HIGONOKAMI

[cityboystu]

Just picked one of these up. Really cool knife. I am a sucker for novelty (no offense to this blade of course). Very sharp blade out of the box.

Anyone else have one / enjoy one?

 

[afishhunter]

I'm not familiar with them, so please forgive me for asking.
Are they a slipjoint or a friction folder?

I have a slipjoint with the folded metal handle.

 

[Henry Beige]

The higonokami is a very simple friction folder. I have one, haven’t carried it in a while, although it is very slim and pocketable. When lining up my knives for group photo ops, I am never sure whether to lump it with “friction folders” (Opinel, Svord peasant, MAM) or “knives with folded metal handles (Mercator, Douk-Douk).

The genuine Higo No Kami are supposedly forged by one bladesmith; all others are considered counterfeit, or at least pale imitations of the real thing. The other big thing in Higo lore is the laminated “blue” steel. It’s been a while, so I forget just what distinguishes the blue steel from the common run.

A common criticism is the obtuse grind, not very “slicey”. Nevertheless, the Higo can be extremely sharp, cuts the hell out of stuff, and is more than up to the demands of everyday carry.

 

[Rich S]

Have one, neat little knife. Don't use it much; not a big fan of friction folders. Sharp as the devil.
Rich

 

[Navallas]

I've read that Japanese kids used to carry these knives to school to sharpen their pencils ... These two are mine, very sharp out of the box:

 

[abcdef]

I have one of the inexpensive metal ones. Not bad, but lives in the tool box.

 

[flatblackcapo]

The Higo is a classic design.

 

[jazzz]

Useless knife that I regret buying. The blade hits the metal handle inside. I had to glue leather in there. Obviously, it could open in your pocket. I don't know why I bought it. It's a mail opener, I guess.

 

[joeradza]

I sometimes carry one when I'm wearing a shirt with a slot for a pen which keeps the knife closed, otherwise it sits on my desk.

 

[Peregrin]

Hope this isn't off the topic. Here's one in the "Higonokami style", made by Hiroaki Ohta. Ironwood and D2. Simple, well made and sharp as the dickens.

 

[Henry Beige]

Useless knife that I regret buying. The blade hits the metal handle inside. I had to glue leather in there. Obviously, it could open in your pocket. I don't know why I bought it. It's a mail opener, I guess.

A lot of people will do that, not just with Higos. Tune the action by peening the pivot pin and carry it tip down, and you won’t have to worry about it opening.

 

[Fonedork]

I thought I pinched the brass handle in on mine so the edge can no longer touch the back of the handle, I guess it was a different one though, because this one is straight. I like mine a lot, I showed it to my Japanese barber and he said it's a pencil sharpener, so I keep it in my office desk for random cutting tasks. Great thing to have for an affordable price and with a cool history, what's not to like.

 

[mike Berkovitch]

Useless knife that I regret buying. The blade hits the metal handle inside. I had to glue leather in there. Obviously, it could open in your pocket. I don't know why I bought it. It's a mail opener, I guess.

You should carry it in pocket slip. Yet I agree that carrying a higo requires specific taste.
I had one that I ended up selling as it wasn't for me. So many great alternative out there. Although when visiting Japan last year I came across with higo made with good steel and very well designed handles.

Here's something you will not often see, a custom scales from black bamboo higonokami, made by Michel Meyer from France

Mike

 

[Hibou Canne]

its the sharpest knife i own. its very easy to sharpen.
HAGD

 

[5K Qs]

I like my higonokami, but because of my current rotation schedule designed to give me a chance to carry EACH of my knives for a week at a time, I end up carrying it as International Knife of the Week only 1 week out of every 26 (or two weeks out of each year). But the rest of the time it's on my desk at the office.

To facilitate pocket carry, and to make the folded metal handle more comfortable during use, I used a scrap of baseball glove leather to make a little "safety sheath". Not very stylish, but a functional success!
Covered for pocket carry:


Halfway deployed for use:


Fully open with padded handle:


A close-up of the "patented knot-and-loop thong" that facilitates easy securing of sheath to knife:


I like my higonokami, and it sometimes causes me to fantasize :


- GT

 

[r8shell]

I like my higonokami, but because of my current rotation schedule designed to give me a chance to carry EACH of my knives for a week at a time, I end up carrying it as International Knife of the Week only 1 week out of every 26 (or two weeks out of each year). But the rest of the time it's on my desk at the office.

To facilitate pocket carry, and to make the folded metal handle more comfortable during use, I used a scrap of baseball glove leather to make a little "safety sheath". Not very stylish, but a functional success!
Covered for pocket carry:
View attachment 1269259

Halfway deployed for use:
View attachment 1269260

Fully open with padded handle:
View attachment 1269261

A close-up of the "patented knot-and-loop thong" that facilitates easy securing of sheath to knife:
View attachment 1269262

I like my higonokami, and it sometimes causes me to fantasize :
View attachment 1269265

- GT

I had a Higonokami a while back and gave it away. This thread is making me want to buy another one and your ingenious "safety sheath" makes me want to give it a try.

 

[5K Qs]

I had a Higonokami a while back and gave it away. This thread is making me want to buy another one and your ingenious "safety sheath" makes me want to give it a try.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with! (And I'm not gonna lie: the royalties will be nice, too! )

There's another feature of the Higonokami I forgot to mention in my post above. I'm still not very adept at sharpening knives; I can get my knives sharper, but I don't think I've ever experienced the laser-sharp, atom-splitting kind of results so many boast of at BF. But I have no problems detecting whether the big, wide bevel of a higonokami is on my sharpening device! (To a lesser extent, the same is true of my beloved Rough Riders.)

- GT

 

[cityboystu]

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with! (And I'm not gonna lie: the royalties will be nice, too! )

There's another feature of the Higonokami I forgot to mention in my post above. I'm still not very adept at sharpening knives; I can get my knives sharper, but I don't think I've ever experienced the laser-sharp, atom-splitting kind of results so many boast of at BF. But I have no problems detecting whether the big, wide bevel of a higonokami is on my sharpening device! (To a lesser extent, the same is true of my beloved Rough Riders.)

- GT

5K Q's ... I have been hearing more and more about Rough Riders knives. What is your take on them? Are they similar to Case knives?

 

[jacksterp]

They're great 'little' knives. Have two and enjoy them.

 

[ddavis]

This arrived today. It was worked over by the knife shop I purchased it from for a very nominal fee.

They do a little mod where they pinch the "saya" near the "se" to prevent the "ha" from hitting the bottom of the saya. Had to try to use the Japanese terms. Hard to get a picture of it but where the little "flower" cut is on the brass, that pinches the blade about mid-grind to prevent any further closing. Perfectly centered for you perfectionists too.

Higos! Hey, how'd that Douk get in there? I'm convinced Douks are just wannabe Higos.

And a totally unnecessary and ridiculously priced Higonokami purchase - the "high end" one with hand forged damascus blade. Cost way to much and the blade is way to thick to actually use, but it's a cool little piece for the collection.