Shinshu Uchihamono

A sickle that gathers the grass

Each Shinshu sickle and knife is forged and then hammered out, which makes it tough. The sickles are the most famous: they have wide blades, and two features called shibatsuke and tsuri make the blade stand at an angle even when the handle is held level, so cut grass is drawn toward you. It is made in Nagano city, Chikuma, Shinano and Iizuna in Nagano.

Clay before the quench

• Steel is heated in the forge and hammered out and spread into shape.
• Sickles are given a single edge with shibatsuke and tsuri; single-edged nata get a long groove called hi.
• Before quenching, the blade is coated in clay, then cooled quickly.
• Edging and sharpening are done by hand.

Learned in wartime

Shinshu Uchihamono is said to have begun at the time of the Kawanakajima battles in the late 16th century, when villagers learned smithing from blade makers who travelled the area repairing arms. In the early 19th century one sickle smith devised shibatsuke and tsuri, and another turned the double-edged sickle into a thin single-edged blade. Together they created today's Shinshu sickle.