Traditional kitchen knives hand-forged by the greatest Japanese masters
Our knife and cutlery makers
岐阜県（関市）Gifu - Seki
Located at the centre of the Island of Honshu in southern Chubu, Gifu Prefecture.
Seki has been a blacksmithing town for 800 years. It used to be well-known for its katanas, which were famous throughout Japan. It is said that this art was introduced by a famous blacksmith around 1200 who moved to Seki for the quality of the earth and coal, and abundant pure water.
Today, the city has become the capital of modern cutlery and stainless steel blades. This is the city where Japan's largest knife salon is held each year.
The knives are forged with new steels, and there are more full tang knives with more Western shapes.
Blade makers: Misono, Fujitake, Masahiro, Miyabi, Hattori, Yaxell, Sanetsu, Kanetsune, Fukuda, Mate, Shiki, Kasumi, Kanetsugu...
フジタケ FUJITAKE COMPANY
The Fujitake Company is located in the little town of Seki, capital of modern knives, where stainless steels are given priority. This orientation is shared by Takeshi Goto, President of the company, in his very well equipped two-story workshop. He selects high quality alloys for his different lines of knives, which are handcrafted and hand-sharpened by his experienced artisans.
Fujitake is well known in Seki, and we are lucky to be able to distribute its excellent quality knives.
福田刃物製作所 TAKBLADE
TAKBLADE was founded by Kazunori FUKUTA in 1941 at Seki, in Gifu Prefecture. His second successor, Takao FUKUTA, began making pocket and hunting knives, and then, in around 1970, he went to the United States to sell his TAK FUKUTA products. Takao FUKUTA’s passion for knives continued to develop, and in 1978 he was recognizd by Robert Wald “Bob” Loveless, known as the “god of knives” in the United States, with whom he began an apprenticeship.
The same year, he was the first Japanese person to be accepted into the American Knife Guild for his high-quality work the “Loveless folding knife.”
Since Mr. Loveless appreciated Takao FUKUTA, he shared with him all of his skills in making hand-crafted knives. When he got back to Japan, Takao FUKUTA continued creating very useful handmade knives that were simultaneously handy, strong and elegant.
Today, it is the third successor, Kazuhiro FUKUTA, who makes them using the techniques inherited from his father.
ミソノ刃物(株) MISONO CUTLERY CO.,LTD.
Misono has been located in Seki, the cradle of knives, for over 800 years. This company has successfully allied traditional techniques with modern technology thanks to highly experienced blacksmiths. Knife-making involves a number of very demanding processes, in particular, precision thermal treatments. Other, secret, processes have been responsible for Misono's reputation and the superiority of their blades. Misono produces strong blades that are easy to maintain.
フタバ(株) Futaba Co., Ltd. (MATE WAITER'S KNIFE )
MATE is the trademark of sommelier’s knives by Futaba, founded in the city of Seki, in Gifu Prefecture. Seki is a city renowned for its cutlery makers.
Each piece is made in accordance with the highest standards to best meet the needs of professionals.
Eager to create high-performance tools, Futaba furnishes all of his sommelier’s knives with a renowned French corkscrew for removing corks 55 mm (2.1 in) in length.
岡山県（新見市）Okayama - Niimi
A municipality in Okayama Prefecture. Chugoku area. This is a small isolated town where two blacksmiths produce kitchen knives and various types of blades, entirely by hand.
Knives: Shosui Takeda, Miwa
（有）武田刃物工場 TAKEDA HAMONO Inc.
Takeda Hamono was founded in 1920, and moved to the little town of Niimi in 1951. This small enterprise began forging tools: axes, hatchets and scythes, and then kitchen knives, for which it has become famous. Born in 1957, Shosui Takeda sharpened his skills in Tokyo, and then returned to succeed his father in the family forge. He is the third generation of master blacksmiths, and is renowned today for his technical knowledge and ability, as well as for his perfectionism. He forges handmade blades involving many highly demanding processes. His work is among the finest in Japan.
三輪刃物工場 Miwa Knifes Factory Co., Ltd.
Founded in 1927, Miwa Hamono, formerly a farm tool manufacturing company, has, over the generations, become a well-known smithy in the city of Niimi. Miwa Tetsuji, third generation blacksmith, forges high quality blades using traditional techniques with the help of his son.
兵庫（三木）Hyogo-Miki
Located in the Kansai region, near Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture.
Miki has a rich cultural heritage. Its economy is urban, but it also produces rice used in making sake. Of course, it is also a city of blacksmith craftsmen who produce very high quality knives in very small quantities.
Knives: Tanaka, Fujita, Misuzu, Nagao
田中一之刃物製作所 Tanaka kazuyuki Knives Factory
See the products
Shigeki Tanaka is the owner of a handsome smithy in Miki. He is the third generation continuing this art. With his team, he forges various blades entirely by hand. Passionate about his work, he is constantly seeking new materials and innovating with unique designs. He thus uses a variety of steels and finishing touches, but always maintains the traditional methods and techniques that have been used for decades. He has many lines of knives, of very high quality and finely crafted finishing.
永尾駒製作所 Nagao kanekoma Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
The Nagao family in Miki has been creating higonokami knives for over a century, and also forges some fixed blades. Mituo Nagao is the fifth generation, and he is perpetuating this sacred heritage in his little smithy, preserving the artisanal techniques of his ancestors. A higonokami is a folding knife with a very simple design, but it has an international reputation thanks to its traditional, typically Japanese look. It is emblematic and an integral part of the history of Japan.
(株)藤田丸鋸工業 FUJITA MARUNOKO INDUSTRY CO.,LTD.
This company, based in Miki City, was created by the grandfather of Mr Takahide Fujita in 1940 to forge saws marketed under the Yotsume brand. Since 2004, Mr. Fujita has been running the family business, and he has introduced production of traditional kitchen knives. The high-quality blades are made from VG-10, aogami 2 and shirogami 2, and are also remarkable for the wide variety of handles available in original colours.
三寿ゞ刃物製作所 MISUZU HAMONO
Misuzu Hamono is located in the town of Miki, and its knowledge and skills have been passed down through three generations. Its knives are traditional in style, and made from stainless steel or suminagashi. New blade concepts are also offered, such as the Kotobuki Isuzu series. Misuzu thus has a wide choice of knives with beautiful blades marrying tradition and modern quality.
大阪府（堺市）Osaka - Sakai
A port town to the south of Osaka in the Kansai area.
Sakai's blacksmiths have been famous in Japan since the third century, during which Japan's blacksmiths came together for construction of the great Imperial burial mounds known as "Kofun."
Later, around 1540, the first knives were produced for cutting tobacco leaves, at the request of the Portuguese. The cleavers quickly became famous for their sharpness, and Sakai became synonymous with quality.
Sakai's blacksmiths have been working together since the beginning, sharing different manufacturing processes. It is this unique feature that explains why Sakai's blacksmiths still carry the names of ancient families and associations of blade makers. People also speak of "Sakai uchi hamono," which translates literally as "blades struck/forged in Sakai."
Most often, the blades are traditional, made from carbon steel, with beveled blades and cypress handles.
Blade makers: Yauchi, Sasuke, Aoki, Ikeda, Baba, Enami, Sakai Tohji, Nomura, Morimoto, Tahara...
八内刃物製作所 YAUCHI HAMONO
The Yauchi cutlery workshop has been operating since 1937. Today, it is the second generation, namely, Yasuo Yauchi, who perpetuates the ancestral skills with the help of his son Takeshi Yauchi.
This little workshop, very exacting with respect to the quality of its blades, is one of the most famous in Sakai.
(株)馬場刃物製作所 BABA CUTLERY WORKS
Baba came into being in 1916 in the town of Sakai.
Today, this little company specializing in the production of traditional kitchen knives has become one of the finest cutlers in the town. Its blades are all handcrafted and made entirely in Sakai.
Recognized for its perfectionism and commitment to maintaining time-proven manufacturing techniques, Baba is now one of the most respected knife makers in town.