Tanabe Tatara Tsukasa Hinoura 170mm Santoku Tamahagane Suminagashi Sakura / Horn

We are very honored to be able to offer a limited series of knives made with hand made tamahagane steel made as a collaboration between blacksmith Tsukasa Hinoura and the Tabe family.

The Tabe family begins in 1460. In 2016, the 25th generation Tabe Chouemon revitalized the family's Tatara production. Tabe Family's sacred fire that is burned continuously to be used at each operation was started with flames provided by Izumo Taisha, the oldest and arguably the most important Shinto shrine in Japan. The Tabe family now conducts 2 Tatara operations a year, creating the ancient tamahagane steel and now combining it with modern design and features collaboration with renowned Japanese blacksmiths.

By some standards, the old tamahagane steel has long been eclipsed by more modern industrial steels as tamahagane cannot boast the same carbon content, much less the efficiency of industrial steels but its importance to Japanese blacksmithing cannot be overstated. There would be no Japanese sword making, tool making or knife making traditions as we know them without tamahagane and for this reason it is regarded with such reverence. The fact that the Izumo Taisha temple's fire was used to rekindle the the fire at Tanabe Tatara emphasizes the spiritual significance of Tamahagane. 

Tsukasa Hinoura is a third generation knife maker in Sanjo, Niigata, Japan. Hinoura-San uses no modern machinery in the production of his knives, and he does all the finish grinding and sharpening himself. From the forging of the jigane cladding, the warikomi forge lamination of the steel core and cladding, the water quench heat treatment to the final whetstone finish and all steps inbetween, traditional techniques are methodiacally employed. Hinoura-San is known for his examination of traditional Japanese blacksmithing with modern metalurgical microscropy, on both his own work and the work of other Japanese blacksmiths. All of his research supported the functional importance of traditional techniques that had been started to be viewed as antiquated or unnecessary with modern steels and as a result, Hinoura-san's steel quality is superb.

Hinoura-san was a student of the immensely skilled Kosuke Iwasaki who is responsible for Sanjo blacksmithing enjoying the high level of skill it does today and for the spirit of generosity with sharing techniques and technical information about traditional blacksmithing in the Japanese blacksmithing world and beyond. The number of Japanese blacksmiths especially in Sanjo that are well known and respected today who trace their craft lineage through Iwasaki is enormous. 

Tsukasa Hinoura's output is very limited due to the high degree of labor in each knife made, we are very happy to get them whenever they are available, and made with this rare steel it is even more so. 

Please note that these specifications and photos are frequently updated to represent the most current stock available.