The 'kanji' on our knives

[mill]

A bit tough but I think this I the closest I can get.

正宗二十四代？
Masamune 24th generation

_?_広作
___hiro saku
(note 広 is the way they right hiro today. The kanji on the knife is the old version)
Saku means made by or maker

Had to ask my colleague on this one and even with her knowledge if working at the knife museum she couldn't tell me that one kanji.

http://www.sword-masamune.com/en/info.html

 

[DaninMD]

is anyone able to determine this one? from a non-descript ebay purchase. maybe a Tojiro? looks similar to some postings i have seen that were Tojiro

 

[osakajoe]

I posted in your other thread.

The reason why you recognize the last kanji, saku - 作, is because it just means production or manufactured. Most knife brands put that at the end of their names. Kind of like saying osaka joe manufacturing.

Anyways to get on to the other kanji. It can be read one of two ways.
長俊作 Nagatoshi-saku or Choshun-saku.
More likely Nagatoshi as the other one is worded strangely.

 

[RocketPower]

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php?p=331154
Hi all,
Posted this in another thread.
Maybe someone can help me here.

Cheers,

 

[mise_en_place]

Incidentally, romanji - our roman alphabet - is used quite a lot in Japan. Indo-Arabic numerals - 1,2,3... - are probably more common than their kanji equivalents.

Not to nitpick, but it's romaji, not romanji.

 

[Mortnate]

I'm new to the forums and I'm glad there is a community sharing and increasing our knowledge.

I recently purchased a yanagiba and a deba from an eBay seller. Not sure on the maker. Came from someone who purchased them from an estate sale, a collector of Japanese items who passed away. Took a chance as they were old and never used or sharpened. Still waiting on delivery and I can post more photos once they arrive. Picture is zoomed in on one of the eBay listing photos.

Any help if possible would be appreciated.

 

[no_one_just_Roy]

hi everyone, just another nameless japanese lurker here.

View attachment 26084

I'm new to the forums and I'm glad there is a community sharing and increasing our knowledge.

I recently purchased a yanagiba and a deba from an eBay seller. Not sure on the maker. Came from someone who purchased them from an estate sale, a collector of Japanese items who passed away. Took a chance as they were old and never used or sharpened. Still waiting on delivery and I can post more photos once they arrive. Picture is zoomed in on one of the eBay listing photos.

Any help if possible would be appreciated.

So... it reads 登録 忠雄作 (touroku Tadao(?) saku/ Registered (made) by Tadao)

I'm not familier with that name so I had to look up for it.
And it looks like the knife is a cheaper side, baseline quality, soft iron / carbon steel (SK-5 steel?) forged one.
I couldn't find the details on who made it, but seems like it's by some blacksmith in Tsubame Sanjo area, Niigata prefecture.


And, better late than never so... quoting from the other thread

Hi all,

This is my first time posting on this forum!
Really enjoying reading all the threads so far!

Was wondering if someone would be able to help me with this knife.
Want to find out what it is to see if it is worth restoring.

Look forward to finding out what it is!

Cheers,

関菊水 謹製 本割込 (Seki-kikusui kinsei hon-warikomi)
There's a small company named "菊水刃物" (kikusui hamono) in Seki, so I guess it's their product, though the company is more famous for outdoor and diving knives.
I'm not sure either but maybe you should try and find how it cuts. It might be inexpensive but that doesn't mean it's useless...

 

[Mortnate]

hi everyone, just another nameless japanese lurker here.


So... it reads 登録 忠雄作 (touroku Tadao(?) saku/ Registered (made) by Tadao)

I'm not familier with that name so I had to look up for it.
And it looks like the knife is a cheaper side, baseline quality, soft iron / carbon steel (SK-5 steel?) forged one.
I couldn't find the details on who made it, but seems like it's by some blacksmith in Tsubame Sanjo area, Niigata prefecture.



Thanks for the information on the mystery knives.

I own a Tanaka 270mm gyuto. Really like the style of kanji he engraves. It's noticeably larger than other makers.

Was contemplating getting a yanagiba from Tanaka, but not sure how the large kanji would react to the shinogi line moving up the table of the blade from sharpening. The kanji might intersect the shinogi line. Guessing mostly a cosmetic concern, losing part of the kanji, plus this would take a while before becoming an issue.

 

[denfetafrukten]

So i've been trying to decode the kanji on one of my knives, and this is what i've gathered so far.
I'm fairly certain that the "Yasui ? Hagane" part means Yasuki Speciality Steel.

The first two kanji i have no idea about, same with the very last one. Any help?

 

[no_one_just_Roy]

So i've been trying to decode the kanji on one of my knives, and this is what i've gathered so far.
I'm fairly certain that the "Yasui ? Hagane" part means Yasuki Speciality Steel.

The first two kanji i have no idea about, same with the very last one. Any help?

"安来鋼" is indeed yasu-ki hagane, the name of the speciality steel by Hitachi Metals ltd.. Originally it came from Yasugi (安来 - same kanji as you see), name of a small city in Shimane Prefecture, but the name of the steel is "Yasuki" - perhaps they wanted it to be clear that while it is originated from the traditional tama-hagane steel, the steel they make is not by the traditional method and high-tech involved.
(By the way, basically you need a following kana to read 安 as 'yasu-i' (安&#12356 )

But the following is rather weird. It indeed is "青鋼" and it means "blue steel" but the first character is in older writing "靑" which has been officially obsolete in Japan since 1949. And I don't think the blue paper steel was available back then.
Also, I don't see any good reason to stamp "yasuki steel" when you clearly state it is blue steel, one of major Yasuki steel lineup. It's totally redundant.
"入" (iri) means ... well, "include" "contain" "enter" or things like that. And this too is kind of strange (you cannot simply blend steels like pancake mix...)
So... I don't think it's made (or at least stamped) in Japan. China or Korea it might be? Come to think of it, the first 2 letters may be hangul or some other characters instead of kanji, though they are indecipherable in the picture.

 

[denfetafrukten]

That would actually make sense, it's a cheap no-name knife that had some serious grind issues when i got it. A fun little project that i use for testing different stuff on. I wouldn't be suprised if it was made outside of japan.

Thanks alot for the help Roy!

 

[mckemaus]

The first two characters look like 手作.

手作り (edzukuri) means hand made.

 

[JBroida]

The first two characters look like 手作.

手作り (edzukuri) means hand made.

read as tezukuri in japanese

 

[cheflarge]

WOW, what a awesome, informative thread!!! Thanks to all!!! :thumbsup:

 

[denfetafrukten]

I have three knives bought from different resellers at different times that all have the same box.
So i started trying to translate the Kanji and this is what i got so far. Anyone wants to help with the other characters?

 

[mill]

I have three knives bought from different resellers at different times that all have the same box.
So i started trying to translate the Kanji and this is what i got so far. Anyone wants to help with the other characters?

I'm going to say, in English, Premium Cooking Knife or High Quality Cooking Knife.

 

[Fritzkrieg]

Can I have a little help with this one? I am pretty sure the top characters are Silver-3, and then there is maybe something about Sakai below?
Thank you in advance!

 

[cclin]

Silver 3, made by Sakai Yusuke

 

[Fritzkrieg]

Silver 3, made by Sakai Yusuke

Great, thanks again!

 

[stagiaire]

I have no idea what this could be, would love some kind of assistance!

 

[no_one_just_Roy]

I have three knives bought from different resellers at different times that all have the same box.
So i started trying to translate the Kanji and this is what i got so far. Anyone wants to help with the other characters?

特製 高級 御料理庖丁
高級 打刃物 (smaller red characters on the side)

「御料理」 (o ryou ri)
Though the first kanji 「御」 has its own meaning but it's just a honorific prefix here.
The word 「料理」 （ryo-ri) means "cooking" and hocho is basically "kitchen knife" so it's sort of redundant here and most likely it's just here for traditional writing, though there are a few hocho's which aren't for cooking (like tatami-bocho, kawa (leather) bocho, etc.)

「高級」 (kou kyuu)
Roughly translate as "high" "grade/class". It's simple.

「打刃物」 (uchi ha mono)
Most likely it's "forged blade" (instead of "stock and removal" method perhaps?) It is not a very common vocabulary though.

There is not really much useful information you can find on the box, if I say.

 

[bennypapa]

Wow, what a great thread. Thanks all!

 

[Keith Sinclair]

All I know is I like it carved in with small chisels. Knocked off a handle found carved Kanji on the tang. Have put on a new handle. Asked the lady next door who is Japanese national what it was, she could not help me. She has been able to help me with other translations.

Thanks for this informative thread

 

[evilgregg]

So, this is probably where i should have started maybe...

Anyway, i picked up this knife because i couldn't bear to see it languish in a goodwill. it was in a lot of knives and this was the one that spoke to me, unfortunately it spoke in Japanese, and I don't understand what it said.

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/31714-Identify-an-old-Yanagiba

any help in identifying it would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[freedom188]

Thanks for the info

 

[QCDawg]

I would love a lesson from the cognoscenti.. on why some makers chisel, some etch..someengrave and some makers just paint it on? I realize the expense must be different for each method... but do some steels "accept certain methods" better? I love Hattori's VG-10 forum knives, but find the logo and markings "cheap".. seemingly, for a fairly expensive knife.

 

[mets]

Interesting post. I have been learning Japanese and can read Hiragana and Katakana. But there are just so many Kanji to learn! Would be nice to know what was actually written on my knife though...

 

[karif]

Any help with this yanagi? Can get some .better shots if need be.

Thanks for the help.

Made a quick sketch of this kanji, it's hard to get clear pics since its hand chiseled and been thinned a few times

Sorry for my disrespectful attempt at writing kanji. :surrendar:

 

[JBroida]

the picture is a bit easier than the drawing, but it looks like Kiya Sadakuni...not 100% sure, but kiya is written very poorly, and sadakuni is engraved over a stamp (like the 上 from 上&#20316... also, its not a common name, so it might have been a persons name (maybe a foreign visitor or something)... the engraving seems to have been poorly done though

 

[XooMG]

I struggle with the first in the pic, because I am not very familiar with many shops. Right now my first reading, as I posted in PM, is X屋真(or mayybe 貞 as Jon suggests) (&#19978國. Spacing and impression suggests the 上 was a stamped afterthought.