Knife ID and Kanji Help: mini usuba-like blade in wooden sheath

[jackslimpson]

http://ralph1396.com/JPusubXa9.JPG

Can anyone identify the maker and purpose of this knife? Also, can anyone read the kanji?

Cheers,

Jack

 

[larrybard]

Might be easier to speculate as to the purpose of the knife if there was a picture of the entire knife, especially profile.

 

[Pensacola Tiger]

Might be easier to speculate as to the purpose of the knife if there was a picture of the entire knife, especially profile.

Here's the eBay Buy-It-Now listing.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FINE-Vintag...460?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43d633deec

 

[no_one_just_Roy]

Now that's a weird-looking knife!

It definitely is not a kitchen knife, though.
You totally can use as one but it is not really designed with cooking in mind.
There is no paring knife in Japanese style cooking, or any knife whose handle is wider than the blade.

So, I suspect this might be a sort of utility knife, but it's not very usual a utility knife having single bevel blade.
It might be a special-purpose woodworking knife... perhaps?
Maybe a kind of gardener knife, or some sort of small nata (wood/bamboo cleaver), but I may be completely wrong here.
Now I must admit I have no idea.


About the kanji, the second one is "豊"(toyo/hou) like in Toyokuni(豊&#22269, Suketoyo(祐&#35914 or 豊稔 (hounen), but the first one is indecipherable. I thought it might be "国" (kuni/koku) but I can find no maker matching that.

Puzzles usually look easy once they are solved, but sure this is puzzling.

 

[Fritzkrieg]

Here's the eBay Buy-It-Now listing.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FINE-Vintag...460?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43d633deec

This is a knife for ikebana! http://www.ebay.com/itm/160795910619

 

[jackslimpson]

Pensacola Tiger found the exact listing from where I got the original picture. I don't buy the description there without a maker or a steel. A friend of mine found two of these at a Goodwill for almost nothing. I'll see if I can get a better picture from him of the actual knives.

Roy -- thanks for the Kanji tips. Perhaps one of the knives will have more district kanji. I'll keep this thread posted.

Cheers,

Jack

 

[Fritzkrieg]

Pensacola Tiger found the exact listing from where I got the original picture. I don't buy the description there without a maker or a steel. A friend of mine found two of these at a Goodwill for almost nothing. I'll see if I can get a better picture from him of the actual knives.

Roy -- thanks for the Kanji tips. Perhaps one of the knives will have more district kanji. I'll keep this thread posted.

Cheers,

Jack

Check my link, Jack - it's for ikebana

 

[jackslimpson]

Check my link, Jack - it's for ikebana

Fantastic. Thanks.

Cheers,

Jack