Craft perfection

There are products whose brand is a guarantee of unquestionable quality, even without their detailed examination. You don't need to see them, you know that nothing insignificant has been produced under this brand in its long history. You just want it, whether you need it or not. Making fun is nice and life is so short ...

Premium manufacturers are aware of their long-standing position and go even further. From time to time, they decide to please collectors with a special product in a strictly limited edition. But it's not just the limited availability that makes the product exceptional. Above all, there are the best materials and the famous Japanese craftsmanship with an unprecedented sense of even the smallest detail. The price does not play an important role and will only surprise a person who has not yet been familiar with the commodity.

Basically anyone has the right to produce a limited series. But only those from the producers who have already achieved something have been "condemned" to success. It is difficult to imagine anyone more suitable than Marusho Industry Inc., a brand manufacturer Mcusta a Zanmai. Last year, he presented the first edition of SUZAKU from a multi-part astrological cycle. As it was Zanmai kitchen knives, Mcusta pocket knives were given the opportunity this year.

SHINWA is the name of the cycle under which the manufacturer plans to produce editions of special knives. None of them will exceed 100 pieces worldwide . The manufacturer does not know how many editions will be created in total. Not only good will is enough to make such gems, but above all the availability of exceptionally skilled craftsmen. We have witnessed several times the retirement of an experienced craftsman and thus the cessation of production of a particular type of knife. No one else could represent him.

SHINWA represents Japanese mythology. This is based on Shintoism, which is characterized by the worship of many Kami deities. The individual stories are captured in the works of Kojiki / Ancient Essences / and Nihonshoki / Chronicle of Japan /. One of them is the story of YATAGARAS.

YATAGARASU is a mythological three-legged crow of respectable dimensions / 144cm /. The crow represents rebirth and purification. This divine bird was sent by heaven to accompany the first Japanese Emperor Jimmu on his journey to Yamato Kashihara (now Nara Prefecture), where he built the first imperial palace. Its three legs represent the unity of heaven, earth and humanity. As YATAGARASU is still a symbol of divine leadership, it has a special position in Japan. His depiction is used, for example, by the Japan Football Association, it is not included in the emblem of the Japanese national football team, and the winner of the Imperial Cup also has the right to wear its image on the jersey.

When presenting the product itself, we chose the opposite procedure this time. We will start with the packaging and keep the most important thing at the end. So welcome to today's popular "unboxing".

The "nest" of the mythical crow undoubtedly deserves our attention. It is a tasteful box / Kiribako / made of paulownia wood. There are 3 colors on the sliding lid. The black kanji characters represent the name of the product, the MCUSTA brand is engraved in gold and there is a red Rakuin stamp. Just below the lid, you will come across a quality certificate with a description of the legend presented by the company's president Tomohiro Hasegawa. It should be noted that the entire packaging is designed in the same way as in the case of Japanese swords. So in the wooden crate we find Nishijin. It is a woven fabric in which the knife is carefully wrapped. Its floral decor is not printed, but woven with multicolored threads. This challenging method has been practiced in Japan for more than 1,200 years. In addition to the knife itself, you will find something else in the box. It's an inconspicuous yellow sticker. This is used to glue the sliding lid with the box itself. In Japan, this means that its content is intended solely for its owner, as it is a very personal matter. It is an exaggeration to compare this to the hotel's "Don't disturb".

We release the button on the red string / red is a symbol of happiness and well-being / and we unpack Nishijin. The first thing we register is an unusually heavy weight for a Japanese knife. 143g is a good 40g more than standard MCUSTA knives. Too bad the missing 1 gram. The symbolism would be perfect. But of course the weight has its justification.

The motif of the story takes place both on the blade and the handle. So let's start with the handle. Its massive frame is made of Damascus steel and SUS 420J2 steel. Damascus steel is shaped to show clouds as faithfully as possible. The part around the main pin is hammered / Tsuchime /, which contributes even more to the authenticity of the cloud. The edges of the handle, including the bolster and the end cap, are polished to a high gloss. The seamless bonding of SUS 420J2 damascene and smooth steel is further proof of craftsmanship. From behind the wrought cloud comes the sun made of copper. The blue sky is made of quality Corian and forms the body of the handle. The main protagonist of the story - YATAGARASU - stands out majestically on it. The mythical bird was depicted in gold and therefore the manufacturer used brass. Its rough texture perfectly depicts feathers. On the other side of the handle are the mountains indicated by decent curves. There is an excerpt of this story in the six columns with kanji characters.

The blade cannot be called anything other than a championship of the highest degree. It's called Mokume Damascus . Mokume is an expression for wood with distinctive annual rings. These are shown on the blade by interleaving layers of steel, copper and bronze. The upper part is unpolished / Kurouchi / with the hammering application / Tsuchime / and resembles a heavy cloud with shining sunlight. The core of such a perfect blade cannot be made of a material other than Blue Paper Steel - Aogami 2 from the Yasugi Specialty Steel plant belonging to the Hitachi Metals concern. It is maintained at 63 HRC and the symmetrical blade is in the convex shape of Hamaguri . The blade requires maintenance with oil, so you will also find a paper cover for the blade in the package so that you do not get dirty to Nishijin. As both copper and brass oxidize, over time the blade acquires an attractive patina.

It is unnecessary to talk about the line lock, Teflon inserts and the acoustic signature of the end positions of the blade. After all, we have the honor of the MCUSTA brand.

3 elements corresponding to the three legs of the mythical bird YATAGARASU can be easily found on your knife. The heavens are represented by the sky and the clouds, the earth by the mountains and the wood, and humanity by the emperor. But don't look for him on a knife. After all, you and 99 other lucky people are the symbol of humanity.

You can find the product here.

© 2020 Copyright Roman Ulík, Nippon Knives, www.japonskenoze.sk,all rights reserved.

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