Honmoro-ha Chouna Japanese Carpenter Adze Blade - 99mm

Brand name: Kurotori (黑鳥)

Smith name: Unknown(Kansai region blacksmiths)

Steel: Carbon Steel

Jigane: Unknown

Blade length: 133mm

Blade width: 99mm

Manufacture Era: The Meiji period

Blade Weight: 654g

Accessories: -

Additional Information:  This item is in unused, in good condition. I have performed a basic sharpening, bringing both bevels to approximately 1,000 grit. It was sourced from the collection of a carpenter based in Kansai.

Several compelling technical features distinguish this blade:

1:  It is a textbook example of a Honmoro-ha chouna. It is longer and heavier than modern chouna, and the apex of the blade lines up perfectly with the centerline of the handle. As shown in the last picture.

2: The presence of the "Hoken" (保険) mark attributes its production to the Meiji era. Following the promulgation of the Trademark Act in Meiji 18 (1885), this marking convention was progressively superseded by the term "Toroku" (登録).

3: The execution of the blade is exceptionally refined, featuring monolithic integral forging. The surface retains distinct, coarse hand-filing marks, exhibiting no evidence of mechanized or power-tool finishing.

4: During the sharpniing process, the iron (jigane) demonstrated a lower hardness than modern soft iron, yet lacked the prominent macroscopic grain structures characteristic of typical watetsu. Upon consulting Mr. Tsuchida, he informed me that certain iterations of watetsu are exceptionally pure. This clean variant often yields higher structural integrity than highly figured watetsu, rendering it perfectly suited for high-stress tooling applications. He cited a Komisen-nomi (a heavy mortise chisel designed for deep joinery pins) in his own collection, crafted by Ishido Hidekazu, which utilizes the same grainless, clean watetsu.