Yeah Japan is home to the idea of shokunin perfectionism, too. But uh, idk man. Even in Sakai, for example with sharpeners, there are some that are better than others, or different levels of finishing and precision, and distortion removal, etc, most often seen in the realm of single bevels which most specialize in. Wabi sabi is mostly the domain of sharpening and finishing it seems. A lot of the sharpest steels I've had, they had horrible grinds or finishing. Makes sense if I consider they hyperspecialize.
But uh wabi sabi, yeah small mistakes are okay. Small bends and stuff. A lot of honyaki have warps, because fixing it can destroy the whole thing or crack it. Or even with making great ura . . . Craftsmen usually prioritize the edge being straight. Or small kurouchi or nashiji marks, I see those sometimes on single bevels even after finishing. Or it can be preference or proof -- unpolished choils showing kurouchi and the forge process. Which is a thing I look for to evaluate knives. Idk man, the rural blacksmiths can have more wabi sabi, the natural presentation of things. Like how kurouchi and nashiji and tsuchime finishes are more wabi sabi than wheel or sanded finish. Or leaving small warps or bends in. Does the craftsman consider the user experience more, the idea of perfection, good-enough and a natural ish finish?
For example, takahashi kajiya in okuizumo, has wabi sabi to the most extreme extent I've seen, inconsistent grind, thin spine but thick shinogi, thick spine midway and near tip but thin spine near handle, way too short tang than the handles don't stay on well.
But the steel is really great and I enjoyed it more than Fujiwara Teruyasu's steel. One could argue that it's just wabi sabi, naturally how the knife turns out, and it will change over time, or is incomplete.
Or even the idea of knives not having honbadzuke when sold -- is it wabi sabi that the knives don't come sharp, and need to be sharpened? Should it be extended to straightening bends, or even warps, and regrinding? What about price point? Is it wabi sabi when the item is simply made insufficiently or wrong, as opposed to natural variation in the more appropriate process of making the item?
Or we can extend this too, even to edge chips and pitting? I would think, the pro wabi sabi thing to do, is that chips should only be removed with the normal sharpening process, since the knife will be used over time down to that anyway. But a lot of people don't want to see the chips, so the knife looks more "complete" but has a shorter life. There's a similar thing to be said, with trying to remove low spots, but making the knife shorter or too thin for what's appropriate.
I guess, wabi sabi to me is good-enough, compromising, and having variance and imperfections and artifacts of the manufacturing process -- in support of function, and in a way that either doesn't impede function, or possibly has an abstract symbolic meaning. Like the wabi sabi of the natural variation in hamon, or hamon shapes or features to evoke certain moods
I say this in my experience of getting a whole bunch of knives of different fit and finish, and trying to make them work as knives -- what does it mean to be a knife, of a particular shape or size, construction or design.
Like, is it more natural or simple, and in support of wabi sabi to have iron clad knives instead of stainless clad, since iron cladding is more easy or simple to do?
Kinda personal to me, I bought 9 tf knives, sold them all. I didn't agree that his interpretation of appropriate wabi sabi aligned with what I had in mind for form and function of what I wanted a knife to be, or could be. Tf works well for a bunch of people though, and the steel can be great. I also wanted to know and try more.
