Bushcraft Knife Prominence MH-001 HOMURA Version

The Bushcraft Knife Prominence MH-001 HOMURA version is an asymmetrical outdoor knife, which thanks to its particularly extra thick blade, makes it perfect for batoning or feathering of hard pieces of firewood or wood with ease. 

As our first campaign on Kickstarter, we hope that you can take this knife into your own hands and experience the Japanese craftsmanship and spirit of hospitality that have been poured into this Made-in-Japan outdoor knife for yourself! 

A non-slip laser-grinded wooden handle with a traditional Japanese Hemp Leaf pattern!

The biggest feature of this knife is the unique asymmetrical blade shape that is a registered original design.

The knife has two different shaped sides, one side of the knife has a sharp straight blade, while the other side has a firm curved side also known as Hamaguri blade. This design allows you to indulge in your own style of bushcraft work!

The straight part of the blade allows for the knife to slide into the wood effortlessly, while the curved side splits the wood with ease, meaning that you don’t need to apply much pressure with your hand to easily cut wood or firewood.

When using a knife for batoning, chopping, and craftwork, i.e. a variety of bushcraft work that requires a certain level of toughness and sturdiness, a design where the blade goes all the way through the handle, in other words a full tang, is necessary.

As well as a full tang that helps with tough hard work, the blade has a thickness of 5.5mm. This allows it to hold its cutting edge, while also having the toughness and weight to perform chopping and batoning. 

When it comes to good blades, not only the hardness of the blade material but also its flexibility and toughness are important. But in the pursuit of a high hardness, this conflicts with the elasticity of the material, making it challenging to find the best solution. 

After two years of trialing and testing,  we were able to arrive at the most suitable material after evaluating hardness and durability. This material is the “high hardness special stainless steel HS^4 01 + Sub-zero treatment”, which has a hardness of HRC60. 

Sub-Zero treatment is a process that is used to rapidly cool freshly quenched uneven metal to -100°C or less, which results in a more stable metal with a higher toughness.

By subjecting the special stainless steel to this sub-zero treatment, it attains a balance between hardness and softness, making it a supple yet hard material. This makes it like a Japanese sword, which is hard but flexible, which we hope you will enjoy! 

By giving the wood handle a non-slip laser-grinded design, our knives are more comfortable to grip and handle in wet conditions! A traditional Japanese Hemp Leaf pattern has been engraved in the wood as a subtle reference to the traditional craft of Kumiko, adding a unique charm to the knife’s design!

We also engraved our brand’s rather rare kanji, meaning flame or blaze, into the handle of the knife.

For full tang knives, they are often made to be semi-permanent, using a caulking method, or a Torx screw which makes it difficult to remove. But we have gone against the grain in this case, using a specially made slot screw that makes it easier to maintain the blade, or change out the handle at your own desire.

Two extra holes have been added to the blade, allowing you to add additional straps or customize your knife to your own tastes!

In order to safely store the knife, we chose to use a Made-In-Japan leather sheath made of Tochigi leather.

Tochigi leather has a long historied, time-consuming tanning process that has been protected vigorously by the makers. This domestically produced genuine leather becomes more supple the more it is used. 

It is branded in two places that accentuates the sheath and gives it a higher sense of quality.

There is a hole on the side of the sheath that fits a 9mm – 10mm diameter fire starter.

A bushcraft knife of the highest quality made by skilled Japanese artisans, that we are proud to say is 100% Made in Japan!

A fusion of craftsmanship and modern technology!

HOMURA is the culmination of two things: craftsmanship born in Tsubame Sanjo and new technology!

Originally, the Hamaguri blade was cut by hand by skilled craftsmen, who relied on their years of experience to make the perfect shape. Today, with machine cutting and 3D modelling, it has made the process much easier, and even more precise.

From there, the knife is passed onto human hands. Skilled craftsmen polish the blade to finish it, giving it a mirror finish free of any warping or distortion. 

OMOTENASHI Selection is a project that, with the help of over 20 private companies, looks to show off a collection of products and services that reflect the spirit of Japanese hospitality. The certification process is done by foreign experts that live in Japan. Alongside the knife’s simplicity and elegance of design, as well as its performance, the spirit of hospitality, or omotenashi, was also evaluated, down to the packaging of the knife, and this evaluation was done by 17 foreign experts.

Total Length 230mm

Blade length 107mm

Weight 250g

Blade material HS⁴01 High-strength special stainless steel

Handle material Rosewood

Slot screw:  SUS304

Sheath Tochigi-Leather

Paulownia Display Box

Perfect for enjoying the knife when you aren’t using it, we will ship your knife in this specially made display box.

 Shipping fees are not included as part of your Kickstarter pledge.
Shipping will be calculated and collected after the campaign ends (using PledgeBox).

Kobayashi Tool Mfg. Co.,Ltd

Located in Niigata’s Tsubame-Sanjo, a famous center for the production of hardware,  Kobayashi Tool Mfg. Co.,Ltd is a high precision tool maker that is beloved by professionals, and has been in business for about 60 years. 

We are proud to be one of Japan’s leading tool and hardware manufacturers. That’s why we have a high sense of responsibility when it comes to supplying our products. In order for our tools to be a good fit for you and your work, we look to continue our efforts as a leading tool manufacturer.