White #1 Usuba

I’m currently doing Honbazuke on a custom-made White #1 Usuba Honkasumi+.

This blade was forged by Togashi Kenji and features the SUISIN-Densho wood-polished finish.

Usuba knives tend to lose their shape with extensive sharpening, but with Honkasumi+, there’s no need to worry! The more you sharpen it flat, the more you can feel its excellent shape retention.

The sharpening stones I used this time:

Diamond stone #500
Diamond stone #1000
Shapton Pro #2000
SUISIN Medium-Finish Stone #4000
King G-1 #8000
SUISIN INOX Finishing Stone #6000
I went through more stones than usual this time.

I considered aiming for an even more mirror-like finish on the kireha, but since the blade was sticking to the stone too much, I held back.

I tried reflecting some text onto the blade using the box of a Kitayama stone… but it looks like I need to make it even more mirror-like!

This really comes down to how much time is spent on polishing and finishing.

This White #1 steel feels like it has the durability to handle repeated chopping on the cutting board!

Steel takes on a different character depending on the blacksmith, while ease of sharpening comes from the craftsmanship of the sharpener.

• 2017-11-02