A small cross-section of the variety and skill the Japanese possess when it comes to knife making. Both have the suminagashi or damascus pattern, and are made with VG10 and Shirogami steels, both very high quality steels. I have a couple of humbler knives that are not so expensive but are made from the same steels - it is an utter joy to work with quality Japanese knives.
It is also ironic that the Damascus style steel was supposedly first mastered by steelsmiths in South India thousands of years ago, but we lost or forgot the art with the ravages of time. It is still incredibly hard to get a true Damascus pattern on steel (as opposed to just etching it) and until very recently, no one in the world knew how to do this after the craft died in South India. Some say that it is because the ore itself was special in those parts, or perhaps the secrets got lost over time - no one will know for sure.
It is also ironic that the Damascus style steel was supposedly first mastered by steelsmiths in South India thousands of years ago, but we lost or forgot the art with the ravages of time. It is still incredibly hard to get a true Damascus pattern on steel (as opposed to just etching it) and until very recently, no one in the world knew how to do this after the craft died in South India. Some say that it is because the ore itself was special in those parts, or perhaps the secrets got lost over time - no one will know for sure.
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