The six finalists.
The final: 20 December.
The format
Six polishers. Six blades, forged for the occasion by Milan Gravier. Two months of work. One finish.
Each finalist receives an identical blade, deliberately left rough. Over two months, each shapes and finishes it according to their own interpretation. The blades are then anonymised, photographed under standardised conditions, and judged on the quality of the finish alone.
There is no prize for the sharpest edge. This competition is about what happens when you take a forged blade and reveal what lies within it.
The jury
Milan Gravier — Blacksmith Forging the six blades for this 2026 edition.
Mark Gonzales — Collector, connoisseur and jury member
Benjamin “Nutmeg” Rétif — Polisher, and founder of the Kasumi Cup.
Registration — until 21 August
Final six announced — 1 September
Work period — mid-September to mid-November
Final, live on YouTube — 20 December
You don't have to polish to take part.
Every finished knife is given away in a free draw, live on 20 December.
Entries open later this autumn.
The six are named.
Daniel Cauble — United States
Lee Chew — Australia
Silvain Dixneuf — France
Simon Krichbaum — Austria
Edward Thompson — United States
Ryan Wu — United States
Mark narrowed the field. Milan chose the six. Six identical blades leave the forge this month, and two months later there will be six finishes — anonymised, photographed the same way, judged on the finish alone.
To everyone who entered and isn’t on that list: the level was higher than I expected for a first edition, and that’s yours as much as anyone’s. You were here for the first one. That doesn’t go away.
Everyone else — watch the final live on YouTube on 20 December, and enter the free draw for one of the six blades.
The Cup is funded by the people who care about it.
If you'd like to help carry this edition, you can support it here →.
Entirely optional, and completely separate from the free draw.
