Yoshimi Kato works out of the Takefu Knife Village (based in Echizen City, Fukui Prefecture, Japan) and took over the Family business (Kanehiro Hamono) from his father in-law in 2017. His Father in-law, Hiroshi Kato-san, started the shop in the late 1960's and was inaugurated as the 4th Chairman of the Takefu Knife Village (TKV) in 1994. The Japanese Government’s  Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), certified Hiroshi Kato-san as “Dentou-kougeishi”, meaning “Traditional Master Craftsman”, a distinct honour bestowed to very few craftsmen who have decades of training, working, and apprenticeship, in addition to passing the “Master of Traditional Crafts Certification Examination”, as conducted by the nation’s Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries.

TKV is home to a long list of blacksmiths that we work with and many young and upcoming apprentices learning the trade. The area has a 700 year long history of smithing with roots in agricultural tools turned cutlery powerhouse.

Making incredible knives runs in the family obviously and we're very excited to have these incredibly sharp knives in our shop. They have one of the most beautiful damascus patterns we have ever seen and are sharpened by famous knife sharpener Makoto Kurosaki; brother of one of our favorite knifemakers Yu Kurosaki.