The Art of Thin Knives
I’m currently performing Honbazuke on a thin Kirituke knife.
It’s inevitable that a thin blade equals a more brittle one. While it’s true that thin knives are often perceived as being very sharp, in reality, it’s a bit more complicated to judge.
This particular customer also had the impression that thinner equals sharper, and requested a blade thickness of just 2mm! But that’s almost the same thickness as a petty knife, which is just too extreme for a Kasumi knife (made of soft iron and steel). Since we needed to maintain the balance of the Kasumi and keep the Shinogi line prominent, I recommended at least 3mm to 3.5mm.
I attempted a decorative Honbazuke that would highlight the Kasumi, but with just over 3mm of thickness, I couldn’t create enough space on the blade road. It’s always a challenge to balance performance with the customer’s expectations.
It’s true that this knife cuts very well, but it feels like it will require more effort from the user.
If you’re used to the balance of a typical Japanese knife and imagine that a thinner blade will cut even better, you might be surprised by the difference. It changes the ratio of how much you cut versus how much the knife cuts with its own weight and edge.
For example, if a standard knife feels like it’s doing 50% of the cutting work, with this Kirituke, it feels more like 70% of the effort is coming from you and 30% from the knife. It’s definitely a matter of personal preference.
This raises the question: Wouldn’t it be better if we could create a thin knife that still has a sense of weight and mass? Currently, that’s where Honyaki knives or the weighted Kasumi knives crafted by Doi-san come into play.
There’s so much to consider—different steels, hardness levels, types of whetstones. Making a knife that cuts well requires thinking about all these aspects together.
For this Kirituke, I’ve finished it close to the customer’s request, and now it’s just about finding the right balance between edge strength, sharpness, and cutting ability. Since an Itohiki edge might not be reliable enough, I’m thinking of adding a micro-bevel for extra strength.
- 2011-08-11
