Kiyohisa

Watanabe Kiyoei is a very gentle person who looks more like a University professor. His tools are as gentle looking and very handsome as the creator himself. Very fluid in the line around the neck, and the back hollow meticulously crafted. Kiyohisa specializes in White Steel #, the toughest Japanese steel to forge. WS#1's range of temperature when hardening is only about 5 degrees. You go above or below and the hardness will dramatically decrease.

The White Steel #1 he uses is not just White Steel #1, but it is a certain lot from the 80s. Although the steel makers wouldn't admit, there seems to be a slight difference in quality between each ingot. Skilled blacksmiths can discern this slight difference, and prefers to use the better (purer = less impurities such as sulphur, manganese, silicon, phosphorus) lots. Since these better ingots are so rare, blacksmiths are desperate to keep such material as a stock, but naturally they cannot afford to buy lifetime supply, so sometimes they go as far to make a loan from the bank to buy as much as they can.

You could say Kiyohisa is the next generation Hidari Ichihiro. They are similar in many aspects. The steel, the fineness of the finish, and overall aura you feel from his tools. Since his tools are very reasonably priced, there are many users who orders his tools repeatedly, thus there is a bit of a long waiting list, half year to one year. He is a quite talented calligrapher as well, so you can have your box signed and stamped by Watanabe-san himself. His tools will be more expensive as his name spreads. Definitely one of my most recommended White Steel #1 chisel brand.

Kiyohisa tools can be ordered by the piece as well. Bench, timber, slick, crank neck, kiridashi, etc. He basically makes everything but saws and hammer heads. He makes plane blades in very limited quantity as well.

Top: 75mm chu-tataki nomi (See tataki nomi page for more photos)
Below: 24mm oiire nomi

The back hollow quality is again in Ichihiro level quality. Handmade by sen.

Hidari Ichihiro style chisels. Looks so much alike.


The box signed and stamped by Watanabe-san.