Recommendation? Some questions about Higonokami

I

ImperialBouncer

Joined
Jun 20, 2023
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Hello.
I bought my first higonokami a few weeks ago and I’ve been looking at the larger, blue paper steel versions on Amazon.
It boiled down to two similar knives. One is $27 and has 3 kanji characters on the blade. The other is $32 and has 4 kanji characters. (See pictures below). I looked through old threads on here and some other places and it seems that the $32 one has aogami warikomi stamped on it. The $27 one doesn’t seem to have the steel type stamped on it, but rather the name Mitsuo. I haven’t seen that one anywhere else other than on that amazon listing and non-supporting vendor link removed.
Both are sold as blue paper steel and both seem to have warikomi, judging by the review photos. Also, both are sold by the same seller.

So what is the difference between the two (if any)? Is the $32 version worth the extra $5? Do they have different types of blue paper steel?

Any help will be appreciated. Thank you.
Photos
 
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You won't believe the reason::)

The color (white paper and blue paper) steels are named after the color paper the blades are wrapped in:
both made by Hitachi Metals. White paper is 1.0-1.2 % C, 0.1-0.2 Si, 0.2-0.3 Mn (Manganese). Blue paper steel also
contains 0.2-0.5 Cr and 1.0-1.5%W (Tungsten).

Found this info on a paper enclosed in one of my Nagao Higonokami boxes. Have three.
 
I found the exact same knife on eBay shipping directly from Japan. It also has a different box with “Higonokami” written on it, same as the $27 one on Amazon.

I also looked at kickstarter and found that they make limited edition versions for their kickstarter campaign. They’re not exactly the same characters but both reference Mitsuo.

So based on all that, is it possible that the $27 version is just newer or some sort of limited edition and the $32 one is old stock made by the previous master?







 
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ImperialBouncer said:
I found the exact same knife on eBay shipping directly from Japan. It also has a different box with “Higonokami” written on it, same as the $27 one on Amazon.

I also looked at kickstarter and found that they make limited edition versions for their kickstarter campaign. They’re not exactly the same characters but both reference Mitsuo.

So based on all that, is it possible that the $27 version is just newer or some sort of limited edition and the $32 one is old stock made by the previous master?







Click to expand...
Not a clue, but doubt Kickstarter are true Nagao Higonokami. :confused: I ordered mine from Kniifecenter a good while back.
I guess anything is possible. The Higonokami website shows quite a variety of knives they make.
 
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ImperialBouncer said:
Hello.
I bought my first higonokami a few weeks ago and I’ve been looking at the larger, blue paper steel versions on Amazon.
It boiled down to two similar knives. One is $27 and has 3 kanji characters on the blade. The other is $32 and has 4 kanji characters. (See pictures below). I looked through old threads on here and some other places and it seems that the $32 one has aogami warikomi stamped on it. The $27 one doesn’t seem to have the steel type stamped on it, but rather the name Mitsuo. I haven’t seen that one anywhere else other than on that amazon listing and non-supporting vendor link removed.
Both are sold as blue paper steel and both seem to have warikomi, judging by the review photos. Also, both are sold by the same seller.

So what is the difference between the two (if any)? Is the $32 version worth the extra $5? Do they have different types of blue paper steel?

Any help will be appreciated. Thank you.
Photos
Click to expand...
Mr. Mitsuo Nagao is the 5th generation of Nagao seisakusho.
I assume your particular named higonokami should be made by his own hands.

永尾光雄 - 鍛冶人紹介

みきかじや村～三木金物オフィシャルホームページです。三木金物鍛冶商品中心の通販（ネットショッピング）を中心に三木の出来事や歴史、道具の使い方など幅広く紹介しております。
www.miki-japan.com www.miki-japan.com
 
I th
Rich S said:
You won't believe the reason::)

The color (white paper and blue paper) steels are named after the color paper the blades are wrapped in:
both made by Hitachi Metals. White paper is 1.0-1.2 % C, 0.1-0.2 Si, 0.2-0.3 Mn (Manganese). Blue paper steel also
contains 0.2-0.5 Cr and 1.0-1.5%W (Tungsten).

Found this info on a paper enclosed in one of my Nagao Higonokami boxes. Have three.
Click to expand...
I thought "blue paper" 1 & 2 were the higher carbon and more refined steel.
"Low" to "High" carbon and fewer impurities:

SK5 lowest carbon and highest impurities.

White Paper (2 grades; "1" & "2") Refined SK5 (lower impurities) "1" is the higher grade of White Paper

Blue Paper (3 grades; "1" ; "2"; & "Super Blue") "2" is the lower grade of Blue Paper, and has a higher carbon content and fewer impurities than White Paper Number 1.

You'll have to scroll down a little for the chart.

All about Aogami (Blue Paper Steel), highly ranked material for kitchen knives | Hocho Knife (Japanese Chef knife) Official Blog

Introduction of Aogami, highly ranked material for Kitchen Knives We are going to share with you about “Blue Paper Steel”, the highly ranked material for cutlery steel known as “Aoko” or “Aogami" in Japanese. “Aogami” is an alloy steel made of Shirogami (or called “White Paper Steel”, a carbon...
blog.hocho-knife.com
 
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