Higonokami
The Higonokami (also Higo no kami , Japanese 肥 後 守 ) is a pocket knife from Japan . It is characterized by a very simple design that dispenses with a blade lock. The blade is held by an axle rivet in the handle, which is usually made of folded sheet metal (often brass). The knife is opened by a lever (Japanese chikiri ) on the back of the blade, comparable to a razor . The blade is held open by friction and pressure on the lever. The total length of the knife shown is 11 cm including the chikiri .
Despite the simple overall structure, the blade is usually of very good quality. Even with cheap Higonokami, a multi-layer steel (unalloyed carbon steel, not rustproof) is usually used, the cutting edge of which has a high hardness and a fine structure, which enables a high degree of sharpness to be grinded.
use
The knife is used for all smaller cutting jobs in daily life (also for preparing pencils , colored pencils and pens ). Until the early 1960s, the higonokami was used by Japanese school children not only as a sharpener but also for various handicrafts, especially for bamboo carving.
Final consideration
The Higonokami is a knife that has been developed in its culture (Japan) over a very long period of time and has been optimized for the requirements of the user. It is an archetype like the French Opinel and Laguiole , the Sami knife etc.
Although the knife can be opened with one hand with a little skill, the higonokami is not one of the "one- hand knives " mentioned in German laws , as it lacks some of the features listed in these laws.
literature
- 『和 式 ナ イ フ の 世界』 (織 本 篤 資) 並 木 書房 . 1999, ISBN 4-89063-058-9 .
