Polished finish Japanese knives

Polished finish Japanese knives take things a step further than a standard migaki finish, offering a higher level of refinement and visual impact. While migaki sits in the mid-ground between raw and reflective, a polished finish pushes the surface closer to a true mirror by using progressively finer abrasives and more intensive hand polishing. The result is a smoother, brighter blade that reflects light more clearly and showcases the steel’s quality and grind lines in greater detail.

However, “polished” is not a single fixed standard. Some knives feature a near-mirror finish with strong, crisp reflections, while others sit somewhere between migaki and full mirror, retaining a soft satin glow with added clarity. This variation often depends on the maker, the steel type, and how much hand finishing is applied, making each polished blade subtly different in look and character.