The boundary between Kasumi sharpening and mirror polishing!
I love finishing my knives, whether they’re Honyaki or Kasumi, leaving the sharpening marks of the medium grit stone. I call this ‘Kasumisshimo’. While having a mirror-like edge is appealing, I find that the misty finish reduces sticking and looks cool too! So, unless specified otherwise for my own knives or knives I receive for Honbazuke sharpening, I always finish them with Kasumisshimo.
The photo above shows the state where I left the mist of the Aoto stone and only polished the steel part of the blade with a finishing stone. It’s not really necessary to highlight the steel part so intensely, but since I had the chance, I went all the way. Ideally, I think it’s better to only polish the edge by a few millimeters with the finishing stone. Well, let’s call it the sense of ownership or the joy of holding it, and also a way to elevate one’s awareness of the knife! This is essentially about separating Kasumi and the mirror finish based on the sharpening angle, but it’s quite tricky. During sharpening, if the hand holding the handle can’t maintain the angle, the finishing stone hits the Kasumi part, and I lose the misty finish. (It ends up looking like a mirror finish!) I thought the only way to maintain the angle was to be mindful, but today I found a nice method. If you have a good foundation, anyone can easily separate Kasumi and the mirror finish. Of course, maintaining the angle is still necessary, but the conscious effort required for it might reduce from 90% to 30%. However, overdoing this might have its drawbacks, so it’s better to summarize it in detail before introducing it. The ultimate preservation strategy!!! I’m not sure if there are people who need this kind of sharpening, but please look forward to it. There might be various reactions like ‘Oh, I see…’ or ‘Hmm, interesting,’ but that’s all part of the fun!
- 2008-12-18
