Nigara

.

At the family run business Nigara Hamono, swords and knives have been created since their official appointment by the Tsugaru clan more than 350 years, and the business dates back 8 generations. Today, Nigara Hamono has a reputation for the absolute highest quality and the level of expertise and skill these craftsmen posses is not often found. The company is led by the master blacksmith by the name of Tsuyoshi Yoshizawa and every knife they make is forged by hand with the utmost care and attention to detail and quality. This combined, helps create knives made to last for years to come. Hand-crafted using R2/SG2 high-speed powder steel and with perfectly crafted custom and wood handles the fit and finish of Nigara knives are second to none.

.

SG2 kurouchi tsuchime

SG2 (R2) is a high speed powder stainless steel made by Takefu special steel Co Ltd. For some knife makers, this is an ideal steel for knife making as it has a great hardiness of greater than 63HR. This steel has great edge retention, high wear resistance and is stainless. The grains are so fine and uniform that the hammer forging is not necessary. The black colour of the kurouchi finish is burned steel, which gives it a matt black finish and is very distinctive. The kurouchi finish can change over time as the black layer will wear away. The word tsuchime means “hammered” and that’s how this finish is achieved. After the blade has been forged, it will go through a second hammering process with something like a ball-peen hammer to give the distinctive round dimples.

.

SG2 migaki tsuchime

SG2 (R2) is a high speed powder stainless steel made by Takefu special steel Co Ltd. For some knife makers, this is an ideal steel for knife making as it has a great hardiness of greater than 63HR. This steel has great edge retention, high wear resistance and is stainless. The grains are so fine and uniform that the hammer forging is not necessary. The migaki finish to the knife is the most common finish to japanese knives and is achieved by buffing or polishing the blade until it is shiny, but not mirrored. This finish has different levels, from matt to shiny. The word tsuchime means “hammered” and that’s how this finish is achieved. After the blade has been forged, it will go through a second hammering process with something like a ball-peen hammer to give the distinctive round dimples.