I recently picked up a Kogetsu SK5 western mono because I totally fell for the ultra wabi sabi hand made charm, which you just don't see often in western mono carbons. Here's a first shot to set the stage, dentoukogeshi sticker and all:
Fit and finish is of course rustic and demonstrates traditional craftsmanship in cool ways, for example, the blade shows obvious signs of being stone finished, perhaps both sharpened and lightly thinned:
But there was something that I really didn't expect and had no idea what to think about at first, which is what appears to be a brass weld that spans the entirety of the blade/tang/bolster junction:
Now, I have seen these knives sold by a few different retailers, and none of the listings on any retailer's website has ever shown this feature, as far as I know. My initial thought was maybe there was a poor fit between the bolster and tang on this particular specimen, and perhaps the maker opted to fill it by welding brass and then grinding it flush? Alternatively, perhaps the maker has opted to do this on all new knives from this line to shore up that fit, regardless of whether any individual knife has gaps. Or, perhaps this is sort of like moritaka knives I've seen where the maker opts to weld a stainless tang to a high-carbon blade in order to make the tang more resistant to water intrusion if any water gets inside of the handle. That moritaka-style construction makes sense in a wa-gyuto where the handle is not always very well sealed. But does it make sense in a western configuration?
I wrote the retailer to inquire about the brass weld and its purpose, but was only told that the maker has now decided to make all knives in this line with the brass weld, and that they will update their sales listing with pictures showing the new feature. The retailer did not tell me what the purpose of the weld was, so I sent a reply requesting further clarification.
Meanwhile: any of you KKF knife gurus have any additional thoughts about what this could be? I'm not upset about this knife at all, just really curious about what's going on.
Have at it!
PS: special thanks to @tostadas and @blokey for already entertaining my questions about this knife over PM.
Fit and finish is of course rustic and demonstrates traditional craftsmanship in cool ways, for example, the blade shows obvious signs of being stone finished, perhaps both sharpened and lightly thinned:
But there was something that I really didn't expect and had no idea what to think about at first, which is what appears to be a brass weld that spans the entirety of the blade/tang/bolster junction:
Now, I have seen these knives sold by a few different retailers, and none of the listings on any retailer's website has ever shown this feature, as far as I know. My initial thought was maybe there was a poor fit between the bolster and tang on this particular specimen, and perhaps the maker opted to fill it by welding brass and then grinding it flush? Alternatively, perhaps the maker has opted to do this on all new knives from this line to shore up that fit, regardless of whether any individual knife has gaps. Or, perhaps this is sort of like moritaka knives I've seen where the maker opts to weld a stainless tang to a high-carbon blade in order to make the tang more resistant to water intrusion if any water gets inside of the handle. That moritaka-style construction makes sense in a wa-gyuto where the handle is not always very well sealed. But does it make sense in a western configuration?
I wrote the retailer to inquire about the brass weld and its purpose, but was only told that the maker has now decided to make all knives in this line with the brass weld, and that they will update their sales listing with pictures showing the new feature. The retailer did not tell me what the purpose of the weld was, so I sent a reply requesting further clarification.
Meanwhile: any of you KKF knife gurus have any additional thoughts about what this could be? I'm not upset about this knife at all, just really curious about what's going on.
Have at it!
PS: special thanks to @tostadas and @blokey for already entertaining my questions about this knife over PM.
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Thanks for weighing in, I definitely value your opinion and appreciate your assurances about structural integrity.
