a number of factors on why this is unicorn
- The maker of the honyaki is the owner of Ashi Hamono. He is one of the best makers out of Sakai. He doesn't have one of those 'traditional Japanese craftsmen' titles not because he doesn't deserve one, he just doesn't see the point of having a piece of paper that says you are.
- JKI is one of a only few places that stocks them and they have been on the waiting list for 4 years and ETA is unknown (I have been told the ones on order with JKI are already spoken for). The Backorder for Ashi Hamono is insane. I can see the economics behind it. Why use the time required to make a Honyaki when you can make 2-4x more of the normal stuff
-I have a Ashi honyaki suji myself and I can tell you the hamon of that thing is out of this world. You would not find a better Honyaki hamon than that.
- The steel they use for the honyakis are very special. Look at it, has any one seen another honyaki with this kind of steel. From what I understand, once he goes through what he has of that steel, you will never see another one as the steel is no longer made.
-it's a 300mm gyuto.. that's a lot of steel you are getting
so there you go, a number of factors make this so rare. It's not as rare as a KD but it's not far behind
