A Birthday Gift to Myself

After a year and a half of resistance, I finally broke down and bought from Korin.com the Suisin Hayate Yanagi-ba on the final days of the Winter Sale. This knife was forged by Master Smith Keijiro Doi “under the lowest possible temperature so that there is minimal carbon migration from the hagane (cutting edge) to the jigane (cladding)”. It is said that the success rate of this type of forging is southwards of 20%. Such is the quality of his work that even partially successful blades, sold under the stamp of “Hayate Light”, still command over US$400. Doi-san has been forging knives since 1946. Here’s a mesmerizing video of his manufacturing process from Chef's Armoury:

I was, in fact, yearning not only for the Hayate but the Shiro-Hayate. The difference being that the Hayate uses Hitachi Blue #2 steel – a tougher alloyed steel while the Shiro-Hayate employs the White #1 – a pure carbon steel that attains unparalleled sharpness. Sadly, Doi-san has stopped working with White #1 a few years back due to his declining eyesight.





I had bought the knife without any intention of using it – at least until I have the skills to justify it. Right now, it will remain as a drawer queen. Here’s it with my other drawer queen, also from Suisin, a Gin #3 (stain-resistant) Damascus Funayuki.