Making a Mizuno (水野) Kanna Blade - Japanese Blacksmith - Master of Traditional Crafts

Hi everyone, we're in Yoita, Niigata, Japan. We're outside of Mr. Mizuno's blacksmithing shop, which is behind me. We're going to go inside and see how he makes the Kana blades, so let's go inside and check it out. So this is Mr. Mizuno right here. He's a blacksmith. This is a soft iron called Gokunanko. This is an old type of iron. This is what it looks like when it's done. There's a soft iron on the blade, and a hard iron on the head. What's the name of this product? It's called Toyasan. So you have to let the soft iron absorb the water so that it sticks to the blade. And then you finish it off. We're here with Mr. Mizuno right now, and he's going to explain to us each one of his different blades that he makes. First of all, this is called Yamato in Japanese. The steel is Swedish steel. Next is Gahojin. The steel is K120. It's Swedish steel. Is Swedish steel hard? No, it's not that hard. So it's not that hard to sharpen? Yes, it's easy to sharpen. What are the characteristics of this steel compared to blue and white? The white steel is different from the others. It's not mixed. It's a carbon steel. The rest of the steel is mixed. It's not mixed, but it has chromium in it. It's added to make it easier to burn. I think most Japanese wood can be cut, but foreign wood is often hard. How about foreign wood? But I think it's okay because everyone cuts it. How do you guys divide your preferences? First of all, is it easy to sharpen? Or is the blade good or bad? If the blade is good, it's hard. If it's easy to sharpen, I think it's better to think it's soft. I use high-carbon chromium alloy. There are only large materials, so it is difficult to stretch it to the thickness of the steel. Shisei is the first of the white steel. Wadaku is the white steel of Togo. Don't you get Togo anymore? The production is already over. Is Togo good quality? Since ancient times, Togo steel has been famous for its hardness. Togo steel is a material used to cut iron. Aogami is a material used to carve Aoichi for 100 years. Shirogami has a little bit of a tighter tolerance when it comes to temperature control. There's a lot that goes into blacksmithing, particularly for making carpentry tools. Blacksmiths really have to understand and really know. It really blows my mind that you would have to spend years perfecting this knowledge and this skill. Mr. Mizuno is fourth generation doing this business. A lot of his knowledge is handed down generation after generation. I'm blown away with the selection of tools that he has here. I hope people get the chance to actually purchase a Mizuno blade and try it for themselves. I hear great things about it. I personally don't own one, but I want to get one and I want to see how it is. I'm very excited to possibly see one of these in action. Of course, he makes different sizes as well. These are the same ones, but in smaller bladed form. This is the Hyakunen blade, which is this one. He makes a smaller form of this. Which is good to know. If you really like this blade, but you want something a little more compact, he does make them in smaller forms. I would say the only one that he doesn't make is this one right here. Which is the Damascus steel. Of course, like I was saying, this is not for sale. But it's something that if you're interested in getting a smaller version of any of these other ones, it's possible. All these Kanedais are made by Koyoshiya, which is our friend Watanabe. If you see this symbol, you know it's going to be a good die. I want to say thank you to Mr. Mizuno for taking us around his blacksmithing shop. And also showing us all the different Kanas that he makes in his shop. Thank you for taking us around. Thank you.