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Yoshida Hamono from Saga Prefecture on the island of Shikoku has uncompromisingly defined his place in the pantheon of professional knife makers. In its favor is the ability to work with ultra-hard materials as well as the variability of production procedures. The Yoshida Hamono workshop produces knives stamped and hand-forged using the koshiki tanren method. Now we will present you the technological intersection of these two procedures.
Hand-forged knives take many times longer to produce compared to stamped ones and contain an enormous amount of hard work by experienced craftsmen, who are becoming fewer and fewer. All of this results in a significant overhang of demand over supply, which increases the price of products that are not cheap at all. In Yoshida Hamono, however, they found a way to offer customers knives made of traditional materials and a high proportion of blacksmith work. And all this in relatively short delivery times and at a favorable price.
The basic shape of the blade is punched into a mold with the help of a powerful press. The steel in the San Mai composition contains a core from the traditional Aogami 2. In this way, a relatively "painless" basic material is obtained, which is subsequently forged into the desired profile. This process can be observed on the spine of the blade /mune/. This is followed by manual polishing of the blade part and, of course, sharpening. Although we cannot speak about hand-forged knives in terms of objectivity and seriousness, their appearance and production process are very close to them. The blades are in the Kurouchi version with a polished Shinogi part. The blade is of course convex, so Hamaguri. The left side of the blade bears the name Aogami, the right side the name Kyusakichi. The ferrule is made of stabilized pakkawood. The rosewood handle has a D profile.
©2024 Copyright Roman Ulík, Nippon Knives, www.japonskenoze.sk all rights reserved. Photos and texts are protected by copyright law and their use without the author's consent is not possible.
About producer
This time we will visit the southernmost of Japan's main islands - the island of Kyushu. Similar to neighboring Shikoku, mountains alternate here with a huge number of small fields. A large part of the island has an agrarian character and therefore blacksmiths have always played an important role here. The so-called "field blacksmiths" have been making tools for local farmers, fishermen and foresters for many generations.
It was no different with Seiji Yoshida, the founder of the company Yoshida Hamono. Before laying the foundation stone of his company in Saga Prefecture in 1946, he apprenticed as a blacksmith with local masters. They initiated him into the secrets of making real Japanese swords. Since then, this art has been carefully preserved in the company for several generations.
The Japanese have many qualities that could be an inspiration for us. Moderation is one of them. A Japanese does not get rid of a product as long as it serves him well. That's why he takes care of him with the proverbial thoroughness. In return, he will get a good feeling from its trouble-free and pleasant use. This is also the credo of the Yoshida Hamono company. He makes his knives from the best materials in such a way that they bring pleasure to the user every day and for an unlimited period of time.
Even though it is a family business, not a large one, Yoshida Hamono ensures complete production. He buys unique steel from Yasugi Specialty Steels /YSS/, which he then processes by hand using traditional hizukuri procedures. The handles, which are used to finalize the knives directly in the company, are also handmade
You may ask why we chose a manufacturer from Saga Prefecture, which is not one of the renowned centers of Japanese blacksmithing. The answer is simple. There are only a few manufacturers who can make genuine uchihamono from ZDP-189 steel. And Yoshida Hamono is one of them.
©2020 Copyright Roman Ulík, Nippon Knives, www.japonskenoze.sk all rights reserved.
Photos and texts are protected by copyright law and their use without the author's consent is not possible.
