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Shinsuke Hokiyama pleased us with another news. Just to refresh your memory, Hokiyama Cutlery is the most prominent knife manufacturer on the island of Shikoku. He is known for introducing new technological procedures and as one of the few current manufacturers can produce a complete knife "in house", i.e. without any cooperation with another manufacturer. On the contrary, he himself provides finalization work for many blacksmiths. Even manufacturers in the Sakai area buy his roughly made blades. No wonder every tour of his factory ends with Shinsuke sighing, "I have to buy more machines."
Tosaichi Shirakumo is the name of the latest addition from the Hokiyama Cutlery workshop. Fans of this manufacturer can tell the essentials from the name itself. Tosaichi means that the knife is made of traditional materials, and Shirakumo suggests that it will probably be Shirogami steel. It's exactly like that. The White Cloud (literal translation of the word Shirakumo) has a core forged from "white" Shirogami 2 from Yasugi Specialty Steel. This grade of low-alloy steel is very popular as it is more forgiving to the user than Shirogami 1. It is extremely hard (62-63 HRC) with excellent edge retention. Since it is not an anti-corrosion material, in the San Mai composition it is clad with SUS 405 stainless steel. Therefore, you only treat the blade itself with blade oil.
Shirakumo has a beautiful hammered texture with hints of hamon. The right side of the blade bears the name Tosaichi Shirakumo, in kanji characters of course. The Yasuki Shirogami 2 characters are stamped on the left. Based on our long-term experience, we can say that Tosaichi and Sakon knives are characterized by a perfect edge. The grinders of this company deserve our deep respect. Even in this case, it is flawless work. The blade is symmetrical and characterized by small angles. The knife is therefore razor sharp.
As for the handles, the manufacturer bet on safety. We have not yet met a user who would have any objections to the oval. Finely smoothed rosewood smoothly transitions into a ring made of stabilized pakkawood. Here, premium materials are perfectly combined with masterful craftsmanship. The interesting and decent texture of the blade, the soft hamono and the exclusive handle create one of the most beautiful knives in our collection.
©2023 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
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.
