Nata Japanese Custom Made Double-Bevel Hatchet Knife By Yuzawa - 174mm

Brand name: 湯澤(Yuzawa)

Smith name: Yuzawa Hideo (湯沢秀男, 1927～ 2008)

Steel: Carbon Steel

Jigane: Undetermined

Cutting edge length: 174mm

Total length: 325mm 

Blade Width at heel:  about 41.0mm

Spine thickness at handle: about 7.25mm

Spine thickness 1cm from the tip: about 3.10mm

Manufacture Era: before 1990s

Weight: 364g

Accessories: -

Additional Information: It is unused and in good condition. There are some minor surface rust spots, which can be easily removed with a light sharpening. I discovered it at a specialty tool shop in the Kanto region. According to the current owner, this knife was custom-ordered directly from the blacksmith by his late father roughly 40-odd years ago. The blade is exquisitely crafted; judging by the precision and shape of the forged ferrule and the handle made of high-quality Japanese zelkova (keyaki), they were also very likely made by the blacksmith Yuzawa.

Regarding the blacksmith: Yuzawa Hideo and his younger brother Yuzawa Akio (the second-generation Masayoshi) are both prominent figures in the Tokyo blacksmithing community. Yuzaw Hideo a trained in his early years under Kunii Kamekichi , a Tokyo plane-blade smith, before establishing his own forge in Adachi Ward, Tokyo. Shortly after, he relocated the workshop to Tochigi Prefecture, where he primarily forged high-grade plane blades and kitchen knives. According to Mr. Tsuchida Noboru, Yuzawa Hideo had in-depth exchanges with Mr. Tsuchida Ichiro, who generously shared plane blades by Chiyozuru Korehide as reference pieces. This greatly elevated the craftsmanship of Yuzawa, who was already an exceptionally studious and skilled smith.