White one steel　Mizuhonyaki　Fuguhiki

The other day, my custom-made knife was finally finished. I had a lot of requests for the craftsman, like ‘Could you do this?’ or ‘I really don’t like that part!’ I know I was being pretty demanding, and it took some time, but in the end, it turned out to be a great knife.

I’m really grateful to the craftsman for listening to someone like me, especially since I’m still young. There was another time when I asked a different craftsman to make something, but he said, ‘You’re not the one using it, right?’ and completely ignored my requests. So I was really happy this craftsman took the time to listen.

Because of all that, I didn’t ask him to sharpen the knife. I decided to adjust the micro-bevel myself, just a little bit. I barely touched the stone, but with the lightest stroke, it shaved off a layer of skin from my finger… just like that.

Now I’m wondering—what will happen if I actually do a full Honbaduke sharpening on it?

It’s a Fuguhiki knife, so it’s designed to be thin, but still, just a gentle sharpening took off a whole layer of skin. This is definitely a knife to smile about! I can’t wait to use it in action.

• 2012-02-18