Ten-Zogan Sujihiki
This kitchen knife is forged from oroshigane made with Pavel Bolf during his demos at Ashokan. I folded it 8 times and forged this kitchen knife out of it. The blade is 7.5 inches or so. It's very light and well balanced even with the iron ferrule. The ferrule is made from iron and inlaid using ten-zogan, a Japanese dot inlay technique. It is then given a patina using a technique called sabistuke . The rest of the handle is made from silver and bog oak brushed to bring out its texture. The handle and ferrule are shaped in a traditional shape intended for a right handed user. The blade is hardened in a technique called zubuyaki which uses careful control of the heat in order to create a hamon, without any clay. The activities in the hamon are a direct result of the heating and subsequent cooling in water.
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This was an attempt to make a piece using traditional Japanese techniques to create something unusual that fit with both modern and classical aesthetics. I'm pleased with how the different materials and textures work together to create something unique.
