Japanese Knife Anatomy & Terminology Illustrated

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Funny how 'handle' is the same in both languages :eyebrow:
 
Maybe I don't understand all of the terms, but I would disagree with some of those. I don't see any choil on the knife (although maybe you could call it that) and I would call K the ricasso. Is machi the tang or the shoulders of the ricasso? And shinogi primary bevel (naming from the spine)?
 
Japanese knife terminology differs from Western. Machi is the gap between emoto (neck) and front of the tuka (handle) where a tiny bit of the tang is exposed. Not all knife makers incorporate this feature into their product. The shinogi is the demarcation line between the tsura (face) and the kireha (blade road). These terms are usually associated with traditional 'single bevel' knives only.
 
I did send that image to Shinichi Watanabe for review before publishing it. What you see is the version he was ok with, can't think of a better reviewer/critic :)
 
So shinogi is the line where the faces meet, is kiriba/kireha the primary bevel then or is something else meant by "blade road"?
 
Is there any place that I can look for English terminology? (i.e. for terms like profile, f&f, etc) I think I understand, but clarification would be super helpful.
 


As someone who came to KKF recently to learn about knives and sharpening -- both of which I knew virtually nothing about -- the glossary was one of the first resources I went to. Frankly, I was a bit disappointed. Among other things, there are a number of commonly used terms, such as "choil," which don't seem to appear at all in the glossary (unless I have overlooked them). Don't get me wrong -- I'm grateful for the resource, and appreciate the fact that probably several people went to the time and trouble of putting it together. It's just that it's a bit frustrating to me that it seems a bit incomplete.
 
As someone who came to KKF recently to learn about knives and sharpening -- both of which I knew virtually nothing about -- the glossary was one of the first resources I went to. Frankly, I was a bit disappointed. Among other things, there are a number of commonly used terms, such as "choil," which don't seem to appear at all in the glossary (unless I have overlooked them). Don't get me wrong -- I'm grateful for the resource, and appreciate the fact that probably several people went to the time and trouble of putting it together. It's just that it's a bit frustrating to me that it seems a bit incomplete.


The glossary will likely need to be updated, corrected, or added to over time. We just have to find a volunteer to take on the task.
 
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