Like a Japanese Sword…

Continuing from the last time, I used natural whetstones on Bob Kramer’s knife, trying to bring out the pattern… And I was able to successfully blur the steel, letting the soft iron in the multilayered steel shine through!

I was concerned about the hardness of the steel, but since it was on the tougher side, it turned out nicely. After checking with newspaper, the edge held well and sliced smoothly. If you use the shape of the edge properly, it seems like it could become a very sharp knife. Normally, it’s hard to get a good edge on stainless steel with natural stones, but this knife took it really well. Maybe it’s the great match with the Yokka-yama combined stone, or perhaps the earlier work with the Suita stone helped? Either way, it felt like the convex edge came out beautifully without overthinking it! I gave it a try with a firm swing on a wooden cutting board, but there was no change to the edge, so it looks like I’ve created a stable, reliable edge.

• 2015-03-06