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In Memoriam

Japan Knife Production

Has anyone heard if the tragedy in Japan has affected their knife and knife steel production?

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Scott King on April 4, 2011 at 18:31

Haven't heard anything Robert. I know it has affected automobile industry and electronics though.

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Permalink Reply by stephen tungate on April 4, 2011 at 19:21

they are even raiseing the price's on used car's because of that it is crazy we can't even afford the gas to put in them...

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Permalink Reply by Steve Hanner on April 4, 2011 at 19:30

Good question Robert, I am quite certain their steel industry is hurting. Most knives come from Seki and unsure to what extent that was affected.

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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on April 4, 2011 at 19:47

Robert,

I have a friend who's wife is still there. I asked him, will let you know what he says. He just got back with me...

Being down south, it won't be as affected but a lot of areas are feeling indirect effects. I would think if they are affected that due to their location they should bounce back rather quickly. Word I'm getting is things are slowly returning to normal except for the hardest hit areas.

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Permalink Reply by Halicon on April 22, 2011 at 16:14

The steel industry is still up and running. I don't have much of an eye on their factories though but the smiths that didn't get their shop swept away are all stepping it up several gears in order to help their country.

I'm not very worried about it because their people are extremely hardy and have in history had gigantic catastrophes that almost destroyed the entire country. I think it was in 1840/1860 that they had a Tsunami that wiped out a third of their entire population.

They didn't have nuclear reactors back then though... If the plant goes off then it will be serious on a world-scale.

Steve, Seki is only a portion of their export. Many of their factory made blades comes from there, yep, but the smiths that forge traditionally are located elsewhere, Sanjyo/Yoita (or rather the whole Niigata prefecture), Miki, a handful in Tokyo (literally, you can count them with your hands), Osaka and some other places since they move to where the iron ore quality is as pure as possible.

@Stephen, stop complaining about gas prices already! Bloody yanks, here in Sweden a single liter of gasoline costs slightly over 2 dollars *sad* ;)

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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by Robert Burris on April 22, 2011 at 17:15

Halicon, I know the Japanese people will come back from this terrible tragedy. The Japanese are a very proud an resilient people and with the help from people around the world they will build Japan back stronger than ever. I wish there was something we could do as a Knife Community to help them if anyone has an idea I would support it.

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Permalink Reply by Halicon on April 22, 2011 at 18:48

Indeed, I really admire their strong pride and love they have for their country and it's people.

I have been pro-active about traditionally smithed Jap cutlery here for quite some time. While there was interest there has only been a single person that actually went as far as to actually order a knife based on my recommendation that importing from someone with personal contacts with the most famous and excellent smiths in the entire country is better than taking your own route through some supplier that lists pretty Jap knives that just "happen" to always be out of stock.

I don't quite see why it is so bothersome to order internationally. Even with the Swedish taxes and customs that means we end up having to pay tax on a taxed item that already has been taxed once or twice more before, I haven't ever regretted my imports from USA or Japan.

I have a semi-personal contact that is taking 20-30% of his earnings and donate it to the Japanese red cross society earthquake donation.

I am absolutely in no financial relationship or trying to push wares for my own gain, rather he actually told me previous to the disaster not to mention his website to anyone, but now he has gone ahead and said that he is willing to accept any order and he is also changing his focus of mid-high to extreme performance to the more cheaper knives with more machining involved which shaves alot from the price in order to reach a greater range of users.

So far I have only seen retailers say they donate 5-10% of the sale to the red cross but this guy genuinely wants to help the people in need.

If you wish Robert I could give you his link and you could try ordering a knife from him. If you have the cash and are willing to pay for the quality I would recommend a Tsukasa knife for you. The edge and overall finish will most likely amaze you, if you are familiar with Shigefusa, Tsukasa-san is basically the only man in Japan that produces knives that have the same or above type of finish and quality. Here's an example of the craftmanship and kind of polish he delivers, this one is single bevel but due to the forging and polish it doesn't matter much whether it lacks a second bevel.

Tsukasa-san does make double-beveled knives though but personally I much more like the traditional Japanese hunting variety, it is much harder to sharpen though, the back has to be absolutely flat (it arrives 100% polished so only after a long period of use would you face that), but heck I can help you out with that if you're willing to spend some time and get a few cheap specialized tools :)

Enjoy, single piece scabbard to prevent warping from wetness, also doubles as a cutting surface