IntroductionKajiwara

Kajiwara

Kajiwara kitchen knives come to us from the Tosa region, which today belongs to Kochi prefecture on the southern Japanese island of Shikoku. The adjacent Niyido River basin is dotted with fertile rice fields and dense forests. It is a land of fishermen and traditional crafts.

Although Tosa was founded as a city only in 1959, the history of this province goes back to before the Edo period. Today, nearly seventy-year-old Tsutomu Kajiwara-san belongs to the third generation of renowned blacksmiths. Together with his son-in-law, he creates the most perfect kitchen knives in the area exclusively by hand in a traditional way. Just run your finger along the blade made of uncompromising Hitachi Aogami 2 steel and you will immediately know who you are dealing with. This royal material reaches a hardness of up to 63 HRC and is considered as one of the highest quality steels in the industry in Japan. Kajiwara-san transforms individual layers of noble material into a rich damask pattern also called suminagashi, reminiscent of his handwriting. It has unique depth and sharpness. His second specialty is the elegant Kurouchi blades. Their timeless rustic black finish is popular all over Japan.

Kajiwara kitchen knives are a symbol of craftsmanship applied to the highest quality materials. The blade, made of Hitachi Aogami 2, goes through a guard of pakka wood into a handle of exotic rosewood.