What is this knife?

[Kotetsu1959]

[Kotetsu1959]

[YourBabyBjornBorg]

It says 以古来鍛法作之("Made with smithing technique from old times").

 

However, I think this is not a Kogatana meant to fit inside a Kodsuka, but rather a fancy Kiridashi-Kogatana, a kind of traditional Japanese tool knife, having almost nothing to do with Japanese Swords collections.

 

An actual Kogatana meant to fit inside a Kodsuka, presumably made by the same team, with almost the same signature (a different Kanji for "Made" though), but also signed by the Swordsmith, fetched 17,000 Yen on an online auction,

 

(https://www.funbid.com.hk/yahoojp/auctions/item.php?aID=k1109026141)

 

so ideally, this Kiridashi-Kogatana should be around the same price.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Edits:

 

Totally overlooked one important thing: this knife appears to have a Yakiba, and some light polishing.

 

Got too carried away when searching for the other information. 

[SteveM]

I think it is a modern (post-war) utility knife. Maybe the cutout near the tip hints at it being some kind of special-purpose knife, I don't know. It bears the inscription "made using traditional methods", which hints at it being made with tamahagane. I can find other utility knives with this same inscription showing up on several dodgy auction sites, as well as Japan's Yahoo auction site.

 

It could be a legitimate tamahagane product, but it could also be something churned out of some forge/factory in Japan, China, or elsewhere. Not enough information to pinpoint what it is. 

 

Edit: hit the "send" button without seeing Baby Joe's answer above. I agree for the most part with what he says. 

[ROKUJURO]

16 minutes ago, SteveM said:

.....It bears the inscription "made using traditional methods", which hints at it being made with tamahagane.....

Steve,

I don't think so. If they wanted to underline that it was "made with traditional material", TAMAHAGANE could have been ONE possibility.

But traditional methods might just imply it was forged or differentially hardened or ground on bench stones.  

[SteveM]

I'm just reading the descriptions from the auction sites (like the one Baby Joe linked to above). The person/company selling these knives is claiming they are made from tamahagane. 

[ROKUJURO]

Steve,

I was referring to the difference between methods and materials. 

[Kotetsu1959]

     Thank you to those who contributed for your kind input. I neglected to show the inscription on the reverse side, and will correct that oversight. Note the blade is katakiriba, hirazukuri on one side and shinogizukuri on the other, an unusual feature. The question of whether tamahagane was employed in the forging probably cannot be definitively answered. The carefully controlled shape of the piece, precision of file work/signature and yakiba/polish are not consistent with an item that was "churned out." Both time and skill was required to produce this little knife. It is certainly no masterpiece, but I am confident it is Japanese. Any additional input is welcome, though perhaps we will have to settle on it being a high quality utility knife.

[Kotetsu1959]

[Kotetsu1959]

[Kotetsu1959]

[Brian]

Hada and hamon, and a smith signature. I would be pretty confident in it being from tamahagane

[ROKUJURO]

MEI is NOBUHIDE SAKU..

On these later photos, it looks indeed handmade. Perhaps for a special purpose in crafts?
 

[Nobody]

This Nobuhide (信秀) seems to be a son of Horii Toshihide (堀井俊秀) who was a swordsmith of Japan Steel Works, Muroran Plant (日本製鋼所室蘭製作所).

 

The symbol of the company

[Kotetsu1959]

Thank you Moriyama san for this helpful information and interesting photograph!