Kannaba Japanese Hand Made Plane Blade - 56mm

Brand name: Kuninosuke (國之助)

Smith name:  Unknown

Steel: Carbon Steel

Jigane(Iron part of the blade): Honsui(本スイ)

Blade width: 56mm

Blade total length: 113mm

Blade thickness: The blade near the bevel(about 4.65mm)，Top of Blade（about 7.20mm）

Weight: 253g

Blade Angles: about 23°

Accessories：-

Additional Information:  This blade comes from the descendant of a carpenter in the Tokyo area—the same source as the 3rd Generation Kunihiro blade I listed previously.

I held off on listing this one because I found the Jigane (soft iron) to be quite unusual. While it feels much softer than modern soft iron under the stone, it initially showed none of the visual characteristics typical of Watetsu (Japanese iron) or wrought iron. It wasn't until I finished it on natural whetstones that its unique texture was finally revealed.

Information regarding this specific type of Jigane is extremely scarce, so I recently consulted Mr. Tsuchida for his expertise.

He suggested that this is likely a rare type of soft iron imported from Europe during the Meiji era, known as 'Honsui'. He noted that the quantity of 'Honsui' imported was significantly smaller than that of common wrought iron. If I remember correctly, he explained that the name 'Honsui' is derived from the country of origin—Switzerland. In Japanese, Switzerland is called 'Suisu' (written as スイス). And 'Hon/本' carries the meaning of 'genuine' or 'authentic' in Japan.