It takes at least one day to make a knife, and it can take up to several weeks.
It all begins in the fire
The steel is hammer-forged to the finest possible thickness, unlike the modern approach, in which the piece is roughly forged and then finished by removing material.
素材-materials
Steel
鋼 - hagane
I use steels that are as close to tradition as possible: French steel from Saut du Tarn, very old steel and iron (often several centuries old) and artisanal low hearth steel made by myself or by a colleague from Feron (in the same tradition as tamahagane).
No 01
Sanmai
Old laminated iron + cutting edge with 0.7 % carbon
No 02
Antique steel
Multicentennial steel
No 03
Home
Handcrafted steel, Tamahagane tradition
Wood
木 - ki
I use local wood of various species. For Kotanto, I enrich the wood by treating it with the traditional method of urushi lacquer.
No 04
Unfermented Shirasaya
No 05
Kotanto handle
4 coats of natural urushi lacquer on linden wood
No 06
Urushi-lacquered box with a leather strap