Tamahagane Kiridashi Knife By Miyano Tetsunosuke Ⅲ - 21mm・Right

Smith name: Endo Tomoya (遠藤智也, 1929～2012)

Steel: Tamahagane

Jigane: Unknown

Cutting edge length: 58mm

Total length: 219mm 

Blade width: about 21mm

Blade thickness: about 3.9mm ~ 4.2mm

Manufacture Era: December 1, 1991 (平成辛未年十二月一日，engraved on the front side of the blade.)

Weight: 110g

Blade Angles: 35°

Accessories：Custom wooden sheath made by the previous carpenter

Additional Information: Lightly used and in good condition, acquired from a tool collector in Tokyo. I gave it a baseline sharpening: taking the bevel to #1000 and the ura surface to #3000. On the stones, the steel demonstrated  fine texture and significantly more tackiness than modern steel, displaying typical hallmarks of tamahagane. Additionally, based on information provided by Mr. Tsuchida, almost all kiridashi knives made by Endo Tomoya were forged from tamahagane.

The craftsmanship of this knife is on par with the previous one, even though the jigane used here does not appear to be traditional watetsu. However, this blade rarely bears an engraved production date on its surface: "平成辛未年十二月一日" ( December 1, 1991).

On the ura side, the smith mark "Yataiki saku" (也太奇作) is abbreviated on this blade to a single character: "Ya" (也). Its exact meaning remains unknown, though I speculate that the marks "也太奇作" and "也" might represent two distinct grades or batches of tamahagane (玉鋼).

The main inscription chisels on the blade reads "Mu-ku-doku Chō-getsu" (無功徳長月).  Similar to the phrase "向南見北斗" found on the previous kiridashi by Endo Tomoya, it is drawn from traditional Zen phrasing (zen-go / 禅語). 

The phrase “no merit” (無功徳) derives from the classic Chan/Zen koan recorded between Master Bodhidharma and Emperor Wu of Liang. The Emperor asked: 'I have built temples, ordained monks, and copied scriptures throughout my reign. What merit have I accumulated?' Bodhidharma plainly replied: “No merit whatsoever.”  While "長月” (literally 'long month') may denote a specific month on the traditional calendar, in this context it is more likely an exhortation to cultivate enduring practice—approaching one's spiritual cultivation day in and day out with this very mindset of seeking no merit.