Hatsukokoro Hinotori V-Toku2 Rainbow Damascus Santoku

Outstanding! As a first impression, it's hard to beat opening the box of a rainbow damascus knife, especially when it's one as deeply patterned as the Hinotori.

It's also immediately obvious this is a very high quality knife, the laser profile is extremely thin behind the edge and marries high performance with looks.

The Hinotori is similar to Hatsukokoro's other V-Toku2 rainbow damascus range, the Kujaku with some subtle but distinct differences.

The finish on this knife is less of mirror polish and a slightly deeper matte look thanks to the stronger acid used in the etching process to bring out those stunning patterns.

The first knives in the Hinotori range were finished with a dark etch on the core steel tbut this proved difficult to reliably finish and the makers of the knives have refined the process to make that core steel closer to a polished finish instead.

True laser performance from a knife that's very well finished and with nice touches like a subtle smoothing of the heel and spine. It's light, nimble and an absolute joy to hold and use.

V-Toku2 is a high-carbon "specialty" alloy produced by Takefu Special Steel in Japan. It is often described as a bridge between traditional Japanese high-carbon steels (like Hitachi’s Blue Paper steel) and more modern, cleaner alloys.

In the world of kitchen knives, V-Toku2 has been designed to achieve extreme sharpness while remaining slightly more "approachable" for the maker and user than some of its counterparts.

The core steel is reactive so will develop a patina as it reacts with the acids and moisture in your foods. Other than that, our normal care instructions always apply and for day to day care. 

For longer term care and upkeep we recommend our carbon steel care kit which has everything you need to keep your carbon knives in tip top condition.