The Three Legendary Blacksmiths of Sakai: Masters of Japanese Knives
The knives for a customer who visited us recently from Ehime Prefecture:
300mm Yanagi, SUISIN-Hayate, crafted by Itsuo Doi, featuring the Honkasumi Plus finish
195mm Deba, Kishubusshin, crafted by Kenji Togashi, also with Honkasumi Plus finish
And the knives for a customer who visited us from Hyogo Prefecture late last year:
240mm KamaUsuba, White #1 steel, crafted by Yoshikazu Ikeda, with Honkasumi Plus finish
Each of these knives has just been completed!
Since all of the knives were requested to undergo Honbazuke, I had the opportunity to sharpen them while appreciating the differences in craftsmanship and steel materials. With all of them featuring the Honkasumi Plus finish, I was able to achieve a clean and precise edge.
For the Deba, I added a gentle curve to the tip along with a slight Hamaguri grind, resulting in beautifully polished sharpening lines!
Aoni Hagane by Itsuo Doi. The boundary between soft iron and steel is clearly visible and you can feel Doi’s forging technique.
Togashi Kenji’s White #2 steel—crafted with durability in mind—has a gentle luster that reflects his approach.
These two knives were originally in stock as blade-only pieces, so the customer had to imagine the balance while holding them without handles. Just as we discussed, they’ve turned out to have that satisfying, “Wow!” kind of balance.
This is a White #1 steel knife crafted by Ikeda Yoshikazu. Even the slightest movement—just 1mm—and it slices effortlessly with an incredibly sharp edge.
Considering both aerial techniques (like Katsura peeling) and ground techniques (such as chopping and cutting through tougher ingredients), it has been thinned down and finely honed with Itohiki added. It feels like the blade glides through with just a gentle push, cutting almost by inertia.
Engraved by each blacksmith.
I didn’t have a chance to finish them all at the same time, so I took a commemorative photo.
- 2017-06-19
