A friend of mine is currently visiting Fukuoka. He just visited this guy’s blacksmith shop and purchased a new kitchen knife.
It came with this little sheet, and he asked if I’d take a stab at a rough translation:
I’m not a knife guy, but I am into metalworking, so I found the translation process pretty interesting, and I learned a few useful things in the process. Doubtless, I’ve made at least a few errors so any corrections or comments will be appreciated.
"Here's what I sent him (collapsed in case anyone wants to try on their own)
[This was a rough and quick translation. Errors are likely.]
Greetings
*** Hakata Houchou ***
A Hakata Houchou (Hakata kitchen knife) is also called an Ippon Houchou [“one knife”]. One knife can be used for fish, vegetables and various cooking needs.
Regarding the steel bar (mild steel): following the detailed instructions of Yasugi (Shimane prefecture), it is heated and struck until it is close to the basic shape of a kitchen knife.
Ordinary Handling
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To avoid rust: after use, apply boiling water then wipe dry and store with a dry dish towel.
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Alternatively, applying cleanser with a daikon radish or carrot “heta” [?] or the like, and then washing with hot water seems to prevent the red rust from appearing.
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If the cutting performance worsens, sharpen on a waterstone.
Thank you for purchasing from us: hand-made “One Knife” knives made one by one. Please take good care of them for a long time.
I just noticed that I completely skipped the keigo up at the top. After some time with the dictionary, I think this reads 皆様方におかれましては、益々ご清栄のこととお慶び申し上げます (which I think roughly means something like “We’d like to take this opportunity to wish everyone the very best in the future”). Keigo gives me a headache, so I usually just try to get the gist and ignore most of it.
I’m completely mystified by 「へた」— is the daikon/carrot itself called a “heta” or does it have some other meaning I’m not understanding?
The shop name is 大庭鍛治工場 (Ooba Blacksmithing Factory) but I can’t seem to convince my IME to create the にすい編 version of 治.
I don’t do nearly enough reading practice, so this was the first time I’d come across the ◯◯等 pattern for “etc.”, “and similar”, or “and so on”. Very good to know.
Apparently, 博多 is pronounced はかた and not はくた as I expected. It’s a type of kitchen knife shaped like this:
Things I learned in the process
In no particular order.
The reading for 安来 really threw me for a loop until I googled it. I thought it was あんらい at first.
Translating the 一本包丁 stuff was oddly challenging.
Using a daikon or radish to apply cleanser powder was a new one to me! I know Japanese クレンザー is usually a pretty fine powder. I’m not sure if I’d be comfortable using Comet or Bon Ami on a quality Japanese kitchen knife.
Please let me know if you have any suggestions or corrections, or if you’ve ever heard of this daikon/carrot trick for preventing rust on a kitchen knife!
(none are canonical, of course, and the browser widget in DeepL probably uses the Apple engine)