Miyazaki Tanji watetsu W2 tsubaki 150mm EN

Haruki Miyazaki-san is a 35-year-old blacksmith from the Goto Islands in Nagasaki Prefecture. He decided to become a blacksmith and apprentice under Ooba-san in Fukuoka.

After 5 years of apprenticeship, he learned all the basic blacksmithing skills and returned to his home island, where he opened his own workshop. He continued to travel throughout Japan, learning and mastering new skills from other blacksmiths and cutlers during his travels.

Miyazaki works alone in his small forge, doing everything by hand. All of its knives are hand laminated, heat treated with pine charcoal and water tempered.

blacksmith: Haruki Miyazaki

finish: Kitaeji

steel: shirogami #2

hardness: 63 HRC

type: tsubaki 150mm

blade length: 15.4 cm

blade height: 4.56 cm

heel thickness: 2.6 cm

thickness at the tip: 0.5 cm

weight: 130 gr

Finally, the handle is made with a dyed and stabilized red lacewood burl, spacer with Juma snakeskin.

Made with an hon-warikomi structure, with a core of Shirogami #2 steel and a coating of watetsu steel.
Tanjiwatetsu:
“Watetsu(和鉄)” is made from “Wazuku(和銑, pig iron)” or “Wako(和鋼, Japanese iron)”, which is made with the traditional “Tatara” oven. By melting it, removing the carbon, forging it, it becomes “Watetsu(和鉄)”.
He forges the Watetsu by wrapping it over and over again, and makes what he calls “Tanji watetsu (鍛地和鉄)”, this gives a breathtaking finish to the blade.

Due to its water quenching, #2 shirogami steel has a hardness of 63 HRC, which allows this blade to be sharp like a razor, having the ability to retain the edge for longer.