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The name Murakumo comes from a well-known Japanese myth. The younger brother of the sun goddess Susanoo defeated the eight-headed dragon with the help of a trick and 8 barrels of sake. In his bowels he found the sacred sword Murakumo, which was later renamed Kusanagi . Yes, exactly the Kusanagi that forms one of the insignia of the imperial court.
You must have a courage to call your knife Murakumo. But looking at producer origins, any doubts go away. The manufacturer is none other than Hokiyama Cutlery, one of the leaders in the important area of Tosa on Shikoku Island.
You need 3 things to create a masterpiece. Determination, top materials and skilled craftsmen with many years of experience. Shinsuke Hokiyama has them all. The proof lies before you.
The core of these exceptional knives is forged from SLD stainless steel. It is a higher level of development of the proven SKD-11. It is a die tool steel that is characterized by hardness, strength and tremendous abrasion resistance. Thanks to powder metallurgy, it excels in the fineness of its carbides. The magicians from Hitachi Metals mixed it from a good portion of carbon, which reaches 1.40 - 1.60%. It is balanced by 11-13% chromium content, so the steel does not require special care. Other important alloys such as vanadium, molybdenum, silicon and manganese also provide the required properties. As we have become accustomed to Japanese steel producers, unwanted sulfur and phosphorus make up less than 0.025%. The result is a blade with an uncompromising hardness in the range of 62 - 64 HRC. This noble material is produced at the well-known Yasugi Specialty Steel Center, so you may come across YSS SLD or Yasuki SLD.
Damascene pattern suminagashi is made of 36 layers of SUS-405 steel and nickel which are bonded from both sides to the core. This created a 73-layer, complex and aesthetically unforgettable blade that holds its symmetrical blade for a very long time. A welcome detail is the name, subtly embossed in kanji characters.
You won't find any compromises on the rest of the knife. The half tang design is characteristic of Wa Bocho knives. A ferrule made of black stabilized pakkawood flows smoothly into a dark brown roosewood handle. All in an octagon, of course.
If you are a fan of small series, aesthetically pleasing knives, where tradition is complemented by advanced metallurgy, Sakon Murakumo should definitely be in your viewfinder.
©2020 Copyright Roman Ulík, Nippon Knives, www.japonskenoze.sk all rights reserved
Photographs and texts are protected by copyright and their use is not possible without the author's consent.
About producer
Tosa is the ancient name of today's Kochi Prefecture, which is located in the southern part of the island of Shikoku. The north of the prefecture is made up of inhospitable mountains, which towards the south pass into a fertile plain filled with countless rice fields. They are protected from possible tsunami waves by barriers built on the beaches of the Pacific Ocean. Connoisseurs of Japanese blacksmithing will not call this area anything other than Tosa.
For more than 800 years, the interlaced steel made famous by samurai swords has been forged in Tosa. It can be said that this area has become a kind of "open-air museum" of traditional blacksmithing. You will find small workshops scattered here, in which individual family generations create gems that are incomprehensible to us. It is almost a rule that father and son work in the workshop to ensure the continuity of the tradition. All kinds of blades are made here, from agricultural tools to rare knives, but in a diametrically different way than in the Seki, Sakai, or Tsubame/Sanjo areas. Knives intended for decoration were never produced here, but durable work tools. That is why knives from Tosa are sought after by connoisseurs all over the world.
Since 1919, the Hokiyama Cutlery company has been among the pioneers in improving the traditional production of kitchen knives. In accordance with the motto "the good must be preserved and, if possible, also improved", Shinsuke Hokiyama created 3 lines in his company: traditional, practical and innovative.
The traditional line /Tosa-Ichi/ consists of hand-forged blades from such masters as Takeo Murata. It is a layered steel, the core of which is high-carbon shirogami or aogami type steel. Hitachi Blue Super is used for the best pieces. The blades are most often in the unpolished form of kurouchi. Knives require care, as this material is not anti-corrosive. The practical line /Sakon/ is a symbiosis of traditional production procedures with modern materials and design. In addition to high-carbon steel, very hard powder tool steel and damascene steel are also used. Emphasis is placed on precisely processed and ergonomically tuned handles. The innovative line /Mugen/ is the pride of Hokiyama Cutlery. It adopts advances from other fields into the production of its knives. These are mainly self-sharpening knives SAKON+ with the patented Vee-Tech technology taken from the aviation and space industry.
Friendly relations with the owner of Hokiyama Cutlery, Mr. Shinsuke Hokiyama, enabled us to gradually bring you the most interesting knives from the legendary Tosa region.
©2010-2018 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.
