2026 — Milan Gravier
rules, schedule and prizes
The blade
Each of the six finalists receives an identical blade forged for the occasion by Milan Gravier — a 180mm gyuto in his signature Classic Mix of clean wrought iron and 135Cr3, forged and shaped to 80 grit. Each blade comes with a matching handle, made by Milan alongside the forging, to be mounted after the final photography. The blade is deliberately left rough. The work of revealing what lies within belongs entirely to the polisher.
Selection
From all entries, twenty polishers are selected, then narrowed to twelve, and finally to the six finalists. Benjamin Rétif makes the first selection, Mark Gonzales narrows it further, and Milan Gravier chooses the final six.
The final six are announced on 1 September on Instagram.
Registration
(until 16 August)
To enter, send an email to kasumicup@gmx.net with:
— your name
— contact details (phone, email, Instagram)
— a short personal introduction and your vision of the craft
— 1 to 5 images or a video of a polishing project (max 30 MB per file, via WeTransfer; phone quality is fine)
— a description of the images: your goals, the effects, the process
By entering, you accept that your name and work may be published on Instagram and in the polishing communities.
The blades are shipped
The six identical blades are shipped from 1 September, giving each finalist two months to work.
The work
Each finalist shapes and finishes their blade according to their own interpretation, from mid-September to mid-November.
The deadline for return is 13 November. The postmark counts.
Photography and judging
In December, the finished blades are anonymised and photographed under standardised conditions on a medium format camera. The jury — Milan Gravier, Mark Gonzales and Benjamin Rétif — judges them on the optical quality of the finish and on individual interpretation. Sharpness is not a criterion.
The final
The results are announced on 20 December, live on YouTube. The ceremony has three parts: the contest results, the Audience Choice Award, and the live lottery draw.
Prizes
1st place
a finished 210mm knife by Milan Gravier, and a high resolution print of the winning blade
2nd place
a curated selection of polishing tools from retif-tools, and a high resolution print
3rd place
a selection of polishing tools, and a high resolution print
Audience Choice Award
Once the photographs are published, everyone can vote for their favourite finish. The winner receives a special prize — revealed on 20 December.
The lottery
All six finished blades, each mounted with its handle, enter a lottery drawn live on 20 December.
Tickets are 30 € each, maximum five per person. The lottery runs until it reaches 4000 €, covering the blacksmith's costs and part of the shipping.
The draw is where the tension lives. Six tickets are pulled one after another, in a fixed order, each winning a blade — but not equally. The first three tickets take the three non-placed blades, drawn at random. The fourth ticket wins the third-place blade. The fifth wins the second-place blade. And the very last ticket drawn — the sixth — wins the winning blade of the Kasumi Cup 2026.
Every ticket wins a blade. And someone, with a single ticket, may take home a knife forged by Milan Gravier and finished by one of the finest polishers in the field.