Aoni Hagane Fuguhiki

I did a touch-up on the Blue Steel Huguhiki. It wasn’t a SUISIN Blue Steel Huguhiki, but it was well-crafted and overall a good knife. It had a slight bend, but that’s just the fate of forged blades, unavoidable, you know?

After fixing the chips and doing various adjustments, I went all the way to Honbaduke. I really felt the essence behind why Blue Steel is considered for advanced users.

Saying it’s “hard to put an edge on” might sound negative, but it might be more appropriate to say it’s challenging to handle the convex edge. Sometimes, it’s easy to misunderstand and keep sharpening, thinking the edge isn’t there yet, which can make the knife thinner and thinner.

If the convex edge doesn’t come off, it means it’s sticky, which is a factor for long-lasting sharpness. The key is figuring out how to remove this convex edge. Using natural whetstones or leveraging the Itohiki blade might help. Well, there are various methods, you know.

If Blue Steel is hard to sharpen, it might translate to “sharpening is tough.” So, in essence, Water Honyaki Blue Steel knives might indeed be meant for advanced users.

Hibishugyo

• 2008-01-18