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Messer Mojo

Messer Mojo

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I want to categorize japanese knives into the main finishes. (Kurouchi, Nashiji, Tsuchime, Migaki, Damascus, Mirror polish)
However, I wonder how to categorize the rest of the knives (polished, but made out of Monosteel)?
Should I simply use Monosteel?

From what I understand, the term Migaki is only used for San-Mai/Warikomi constructions, not for Monosteel knives, correct?

Thanks in advance.
 
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I've personally seen migaki/polished used for monosteel. You can do all those finishes on a monosteel but a kasumi essentially really I'd say
 
Great question! I tried to get a good summary of the different finishes a while back, but this has led to more questions than answers haha.

I can only speak towards Japanese makers, for which I think the main finishes are: migaki, mirror, loose abrasive bokashi/kasumi, bead blasting, kurouchi, tsuchime, pickled/nashiji, etched.

Damascus isn’t really a finish, but a construction type. Kurouchi finishes are also wide ranging and quite different with HT Ku, forged scale, paint, bluing, clay coating, DLC, etc.

It’s further complicated by workshops using combinations of these techniques to attain their desired effect. Migaki sides with a faux shinogi either sandblasted or stenciled with loose abrasive is a very common finish. Another popular one is rag etching to add details that aren’t present in the iron cladding. There are endless combinations really, and some proprietary to the maker.

Sorry if this muddied the waters rather than clarifying. A definitive guide would be fantastic, and I’m still holding out hope for one.
 
Markcg said:
Great question! I tried to get a good summary of the different finishes a while back, but this has led to more questions than answers haha.

I can only speak towards Japanese makers, for which I think the main finishes are: migaki, mirror, loose abrasive bokashi/kasumi, bead blasting, kurouchi, tsuchime, pickled/nashiji, etched.

Damascus isn’t really a finish, but a construction type. Kurouchi finishes are also wide ranging and quite different with HT Ku, forged scale, paint, bluing, clay coating, DLC, etc.

It’s further complicated by workshops using combinations of these techniques to attain their desired effect. Migaki sides with a faux shinogi either sandblasted or stenciled with loose abrasive is a very common finish. Another popular one is rag etching to add details that aren’t present in the iron cladding. There are endless combinations really, and some proprietary to the maker.

Sorry if this muddied the waters rather than clarifying. A definitive guide would be fantastic, and I’m still holding out hope for one.
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The rag etching thing peaked my interest. Do you have a link that can give some info on that. Or if not do you mind expanding on it a bit.
 
Blank Blades. said:
The rag etching thing peaked my interest. Do you have a link that can give some info on that. Or if not do you mind expanding on it a bit.
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Something like this. Just a way to add a more dynamic etch, and he does it quite well.

 
Thanks for the answers.
jedy617 said:
I've personally seen migaki/polished used for monosteel. You can do all those finishes on a monosteel but a kasumi essentially really I'd say
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My main question is: Can you categorize every polished monosteel knife also as Migaki? If not, what should I use as a category? Simply monosteel?
(I want to create a shop category that categorizes knives by their finishes. I want to include my monosteel knives (like Misono) but I'm not really sure how to categorize them in terms of finish)
 
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domgro said:
Thanks for the answers.

My main question is: Can you categorize every polished monosteel knife also as Migaki? If not, what should I use as a category? Simply monosteel?
(I want to create a shop category that categorizes knives by their finishes. I want to include my monosteel knives (like Misono) but I'm not really sure how to categorize them in terms of finish)
Click to expand...
I mean it depends there are mirror polished honyakis for example along with migaki and more
 
jedy617 said:
I would call that belt satin, at least that's how we do for folders.
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But aren't a lot of Migaki finishes basically satin finishes? For example the Takamura Migaki R2 looks pretty similar to a satin finish.

Not sure if there are some technical differences, that would seperate a Migaki finish from a Satin finish, but thats why I was asking here.
 
domgro said:
But aren't a lot of Migaki finishes basically satin finishes? For example the Takamura Migaki R2 looks pretty similar to a satin finish.

Not sure if there are some technical differences, that would seperate a Migaki finish from a Satin finish, but thats why I was asking here.
Click to expand...

Migaki literally just means "polished" as far as I can tell. In knife marketing it seems to mean, NOT mirror finished. Which could be the same as someone's satin finish. Or they could call it something different. Most of these terms get used and abused to death. But they are mostly marketing terms not strictly defined categories.
 
domgro said:
Ok thanks. I guess I'll just use the term Migaki for all my polished monosteel knives.
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If you are speaking in english about it. I would just specifically describe the kind of polish of the knife.

Like satin, kasumi, mirror, etc.
 
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