Scavenger writes:
Things have been somewhat whirlwind with me for various reasons, and I haven't gotten as much work done as I'd like. Today, rather than twiddle my thumbs and look glum while waiting for adequate power to be installed in my new shop location to run my big belt grinder, I made my first kiridashi. These are Japanese woodworker's knives. They apparantly used to be carried by Japanese schoolchildren to sharpen their pencils and use for craft projects. I've been wanting to make some for a while.
Here's a quick-and-dirty picture of the kiridashi.
It is 4 1/4" in length, with a cutting edge of approximately 1 1/6". The steel is automobile coil spring quenched in vegetable oil and temper drawn at 350 degrees. It is chisel ground for a lefty, with a long primary bevel and short secondary. It shaves hair. I'll either make a Kydex sheath or a wooden case for it. I'm working on a righty kiridashi, too.
These things do get carried in various degrees of traditional/tactical by Westerners as utility knives and last-ditch self defense.
Things have been somewhat whirlwind with me for various reasons, and I haven't gotten as much work done as I'd like. Today, rather than twiddle my thumbs and look glum while waiting for adequate power to be installed in my new shop location to run my big belt grinder, I made my first kiridashi. These are Japanese woodworker's knives. They apparantly used to be carried by Japanese schoolchildren to sharpen their pencils and use for craft projects. I've been wanting to make some for a while.
Here's a quick-and-dirty picture of the kiridashi.
It is 4 1/4" in length, with a cutting edge of approximately 1 1/6". The steel is automobile coil spring quenched in vegetable oil and temper drawn at 350 degrees. It is chisel ground for a lefty, with a long primary bevel and short secondary. It shaves hair. I'll either make a Kydex sheath or a wooden case for it. I'm working on a righty kiridashi, too.
These things do get carried in various degrees of traditional/tactical by Westerners as utility knives and last-ditch self defense.
