hello everyone, this is my 1st post... i got here because of my interest in japanese cutlery...been following the various threads and glad to discover the wealth of information on the said topic. my 1st japanese knives experience was with my brother several years back. he is a professional chef & i am just an avid cook. mine was the mac 9.5 chef pro series & he got the masamoto virgin steel from korin, same type & size. we generally did not like the rust prone carbon steel at 1st coz it looked unsanitary. as to sharpness, well, if ever there was an edge to the carbon steel, it was not significant. however, the masamoto did sharpen easier. this is why i plan to get a 2nd japanese knife w/ carbon steel & the patina on the kumagoro knives has that more "sanitary" look. also the hammered finish might be more functional than just aesthetics. the 1 thing i hate about my mac is the sticking of stuff on the blade since it is a bit taller compared to the masamoto. i would love to hear more about the kumagoro knives...they have blue steel core and from what i gather, blue steel is a premium grade carbon steel. joe