Making Japanese Steel Knives since 1796! EDO Period blacksmith!

I was told not to become a successor. By my dad, he said I shouldn't. I want to keep working hard. The furnace is around 1100 degrees hot. This tiny rectangular piece is steel. It's called Aogami No.2, and will become the blade of the knife. It has excellent sharpness and is hard to chip. What he is taking out of the furnace now, is iron which will encase the steel. The iron is heated in the furnace to soften, and then a gap is cut into it. Iron powder is inserted into the iron, and the steel is placed into the gap in the iron. The temperature around the furnace is around 40-50 degrees.　 My face gets fried. The steel-iron mix is hammered to create the base for the knife. Excess steel is cut off. From here, step by step the form of the knife is created. I will cut into the white lines here. And this is where the handle will go later. Next, the part to connect the handle is crafted. This is a line to check the knife size. Next is the process of annealing. The knife is heated by 500-800 degrees and then put in straw ashes. I turned 89 this year. My birthday was on August 2nd. And I turned 89. (And next year?) I'll be 90. (laugh) I have been working here since finishing middle school. Since I was 17. So I have been working here for 72 years. And what I enjoy most now, is working together with my son and grandson. My son... He is a fine blacksmith now. He'll be doing fine. (And your grandson?) He's not there yet. He has like 50% down now perhaps. He still has to craft by himself many more times. Leaning by doing. That's how you perfect the craft. I want both of them to give it their all. We've come this far. So I want my son and grandson, to be my successors and keep the place going. Otherwise I'd feel apologetic to our ancestors. It depends on my health, but I hope to keep working with them for another 1 or 2 years. Since it's fun, and makes life worth living. Doing this, I might even be able to live longer. Grandson Isamu-san is in charge of engraving the trade name into the knife. After using our knifes for a long time, customers might want to get them repaired. This engraving is a sign of us taking responsibility for what we have crafted. It's a mark to show that this knife was made by us. If you look at the back line of the knife like this, you can see that it is quite bumpy. So while sharpening and checking alternately, I will even this line out. This is an "Epokishi" grinding wheel. It's a coarse grindstone that polishes quickly. Sharpening is done while adjusting the amount of steel. Next, the knife will be heated with around 800 degrees, and then cooled in rapeseed oil. Doing this makes the blade sturdy and sharp. This? This is sawdust. The oil is absorbed by this. Next, the knife is dipped in oil at around 180 degrees. This will make the steel sticky. And will improve the sharpness and longevity of the blade. While everyone else was job-hunting, I asked him if I could take over the smithy after graduation. And for the first time, he told me "no, don't". Until then, he had always made me feel that I'd become the successor someday. Since kindergarten, he had told me I'd become a blacksmith in the future. For all those years, he told me that. And when I said "I'll do it!", he said no. By my dad, he said don't take this place over. To remove deformation in the blade, it is beat with a hammer. Next, the edge is thinned out. With a water grindstone No.80. The thinned blade is now sharpened with a whetstone. With the whetstone Arato No. 80-100. The knife is sharpened cleanly, so that no lines from previous polishing remain. This is a natural Amakusa whetstone. The knife is soaked in grinding fluid to prevent rusting during the process. Next is cosmetic polishing. Paper buffing is used to give a beautiful and cool finish. This is a diamond grinding stone. I'll adjust the cutting edge with this. I am putting make-up on the knife. I'm putting stone powder on this wire brush. Wire buff is used to further clean the appearance. The soft iron turns gray like this. Only the steel shines black like this. Need a chair? Take a seat! I'm 60 now. I'm the 9th generation of this smithy. I directly joined the smithy after high school. So I've been here 40 years? Around 42 years. (Counting) Yeah that's right! Yeah, it's like, I don't want to disappoint our ancestors. I don't want any bad luck because of that. So following in their footsteps is just natural. My dad is my mentor. I have been following in his footsteps for a long time. I think he is amazing. And I don't want to loose to him. I really admire him. And me too, I want to become someone my son can admire like that. Oh yeah, why I was opposing my son taking over the smithy. In the blacksmithing business, I myself, had several hardships financially and professionally. And have experienced what it's like not being able to make a living if you are not able to sell what you make. So I didn't want my son to go through the same thing. I also consulted with my dad. And we decided to not let him take over. But then my son said that he wanted the 3 of us to work together, for the time my dad is still healthy. So me and my dad starting feeling there was no real reason to turn him down... Back then, my son and his wife both came to the shop, lowering their heads saying "please let him do it!". I'm buying this for my wife. Is there a special occasion? No, not at all! No special occasion. Thank you. I don't need the change! Stop it! Let me play it cool please! No really, keep it! No no! I guess I can't make fun of him anymore since I owe him. Haha, stop it! Thank you for your order! He bought our knife last year at a product exhibition. And he said it was really great to use. He said it was the best of all his kitchen knives. So he just bought a spare one, and also ordered another one to give to a friend. With their name engraved. So he bought 3 knives from us. Since they are handmade, each knife varies slightly in thickness. But this is also what makes it so special. Touching the knives and choosing the one you like the most. That's the beauty of handcrafted items. And that's what makes me want to become a successor as a blacksmith. My grandpa is now 89. And he is still working the fire. And comes here every day. For my family who have raised me, and also kept Minomo blackmith going, I think they are amazing. I genuinely feel that way. My dad too, taking over the smithy after high school, he already turned 61 too. If I'd make something that couldn't cut, I'd feel like I betrayed the trust that my father and grandfather have built over all these years. I want to work hard to become like them someday. This Minomo blacksmithy that my ancestors have protected over a long time, I want to keep it going for 100 years to come, and I will work hard to achieve that from now on as well.

Channel: Japanese Food Craftsman

Views: 1,111,408

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Id: seBTCidOjSU

Length: 17min 18sec (1038 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 30 2023