mm
Spine at heel: 5mm
At the intersection of the three lines at the tip: 2mm

$390 $425 $480
offers fine too I guess

 

[refcast]

Pics

 

[refcast]

First price drop to $425.

I don't intend on using it. . . so I do want to sell it.
The shigefusa finishing and detail is quite real. The balance is quite nice . . . more neutral than most japanese knives.

The grind is interesting to me. At the mirror polish part of the edge, there is a quite a bit convexity, and then a tiny convex microbevel.

As with other usuba, there is distal taper, and to maintain the shinogi, the thickness of the knife at the shinogi increases from heel to tip. I've noticed this with Sakai usuba, too. The front bevel is finished completely in polish -- sakai ones had been more coarse there.

The rounding of the spine and choil is quite unique and well done. Quite a huge radius. . . I guess hinoura and wakui are similar, kind of. I guess, too, because this is a thicker knife after all.

 

[Southpaw]

I’d kill for this to be lefty… but it’d be 3x the price.

Glws

 

[refcast]

I got confirmation from two knife shops that handled Shigefusa that this is most likely a Shigefusa, one is tentative via pictures, and one handled it in person. The shop that handled it in person is pretty darn sure it's a Shigefusa. Can give more details via pm.

 

[refcast]

Second price drop to $390

Also edit, the "dried out" looking horn is actually apparently a crack on the top, but I can hardly feel the line.

 

[refcast]

Final drop to $370 for a day before selling it to someone who sent me an offer

 

[refcast]

Now that it's sold... I really did think there would be more interest in this, since they sell new for $600+, but apparently interest is mainly for gyuto and yanagiba