I posted a thread about my new knife before:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=275084
I finally tested these knives. This kind of knives are called KEN-NATA(Knife-Hachet) in Japan. I bought two of them from Toyokuni.
One has the blue-paper2 steel edge sandwiched between damascus irons. The other one has the blue-paper-super edge sandwiched between ordinary wrought irons. Both has the same size,30cm blade ,34mm width,6mm in thickness. The difference between super and blue-paper is the amount of C,Cr,and W added for more hardness.
I take these ken-natas and my Becker Machax ,Ontario Spec-plus tanto 10h to the woods. My test was not scientific, only chopping the small cedars(around 10cm in diameter). Strike knives into the sedars of apparently the same size in turn.
Ken-natasf cutting power was superb. Thanks to its thin convexed edge with the angle of about 23 degrees and smooth finish, blade bit into the live cedars with small sounds and hand-shocks. Cuts were very clean.
I tried my old heavy Machax next. I think this is an axe. I knew its dependable 29 degree edge would get the job done well. But after my new ken-natas, I felt as if it exploded the wood, bouncing off and scattering wood chips around. The damages of each strokes to the tree were big, but cuts were not clean compared to the ken-natafs.
My new spec-plus tanto betrayed its impressive appearance. It just bounced off the tree and left small scratches on the bark.
It is too light for its original wide-angled edge.
After the round one, I noticed one of my ken-nata,with super edge, was warped.Unfortunately this kind of hand-forged knives with Sanmai(3 layer) structure are tend to have uneven quality.
Its manufacturing process was largely depend on the each craftsmanfs own technique. I will make them to replace this to new one, but I also think 6mm-thickness is a little thin for the tough use of 30cm blade. Another ken-nata with damascus blue-paper2 was not warped after hacking down 30 trees. They said this damascus part is consist of a steel for rail and a ordinary wrought iron, so the knife after tempering process is on the harder side than the ordinary Sanmai.
Edge retention of blue-paper is excellent. I think there will be no need for sharpening as long as it cut live cedars.
Stabbing test:
This bayonet-like ken-nata is used for finishing off the trapped games. After stunning the games like boars, deers with club, hunters use this long knife.It may appear very inhumane for us now.
I have the knife in double hands and stabbed into the straw mat 30 times with all my strength. I worried about the brittleness of the tip, but there was no sign of wear.
This knife is very vulnerable to the corrosion, but very useful in the japanese woods.
Thank you for the long reading.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=275084
I finally tested these knives. This kind of knives are called KEN-NATA(Knife-Hachet) in Japan. I bought two of them from Toyokuni.
One has the blue-paper2 steel edge sandwiched between damascus irons. The other one has the blue-paper-super edge sandwiched between ordinary wrought irons. Both has the same size,30cm blade ,34mm width,6mm in thickness. The difference between super and blue-paper is the amount of C,Cr,and W added for more hardness.
I take these ken-natas and my Becker Machax ,Ontario Spec-plus tanto 10h to the woods. My test was not scientific, only chopping the small cedars(around 10cm in diameter). Strike knives into the sedars of apparently the same size in turn.
Ken-natasf cutting power was superb. Thanks to its thin convexed edge with the angle of about 23 degrees and smooth finish, blade bit into the live cedars with small sounds and hand-shocks. Cuts were very clean.
I tried my old heavy Machax next. I think this is an axe. I knew its dependable 29 degree edge would get the job done well. But after my new ken-natas, I felt as if it exploded the wood, bouncing off and scattering wood chips around. The damages of each strokes to the tree were big, but cuts were not clean compared to the ken-natafs.
My new spec-plus tanto betrayed its impressive appearance. It just bounced off the tree and left small scratches on the bark.
It is too light for its original wide-angled edge.
After the round one, I noticed one of my ken-nata,with super edge, was warped.Unfortunately this kind of hand-forged knives with Sanmai(3 layer) structure are tend to have uneven quality.
Its manufacturing process was largely depend on the each craftsmanfs own technique. I will make them to replace this to new one, but I also think 6mm-thickness is a little thin for the tough use of 30cm blade. Another ken-nata with damascus blue-paper2 was not warped after hacking down 30 trees. They said this damascus part is consist of a steel for rail and a ordinary wrought iron, so the knife after tempering process is on the harder side than the ordinary Sanmai.
Edge retention of blue-paper is excellent. I think there will be no need for sharpening as long as it cut live cedars.
Stabbing test:
This bayonet-like ken-nata is used for finishing off the trapped games. After stunning the games like boars, deers with club, hunters use this long knife.It may appear very inhumane for us now.
I have the knife in double hands and stabbed into the straw mat 30 times with all my strength. I worried about the brittleness of the tip, but there was no sign of wear.
This knife is very vulnerable to the corrosion, but very useful in the japanese woods.
Thank you for the long reading.
