Hira-ganna Japanese Smoothing Plane by Shigeharu - 70mm

Smith name: I don't know the blacksmith's detailed name, only that it was custom-made at Shigeharu Hamono in Kyoto.

Steel: Tamahagane

Jigane(Iron part of the blade): It might be a type of Watetsu (traditional Japanese iron)

Blade Width: 70mm

Blade length: 105mm

Blade thickness: The blade near the bevel(about 5.70mm)，Top of Blade（about 9.00mm）

Additional Information:  This is a used plane. The original owner was a miyadaiku (shrine and temple carpenter) in the Kyoto area. I purchased it from his son, who mentioned that his father custom-ordered it about 40 years ago from the famous—and now closed—Shigeharu Cutlery in Kyoto. The hagane (cutting steel) is made of tamahagane, and the jigane (soft iron backing) was forged using antique wakugi (traditional Japanese iron nails) as the raw material.

I have resharpened the blade: the kireha was sharpened ith an Uchigumori natural whetstone, while the back was sharpened using a #1000 synthetic waterstone. Based on my personal sharpening feedback, the steel feels quite hard with a certain degree of toughness (sticky feedback); I reckon it could be Tamahagane, or possibly Aogami (Blue Paper Steel).  After being sharpened with the Uchigumori stone, the jigane indeed revealed a rare and distinctive grain pattern. If you zoom in on the photos of the bevel, you can observe continuous, bubble-like blue patterns.

The steel insert (hagane) on this blade is longer than that of a standard blade of the same size. During economic recessions or periods of oversupply, blacksmiths (or sellers) would offer customers this kind of tangible bonus to boost sales. However, Mr. Tsuchida Ichiro explicitly stated that he did not need this kind of 'perk.' I believe his underlying point was that rather than offering such 'extra value,' a blacksmith should focus on the quality of the blade itself.