# Review Shigefusa 210mm Kasumi vs TF & Toyama



## ma_sha1 (Feb 9, 2020)

It’s frustrating for me to jump on the Shig. hype train without much info. other than bits & pieces of opinions. My first Shig was a KU & it was a dog. The KU was nothing but a starting point for more refined Shigs. I am happy to see the the 210mm Kasumi is a whole different animal. I hope my review can help the new comers in the future.

knifes:

Shig. 210 Kasumi: 
48mm tall, 217mm long, 166g. Spine: 5mm at handle, 3/2/0.8mm heel, middle/1cm from tip. 
Grind: low shinogi convex, mild to none s-grind. Edge: factory zero edge, paper cutting 8 of 10. (10 is my Yoshikane factory edge for reference)

TF Marboroshi 210:
thinned left face. 46/211mm, 195g. Spine: 4mm; 3.2/2.9/1.2mm: Grind: High shinogi convex. Edge: sharpened 1 month ago, paper cutting 8/10. 

Toyama 210 Stainless clad:
51mm/213mm, 159g. Spine: 4.5mm; 3.5/2/1.0. Grind: low shinogi convex, mild to none s-grind. Edge: sharpened 1 month ago, paper cutting 8/10.

Reference but not part of the review :
Shig. 165mm Funayuki Nashiji, thinned & reprofiled from Shig. KU Santoku.
48mm high/167mm edge, 167g
Spine: 7mm; 4/2.1/1.2mm. Grind: high shinogi mild convex. Edge: freshly sharpened, paper cutting 9/10. 












1. Workmanship:
Shig. Kasumi is in a League if it own, I heard all about it but was still blown away, hard to describe unless you hold one in your hands.

Shig. Kasumi > Toyama > TF

2. Cutting: 
based on Carrots & potatoes 

Shig & TF has minor wedging on carrots, Toyama none.

Toyama > TF > Shig. Kasumi

3. Food release. 
Potato slices sticks to Toyama the most. No issue with potato chunks. TF had best food release. 

TF > Shig. > Toyama

4. Comfort/ergonomics/balance
Toyama center of gravity too forward, D handle ridge too sharp, TF balance an inch ahead of handle ideal, neck is a bit thin & hurts for neck grip if used too long, Shig. stock handle is perfect, balance 1” inch ahead of handle ideal. 

Shig. > TF > Toyama
I plan to install custom handle, it’ll shift Toyama balance toward handle a bit. 

5. Grabability 
Not sure this is a word, my point is describe what knife I tends to grab first without thinking? It’s TF. Shig. maybe the unicorn but the TF is a wild mustang, full of excitement. It looks wild, does everything well & hold edge forever. Shig. is all business, dressed in suits & Toyama is a bit boring among the three, it excites me the least although the cutting is unstoppable. 

TF > Shig. > Toyama 

In conclusion, the Shig. Kasumi is nothing like the KU, performance & grind is similar to Yoyama, which is considered one of the best cutters if not the best. With slight thinning, I think it’ll easily out- cut the Toyama.


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## panda (Feb 9, 2020)

why do you assume shig would outcut toyama with minor thinning? shig is one of the least impressive cutters ive owned and toyama has one of the best grinds ive used..


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## labor of love (Feb 9, 2020)

Yeah, if possible I’d like to see choil shot comparisons.


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## ma_sha1 (Feb 9, 2020)

panda said:


> why do you assume shig would outcut toyama with minor thinning? shig is one of the least impressive cutters ive owned and toyama has one of the best grinds ive used..



It’s not all assumption, my 210 Kasumi Is not too far behind My Toyama in cutting, but looks thicker behind the edge, thinning it will make a big improvement IMHO. From experience, I was able to thin my Shig KU to the point it performs on par with my TF. The KU looked 2x as thick. 

Shig. 210 Kasumi has quite a bit variations too, I’ve skipped a few offers where it range from 212 to 227 edge length & 46 to 51mm tall & some are heavier, likely with thicker edge. This one is lighter, looks to be thinner but the down side is it doesn’t have enough thickness for effective s-grind, neither is the Toyama thou.


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## ma_sha1 (Feb 9, 2020)

labor of love said:


> Yeah, if possible I’d like to see choil shot comparisons.



Sure thing:

Shig.





Toyama


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## labor of love (Feb 9, 2020)

Did you just buy another Toyama an hour ago?


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## ma_sha1 (Feb 9, 2020)

labor of love said:


> Did you just buy another Toyama an hour ago?



Yeas, I did 
This one is the thinner lighter newer Stainless clad version. The one I bought is older iron clad, heavier, I am hoping work pony ish grind.


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## inhuman (Feb 13, 2020)

How can you have a good feel for a knife after 10 minutes and 3 or 4 ingredients? You bought the knife just to cut for 10 minutes and then sell it? 

In most cases, a knife will continue to reveal nuances and adjustments that need to be made over substantially more time on the boards .


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## ashy2classy (Feb 13, 2020)

Thanks for the comparison. IMO, Shigs feel AMAZING in the hand and I LOOOOOVE the profile, but I'd take my Toyamas over a Shig any day. The profiles aren't for everyone, but they just do everything so well. Food release may not be like a Shig, but after you get a good patina on the blade, it will shed food really well. All IMO, anyway. Enjoy all those great blades!


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## ma_sha1 (Feb 13, 2020)

inhuman said:


> How can you have a good feel for a knife after 10 minutes and 3 or 4 ingredients? You bought the knife just to cut for 10 minutes and then sell it?



I do, I only need 10 min. In fact most of my knives have usage under 10 min total even if I had it for a while. 

There are plenty of opinions given on KKF based on BNIB knife has never even seen a cut. Something is better than nothing. With Shig. in particular, I didn’t want to turn it into a user which will devalue the knife.

Take the review for what it was at face value, 10min quick review is better than no review. Not the greatest review ever written but it’s something I’d like to have seen for sure when I was on the hunt.


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## ma_sha1 (Feb 13, 2020)

ashy2classy said:


> Thanks for the comparison. IMO, Shigs feel AMAZING in the hand and I LOOOOOVE the profile, but I'd take my Toyamas over a Shig any day. The profiles aren't for everyone, but they just do everything so well. Food release may not be like a Shig, but after you get a good patina on the blade, it will shed food really well. All IMO, anyway. Enjoy all those great blades!



Agree, my Toyama did also out perform my Shig. on cutting. However, I don’t believe its the steel, as the veggies are too soft IMHO to appreciate the difference between steels. 

To me it’s simply the Geometry, i.e, Toyama is thinner behind the edge. 

I thinned my Shig KU pig to the point it cuts better than Shig Kasumi, no magic here. 

PS

I joined KKF too late, would have loved some 210 pick-ups when you were transitioning to 240. You have a great taste on handle designs.


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## ma_sha1 (Feb 13, 2020)

ashy2classy said:


> I'd take my Toyamas over a Shig any day. The profiles aren't for everyone



I did take the Toyama over the Shig. but only because the price difference. I’d have kept the Shig. & sold Toyama if they are the same price. & I’d have thinned the Shig. to out perform Toyama.

I like the Toyama profile other than the Dolphin nose, I may shave that off one day so it looks more normal.


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## Ruso (Apr 24, 2020)

So interesting to see how different knives struck different people. I dont often use either my Toyama or my Shig, but Shig outperforms Toyama any day of the week. Toyama is a beast for smashing garlic though. My go to for this.


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