Smith-forged warikomi

This category features knives forged using the traditional warikomi method. 

In warikomi smith-forging, a block of white-hot malleable iron is cleaved open and 'hagane' blade steel inserted, layered with a fusing agent. The blade-to-be is heated in a hearth until it reaches about 900°C - the experienced smith will recognize the color of the steel - and is repeatedly heated and hammered to bond the metals together and manipulate its molecular structure. The highly skilled task of crafting a Japanese blade has begun! 

It’s worth noting that knife makers also commonly use the term ‘warikomi’ to describe a blade of factory-produced three-layer steel. What's going on there? Why the same description for both types of blade, one time-honoured and one decidedly modern-industrial? 

In a way it's a reflection of how Japanese works; the language has gaps and grey areas and often assumes understanding through context. It can be open to interpretation. (An interesting consequence of that is that the language lends itself to trusting social interactions, which is nice.)

In this, the term 'warikomi' is a pretty good example. 'Warikomu' is a verb that means to split or interrupt. It's used in various scenarios - the act of cutting in line at the checkout, for instance.

In knife making, 'warikomi' (the noun) can describe the construction of an existing knife blade and/or the method by which such a blade is made.

Forging a warikomi blade from scratch is skilled work that takes years to master and time to execute. Strength, accuracy, the aforementioned temperature and color, tempo, timing, a thorough understanding of the properties of the materials - there's an awful lot going on to get to the starting line of a hand-forged double-bevel blade.

A knife maker can get to the same starting line with a sandwich of ready-made rolled steel. Time is saved without sacrificing quality, though it could be said there's a little less of the shokunin-no-waza - the spirit of the artisan - imbued into the blade.

Back to the ins and outs of the Japanese language, if you ask a Japanese knife maker if his knife is a 'warikomi' blade he can answer that's right, warikomi - regardless of whether the blade is rolled steel or smith-forged in the traditional way. In technical terms 'warikomi' is correctly applied to either. 

This category of populated with knives whose blades we have confirmed are warikomi in the traditional sense. 'True' warikomi, if you like.