For Keichan. Jusan Hide Hamono Yanagiba Knife, 8.5 inches, New

This is a Yanagiba knife, 8.5 inches, from Jusanhide Cutlery in Seki City, Gifu Prefecture. I purchased it new and have sharpened it to a perfect edge by hand. It's a superb knife. You'll be surprised by its sharpness. New knives typically have no edge at all. Sharpening a knife for the first time takes a lot of time and effort.
In my personal opinion, machine sharpening can sometimes overheat the steel, turning it into soft iron and weakening the material itself. This is what's commonly called a dull knife.
It can also lead to excessive wear on the blade. I believe it's important to sharpen the blade slowly and carefully by hand. Please experience the edge professionally set by a craftsman.
When sharpening it yourself, it's important to use a flat finishing whetstone and sharpen gently without applying too much pressure. For single-bevel Japanese knives, don't sharpen the back side too much; instead, fold off the burrs by gently bending it. Never cut hard objects or bones.
Overall length: 400mm
Blade length: 260mm