Vintage Sakai Shigemitsu Deba Knife 140mm Carbon Steel Magnolia Wood Handle 2260

The Specs

• Steel: carbon steel 
• Blade type: Deba (single-bevel, right-handed)
• Handle: Traditional Japanese wood (wa-handle)
• Origin: Sakai, Osaka, Japan
• Condition: Pre Owened
• Certification: Nationally certified traditional craft product
• SKU: 2241

• The Master Origin: The first character, 堺 (Sakai), indicates that this knife was forged or finished in Sakai City, Osaka. For over 600 years, Sakai has been the historic heartland of professional Japanese single-bevel cutlery engineering. [1, 2]
• The Artisan Signature: The next two characters read 茂光 (Shigemitsu). This is the master artisan name or registered lineage signature used by a legacy workshop under the artisan smith guilds of Sakai. The character 茂 (Shige) means "to flourish or grow lush," and 光 (Mitsu) means "light or brilliance."

• The "Teuchi" (手打) Guarantee: The two smaller characters stamped at the bottom are 手打, which translates to "Hand-Struck" or "Hand-Forged".
• The Process: This serves as a seal of traditional authenticity. It tells the story of a craftsman manually heating the alloy in a forge coal fire and striking the hot steel over an anvil to shape the bevel, uniforming the density of the metal rather than using modern hydraulic sheet stamping machines

Care & Maintenance

• Hand wash individually - never dishwasher
• Dry immediately after use to prevent rust
• Hone on the flat (ura) side only - single-bevel geometry
• Sharpen on a Japanese water stone (1000/3000 grit)
• Store in original box or on a magnetic rack - never loose