Nigara Hamono 270mm Yanagi Shirogami 1 Mizu Honyaki Karin Burl Double Horn

Hand made in Aomori prefecture, mizu honyaki (water quenched) shirogami #1 yanagi with karin wood handle with buffalo horn spacers.

Nigara Hamono is a distinguished Japanese blacksmithing house with a legacy spanning over 350 years. Founded during the early Edo period, the Nigara family began crafting swords for the Tsugaru clan in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture. Over eight generations, they have preserved and refined their traditional forging techniques, transitioning from samurai swords to high-performance kitchen knives that are celebrated worldwide.      

Under the leadership of Go Yoshizawa, the eighth-generation blacksmith, Nigara Hamono continues to blend time-honored techniques with modern innovations. This dedication has earned them recognition as one of Japan’s premier knife makers.

Honyaki heat treatment relies on a single steel blade as opposed to a clad steel / mild steel or iron construction. Water quench honyaki makes for the hardest possible edge but due to the rapid heat loss during the quenching has a high failure rate even for experienced smiths. This knife has been etched to bring out an additional contrast at the hamon, the result is a very lively and vibrant pattern pulled from the steel. 

Shirogami is rated at 3, 2, & 1, increasing in carbon content as the number gets smaller, typically shirogami 3 is tough with a shorter edge life than shirogami 2 and shirogami 1 has the best edge life with the least toughness. When heat treated using the honyaki technique the result is a steel that works very well at very fine finishes. This is definitely a sharpener's steel, great for a huge variety of finishing stones, especially natural stones. 

Not for the first time user of a yanagi, this knife will demand greater skill in sharpening and use to preserve the proper geometry and to avoid damage, in addition the etched surface will be removed with sharpening.