Swordsmiths who also make Kitchen Knives?

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mikedtran

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The obvious one is Kiyoshi Kato - well known around the forums. Possibly one of the hottest knife-makers right now.

Another that I have stumbled upon is Yasha Yukawa - apprenticing swordsmith who works primarly with Tamahagane and Aogami #2

Are there any other swordsmiths making kitchen cutlery?
 
Hiromune Takaba is another specializing in tamahagane.
 
Hiromune Takaba is another specializing in tamahagane.

Wow his work is stunning:

dsc01407.jpg
 
Kiyoshi Kato - Possibly one of the hottest knife-makers right now.

Haha, had to laugh here. Not sure if these old fellows in their sooty work clothes are all that hot, unless you mean due to forge heat.

Another is Yamamoto Hideaki - can't recall exactly, but I think the only sword sharpener left in Sakai. And he's in his 80s.
 
(not vouching for this...)
[video=youtube;apOUFzDDqfk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=apOUFzDDqfk[/video]
...most of the 'action' videos I could find were from Cutco. There was an Ergo as well. I know there are some from KKF members showing them in use.
 
I was imagining sexy swordmakers =P =D

Don't disturb them as they do special work, though they may be flattered and surprised

(not vouching for this...) ...most of the 'action' videos I could find were from Cutco. There was an Ergo as well. I know there are some from KKF members showing them in use.

Oops, I think someone meant this for another paring thread
 
I don't understand the attraction of having a kitchen knife made by a swordsmith from tamehagane.
If the blade is polished in such a way as to bring out the hada then you're going to ruin the polish the first time you use the knife, but if it's not so finely polished then why use tamehagane rather than white steel?

It's also worth remembering that many knife makers in Japan are descended from swordsmiths, but have specialised on kitchen knives for many generations.
 
I've also thought about this, and I think lots of money and discussion is wasted on 'great fit & finish' knives which are connected to the swordsmith idea. But yes, soon as they're really used, the finish is gone and with it the expense, perhaps. Not sure about the tamahagane; are white and tamahagane dissimilar in the finishes they support?

Anyway, I think you're missing the context of the thread - nothing to do with the paring knife guy above - but which I think sprang from a comment in another threat about innovative makers also being sword sharpeners. This is rare, actually, though there's a general influence, more so going back in history.
 
I've also thought about this, and I think lots of money and discussion is wasted on 'great fit & finish' knives which are connected to the swordsmith idea. But yes, soon as they're really used, the finish is gone and with it the expense, perhaps. Not sure about the tamahagane; are white and tamahagane dissimilar in the finishes they support?

Anyway, I think you're missing the context of the thread - nothing to do with the paring knife guy above - but which I think sprang from a comment in another threat about innovative makers also being sword sharpeners. This is rare, actually, though there's a general influence, more so going back in history.

I did intend to post in this thread and I read all of it before posting.

White steel is intended (I believe) to mimic the qualities of the best forged tamehagane, but it obviously does not have the hada (the skin of the metal) which tamehagane will show if polished properly (and that means at least $50 per inch in labour for polishing).
Any patina will completely obscure the hada and if you remove the patina (with something like flitz) you'll do even more damage. The only way to remove even light patina would be through up to 5 grades of finger-stones and even then you'd need to burnish the blade afterwards.

I was genuinely questioning why you would want a kitchen knife made by a swordsmith specifically.
If you want an example of a swordsmith's work why not buy a tanto instead? If the kitchen knives speak for themselves (as with Kato) then surely that is the deciding factor and the fact that he's also a swordsmith is a cool side note, but not the main reason to buy the knife.
 
Just to clarify, when I say "hada", this is what I'm referring to:

617_wak_sadaichi_blade.jpg
 
sorry for the paring knife link I posted above -- I click on the wrong thread. :sad0:

I was wondering why the heck it wasn't showing up in the birds beak parer thread :scratchhead:
 
I'm pretty sure swordsmiths sometimes forge very small swords and knifesmiths sometimes forge very big knives.
Shouldn't be wildly surprised if there were cross-overs between the two fields here and there?
 
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