Uraoshi at the tip

This morning, I received an inquiry about Uraoshi, so I consciously tried using Uraoshi.

It feels satisfying when the back of the tip fits snugly, like it’s clinging perfectly. However, there are times when it doesn’t fit precisely like this… There are various perplexing reasons for that.

Ideally, as shown in the picture, having the back fit like this is what I find perfect, and I appreciate the beauty of Uraoshi unique to single-edged knives. The width of the Uraoshi also exudes sharpness smoothly from the tip towards the blade edge.

You might wonder, ‘Doesn’t it affect sharpness if it doesn’t fit like this?’ but I believe it has no impact. On the contrary, if you overdo the Uraoshi thinking, ‘It doesn’t fit like this, so I’ll do more,’ it will affect the sharpness. So, please don’t overdo the Uraoshi!!

Note: The width of the Uraoshi on the edge side is often not uniform. This is because of slight flexing due to engravings and such. If it’s a uniform flex, it seems corrections can be made, but sometimes it’s concentrated in one area. You could sharpen that off, but… it takes away steel and makes the engraving thinner… Is it about the aesthetics or the purpose of usage? That’s the dilemma.

hibishugyo

• 2010-07-09