history

Back when I was a fledgling bladesmith, I sharpened numerous knives for the sake of learning. Even now, I have those knives in my home, and as I was tidying up the room, Yanagibas started appearing here and there. For someone unrelated to knives, it might seem like a dangerous room!

There were knives honed through trial and error, guided by the skills of adept artisans. Some blades were honed to a delicate edge like a crane’s neck, while others were shaped into robust Yanagibas with a Hamaguri finish. There were also knives that I might have sharpened a bit too much, making them excessively thin.

Looking at these knives took me down memory lane as I recalled the thought and experimentation I put into sharpening each one. It was nostalgic and heartwarming.

I even found my first attempt at filleting a self-caught sea bass with a Gin-san 3 Deba knife. Oh, I cut my hand quite badly back then! Looking back, I was quite reckless with knives—a bit scary to think about!

Though they are all knives with their fair share of scars, keeping knives that you’ve sharpened for years is not a common practice. Perhaps, using a digital camera to document knives from the time of purchase to the last use could be interesting. Documenting successful sharpening, failures, and even when they got chipped!

It’s not exactly a child’s growth record, but it might become a fun memento to revisit during moments of reflection.

hibishugyo

• 2011-06-02