Sukenari Honyaki Series White Steel No.2

About

Honyaki knives are most appealing to experienced users and professionals that demand the very best knives available. As we shall explain below, Honyaki knives are also the most challenging knives for forge smiths and craftsmen to produce. The ‘one-piece’ blade construction of the Honayki knife is handcrafted using processes which are similar to those used in Japanese sword making, such as the Tsuchi-Oki process. This method involves heating the blade to around 800°C, quenching it in water to increase its hardness and then placing it in rice-straw ash to slowly cool down to room temperature; This detail is important since it helps to prevent uneven tension from developing in the blade. A skilled craftsman then carefully applies a special mixture of semi-liquid clay (Which typically includes clay, water, and pulverized charcoal, powdered stone and other secret ingredients) to the blade, applying a thin layer of clay on the cutting edge and a thicker layer along the Shinogi-ji and the spine. By varying the thickness of the clay, the craftsman can control the speed at which the steel cools when it is quenched during the tempering process and thus manipulates the hardness of individual parts of the blade (Differential tempering). Skilled artisans can also use this technique to create a variety of beautiful Hamon patterns in the steel of the blade. Since it is difficult to control the large number of variables involved in this heat-treatment method, it is common for blades to develop small cracks or distort severely. Consequently, the production of Honyaki knives is expensive and time-consuming. Indeed, there are currently only a few companies who have craftsmen skilled enough to make true Honyaki knives. Master Nagao (President of Hiromoto Company and Master Bladesmith) once explained that Sukenari produces some of the best Honyaki knives he had ever seen. After visiting the Sukenari workshop and witnessing their fine craftsmanship for ourselves, we understood why he res