Kyusakichi Black ZDP-189

Kurouchi is a term used by the Japanese to describe black unpolished blades. Many current fans have found this version for its appearance reminiscent of period tools. Polishing blacksmith products was not common. It was overtime that did not benefit much from a functional point of view; on the contrary, it made the product unnecessarily expensive. It was different with swords, where their appearance corresponded to the status of their owner.

Today we also see knives, where the making of kurouchi is not the result of manual work. Rather, it is an attempt to make such an impression. However, this is not the case with Yoshida Hamono, where we are talking about truly 100% hand production.

The core of the blade is laboriously made of extremely hard steel ZDP-189 from Hitachi Metals. The steel is forged until it reaches the optimum stage. Only an experienced blacksmith will know this. It is then quenched using the sub-zero treatment method. The result is a hardness of incredible 67 HRC . One layer of softer steel is forged to the sides to create a traditional San Mai blade. The edge is symmetrical in the shape of the letter "V". On the blade is embossed or alternatively laser-printed inscription in kanji characters, which represents the name KYUSAKICHI and steel grade ZDP-189.

The octagonal handle is made of rosewood or maple, which is impregnated with a bio solution. This patented technology of the Norwegian company Kebony creates hard materials at the level of exotic teak from commonly available woods. Its texture and color resembles rosewood. The ferrule is made of stabilized wood pakkawood .

You can learn more about the Kyusakichi brand here.

Due to that it is handmade, each knife is original. Knives can interact with each other differ in shape, dimensions, color and the final surface finish of the blade. The images are illustrative and the product may differ slightly from them.

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