Sen Japanese Handmade Swordsmith's Drawknife

Smith name: Unknown (A Japanese swordsmith in Gunma Prefecture)

Jigane: Modern soft iron

Steel: Carbon Steel

Length of exposed metal parts: 344mm; 325mm

Total length: 600mm; 627mm

Blade Width:  about 7.5mm; 131mm

Blade thickness: about 2.0mm; 5.5mm

Manufacture Era: The early Shōwa period (according to collector’s memory)

Weight: 565g; 841g

Accessories: -

Additional Information: These tools show signs of use but remain in good condition. Note that the lamination on one side of the longer tool (on the right) exhibits some unevenness, while the reverse side is flawless. I discovered them at an antique shop in Gunma Prefecture. According to the shopkeeper, they were the tools of a Gunma swordsmith, whose descendants had commissioned the shop to clear and liquidate the late artisan's workshop.

Regrettably, only these two sen remained when I arrived; the majority of the swordsmith's high-quality whetstones had already been sold. This indicates that the smith possessed exceptional skills in both forging and polishing/sharpening. Regarding the specific function of the left sen, I consulted Mr. Tsuchida, who informed me that it was used for carving the longitudinal grooves on a Japanese sword, professionally referred to as “hi (樋)”.