Hatsukokoro x Nigara VG XEOS Kurozome Damascus Gyuto 210mm w/ Saya

Nigara (二唐刃物鍛造所) is a forge in Hirosaki, Aomori. Go Yoshizawa (吉澤剛) is its president and signs as the eighth generation; his father, Toshiju Yoshizawa (吉澤俊寿), the seventh generation, is chairman.

Nigara dates its line to 1803, when the family began as gunsmiths in the service of the Tsugaru domain, and it made Japanese swords for generations. In the Edo period the domain took it on as its weapons works, and it made even cannon and warships. After the Second World War the forge turned from military swords to farm tools and kitchen knives; in those years it made knives in winter and sold them in summer.

In the early Showa era a Nigara smith whose sword name was Kunitoshi (国俊) studied under Dr Kotaro Honda, director of Tohoku University's metals research institute. Nigara's company history says he excelled at sword making. He was recognised as a holder of an intangible cultural property of Aomori Prefecture and passed his skill on to the seventh generation. The sixth generation had no son, so Toshiju, a grandson through a daughter's line, joined as heir. The present company dates from 1949, and besides knives it does welding and steel construction work, with a welding department since 1963. Nigara showed at Maison et Objet in Paris in 2011 and at Ambiente in Frankfurt in 2013.

We have visited Nigara several times, once for a few days of hands-on training at the forge.

The Anmon Damascus knives we list come in SG2 as gyuto, kiritsuke gyuto, bunka, santoku, nakiri, petty and sujihiki, and as single-bevel yanagiba and takobiki in Blue 2 and Ginsan. SG2 tsuchime knives, kurouchi or matt migaki, cover gyuto, petty, santoku, nakiri, bunka and sujihiki, plus a double-bevel honesuki and a butcher. We also list VG10 Damascus tsuchime, Ginsan Kurozome Damascus and Aogami Super tsuchime knives, and an SPG STRIX tsuchime Damascus nakiri. The honyaki are Blue 2 with shaped hamon, as yanagiba, kiritsuke yanagiba and sakimaru, and a White 1 kiritsuke yanagiba.