{"title":"Tanabe Tatara Archive","description":"\u003cp\u003eWe are very honored to be able to offer a limited series of knives made with handmade tamahagane steel made by the Tabe family beginning in 1460. In 2016 the 25th generation Tabe Chouemon revitalized the families' Tatara production. Izumo Taisha, the oldest and arguably the most important Shinto shrine in Japan, provided the starter fire from their sacred fire, and it is being burned continuously at the Tatara manufacturing site to be used at each operation. The Tabe family now conducts two Tatara operations a year, creating the ancient tamahagane steel and combining it with modern design and features in collaboration with renown Japanese blacksmiths.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ciframe title=\"YouTube Tanabe Tatara\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/M9LF228OkTo?si=zQeuahkhoEbTc7Kc\" height=\"315\" width=\"560\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"tanabe-tatara-150mm-petty-single-bevel-tamahagane-steel-tanaka-shimizu","title":"Tanabe Tatara Tanaka x Shimizu 150mm Petty Single Bevel Tamahagane Steel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWe are very honored to be able to offer a limited series of knives made with hand made tamahagane steel. Tamahagane is the predecessor of the industrial carbon steels that have become essential for hand made Japanese knives. The trajectory of Japanese blade making technology and approaches to edged tools all draw directly from the unique properties of this steel. Tamahagane steel is easy to forge laminate where hard steel is supported by softer tougher iron or mild steel which has become an integral part of Japanese blade making. Tamahagane can be easily polished at high hardnesses, resulting in the techniques of fine finishing with naturally occurring Japanese stones that still informs Japanese sharpening. Simply put, without tamahagane Japanese smithing and blade making as we know it would not exist. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis knife is hand forged in Sakai by dentoukougeishi blacksmith Yoshikazu Tanaka and hand ground by Masaya Shimizu also in Sakai. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTatara steel making culture nearly disappeared, but in recent years craftsman determined to pass on the art form to future generations have kept the tradition alive. Tatara steel making began over 1400 years ago in the Izumo district—an area which has been a focal point for Japanese steel making due to the high quality of it’s iron sand found in its mountain rivers and rich forestry for fuel. At its peak the area was producing 80% of Japan’s steel.   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Tatara method involves first creating a clay furnace with bellows which can only be used once as it is consumed in the continuous application of high heat reaching 2700F. In one operation 13 tons of sand iron and 13 tons of wood charcoal is burned for 3 nights and 3 days under constant supervision and adjustments, during which impurities are removed and the purest form of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKera\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e (lump of steel) is created. The purest and best parts of this \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKera\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e is called \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTamahagane\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, and has historically been the material used to make Samurai katanas. In the Meiji period cheaper forms of steel and furnaces began to be imported from the West, and the art of Tatara steelmaking declined, only to eventually disappear altogether at the end of the Taisho period. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAfter 11 generations of being samurai warriors, the Tabe family began steel making in 1460 after the founder Hikozaemon had a dream where he was told to begin steelmaking and the next day went to the riverbed to collect sand iron. By 1755 the family was named the head ironsmith of the local powerful Matsue-Han (Domain), responsible for meeting the increasing demand for steel production in that time period. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKera\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e (steel clump) made from the Tabe family was displayed in the Chicago and Paris World Expos in the 1800s. The symbolic katana used to protect the emperor was also made from steel produced by the Tabe family in the Taisho era, the highest honor. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn 2016 the 25th generation Tabe Chouemon declared that he would resume the Tatara production,, both for his family’s pride but also to help revitalize their local economy. Izumo Taisha, the oldest and arguably the most important Shinto shrine in Japan, provided the starter fire from their sacred fire, and it is being burned continuously at the Tatara manufacturing site to be used at each operation. The Tabe family now conducts 2 Tatara operations a year, creating the ancient tamahagane steel and now combining it with modern design and features.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Tanabe Tatara","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43571071975645,"sku":"TATARA-150-PETTY","price":548.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0455\/3339\/7144\/files\/DSC00117_798711fd-ee2c-463a-8438-7489d46e36ef.jpg?v=1718233915"},{"product_id":"tanabe-tatara-180mm-santoku-tsukasa-hinoura","title":"Tanabe Tatara Tsukasa Hinoura 170mm Santoku Tamahagane Suminagashi Sakura \/ Horn","description":"\u003cp\u003eWe 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 Tanabe family.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Tanabe family begins in 1460. In 2016, the 25th generation Tabe Chouemon revitalized the family's Tatara production. Tanabe 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 Tanabe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eTsukasa 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 in between, traditional techniques are methodically employed. Hinoura-San is known for his examination of traditional Japanese blacksmithing with modern metallurgical microscopy, 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eHinoura-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. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eTsukasa 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. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem\u003ePlease note that these specifications and photos are frequently updated to represent the most current stock available.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Tanabe Tatara","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43661566345437,"sku":"TATARA-180-SANTOKU","price":5090.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0455\/3339\/7144\/files\/DSC00188_c6014312-034c-4ba7-a4e7-c3cba80ec4ce.jpg?v=1724374407"}],"url":"https:\/\/bernalcutlery.com\/en-fr\/collections\/tanabe-tatara-copy.oembed","provider":"Bernal Cutlery","version":"1.0","type":"link"}