Sakon Bokusui Swirl

At Nippon Knives, we love Shikoku. An island with beautiful nature that quietly and unobtrusively lives its life. We love Kochi, where the ocean coast runs through countless rice fields to steep mountains. And, of course, we like local blacksmiths who, in addition to ordinary farm tools, release enormous knives into the world. They do it modestly and quietly, so without the necessary contacts you won't even know about them. Well, as long as your partner is Shinsuke Hokiyama, you're lucky man.

His company Hokiyama Cutlery celebrated its centenary in 2019. You certainly did not miss the BUHO knives from Master Murata, produced in a limited series just for this milestone. Shinsuke is known for espousing new progressive methods of knife making. But like a true Japanese, he does not forget the traditional ones either and meaningfully combines them in his collection of products.

His latest venture is the traditional Wa Bocho knife made of not so usual steel. It is an excellent material from the renowned manufacturer Aichi Steel, which marks it as AUS10. AUS series steels are nothing new. AUS6 is widely represented in the lower class of household knives. AUS8, on the other hand, is a reliable material for a decent middle class of knives. Well, logically, AUS 10 stands at the top of this range. It is often compared to the award-winning VG10, with which it has the same carbon content. Its chemical composition is similar to 440C, but it has a significantly higher chromium content. AUS10 is one of the modern steels with a greater number of alloys. 1.05% carbon ensures a very decent hardness of 60 HRC with proper heat treatment. Fine carbides of silicon and vanadium predestined it for formatting very steep angles of the blade. Of course, you can easily achieve these with Japanese grinding stones.

The manufacturer called the newest line of knives Sakon Bokusui Swirl. It is our good practice to break down complicated Japanese names into an understandable form. Sakon is a brand for "practical" knives, i.e. made of anti-corrosion materials that pampered Europeans don't need to coat with camellia oil. Boku is the term for ink used in calligraphy. Sui, on the other hand, represents the expression of elegance. The last word is borrowed from English and means whirling. If we put it together, we get a Suminagashi-type  damascene pattern, and that's exactly what really fascinates us about this knife.

As mentioned above, the core of the blade is made of AUS10 steel. It is lined with 33 layers of nickel and steel on each side. The final drawing is achieved using the pressure method and the result is truly unique. Add black kanji characters and completeness is complete. Not so completely. Let´s add the genuine buffalo horn ring and the smooth magnolia handle, of course, in an octagonal profile.

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