Kinsha Tanto (金砂) – Golden Sand

Kinsha (金砂): golden sand

Kinsha (golden sand) evokes the fine gilded dust that Japanese lacquer artists scatter across still-wet urushi. This technique, known as nashiji, creates a shimmering ground that calls to mind the skin of a Japanese pear; it has graced the finest objects for centuries.

This tanto wears it as its signature: a brilliant black saya alive with dispersed golden flakes. The restrained black fittings, with their open-work scrolling foliage, allow that quiet shimmer to take centre stage.

A T10 steel blade with a genuine gunome midare hamon

The blade is forged in T10 steel, a high-carbon steel prized for its hardness. It has been clay-tempered, bringing forth a genuine gunome midare hamon along the mirror-polished steel.

A bo-hi runs the length of the blade, terminating in a rounded maru-dome before the point. This groove lightens the blade while sharpening its line. The hand-sharpened edge is a mark of artisanal finishing that speaks for itself.

Buke-zukuri fittings with open-work scrolling foliage

The round maru-gata tsuba in blackened alloy is generously pierced (sukashi) with scrolling foliage and small blossoms, its surface polished to reveal sculptural relief (takabori), with a rounded edge (maru-mimi). Two gilded brass seppa with a serrated border frame it on either side.

The fuchi and kashira in polished blackened alloy are plain, harmonising with the guard. The handle pairs wood with a white faux-rayskin under a teal tsuka-ito wrapped in hineri-maki, with black menuki. The ichimai habaki in gilded brass carries a floral motif in relief against a granulated nanako ground.

A black saya with golden flakes

The saya is crafted in hardwood, finished with a high-gloss black lacquer scattered with golden flakes in the nashiji manner. The koiguchi is lacquered in high-gloss black, and the rounded maru kojiri completes the scabbard. The black-lacquered kurikata with gilded shitodome accepts a forest-green sageo.

Dimensions and handling of the tanto

With a blade of 33 cm and an overall length of 55 cm, Kinsha is a tanto of generous proportions. Its 17 cm handle sits securely in one hand. At 0.7 kg, it remains light to the touch. Sheathed, it measures 57 cm, a format that shows its shimmering saya to full advantage on a display stand.