Sanjou City and Iwasaki

[JimR]

Hey dudes. I'm currently in Sanjou city, the location of Iwasaki-san's workshop, and after spending the afternoon with him and Mizuochi-san today, will be with them tomorrow again at their workshop. If any one has any questions that aren't obvious or answered elsewhere (I.e what hones they use, if they use real Tamahagane, etc.) then p.m. me or post them here. You have about 10 hours...there's no iPhone reception at his house, so I can't check from there.

[onimaru55]

Awesome dude ! Should be a blast.

I have a question as to what the dimple is on the tangs just in front of the pivot hole.

Thanx mate !

[JimR]

Oz, I'm not ignoring you--I didn't see your message till after I got home and I've sent a letter to Iwasaki-san asking.
But I have to say, none of my 3 Iwasaki razors, nor did the ones I saw in Sanjou, have that dimple...so I don't think it was a standard thing.

[onimaru55]

No problemo amigo.
This is the 2nd one I came across with it & it may be obscured by the scales or less obvious depending on placement.
All I could assume was some kind of dent from a hardness test but could see no logical reason for it on the tang.

& Domo Arigatoooo

[pinklather]

Maybe an uninformed question, but do the dimpled blades have any positive locking movement when closed? Maybe a detent to help them stay closed?

[PDobson]

It looks pretty big for a Rockwell-testing dimple. On the other hand, it is normal to hardness test the tang rather than the blade. All of my blades heat treated by Paul Bos come back with a dimple in the tang. His heat treat is so consistent that it doesn't really matter where the testing is done. The tang is nicely out of the way.

[onimaru55]

It looks pretty big for a Rockwell-testing dimple. On the other hand, it is normal to hardness test the tang rather than the blade. All of my blades heat treated by Paul Bos come back with a dimple in the tang. His heat treat is so consistent that it doesn't really matter where the testing is done. The tang is nicely out of the way.

I wonder if the Vickers device leaves a different sized dimple. I know Iwasaki did not use Rockwell tests.

Maybe an uninformed question, but do the dimpled blades have any positive locking movement when closed? Maybe a detent to help them stay closed?

Nope no obvious function.