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Machida Isshi
Machida Isshi is a former swordsmith. Machida Isshi uses Takefu V1, but he forges this to yield a product that resembles Tougou-kou ie a modern replica of Tougou Reigou.
The original Tougou Kou (To-go Ko) were made by Andrews Steel company from Swedish sand irons during the 19th century. Tougou Kou are essentially carbon steels, but with enough alloying elements to become distinct from white steel. The two most charismatic of the 11 labels are Inukubi, which is closest to conventional white steel, and Tougou Reigou or Tougou #0. Tougou Reigou is probably the highest performing steel for edged implements ever forged in Japan; in use it has the combined sharpness of White #1 and the edge retention of Blue Super.
The modern replica of Tougou Reigou is almost as good as the original. Also, many modern steels coming out of Sweden are as good or better than anything the Japanese used for their original purposes. Assab K120 and Boeler K990 from Uddeholm are practically impossible to differentiate from Tamahagane after forging.
From what I know, one of the primary characteristics that supplies the performance of Machida Isshi’s steel is its toughness. For Japanese steel, it is unusually tough, and is tempered well. Relative toughness is more usually a trait of Western steels.
Machida Isshi and the chisel maker, Tasai, are probably the only blacksmiths capable of rendering blue steel into a friendly steel for knife sharpening. Tasai does not make knives, although the son recently became a swordsmith, and Isshi uses an analog of white steel, with some alloy traces.
Opinions will vary, but Machida Isshi’s Takefu V1 is at the highest standard for traditional use. The quality is thought to be matched only by Tougou Reigou as forged by the single living blacksmith capable of using that steel, Yokoyama Kunio. Yokayama makes plane blades primarily, I suppose where the attributes of such steels are well observed. Simply put, Yokayama’s Reigou and Tougou-kou plane blades cut a range of timbers soft to hard and through knots that all other plane blades do not. For perspective, Yokoyama Kunio is possibly the best contemporary blacksmith.