As the title says, I'll be in the Fukuoka and Nagasaki area in January and am wondering if there are any knife makers or knife shops I should try to hit.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Knifemakers of Note in Fukuoka or Nagasaki?
- Thread starter ACHiPo
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The area is known for Mosquito style blacksmithing, I am still not 100% on the difference of this style of making over other regions ( I've asked Junichi-san of Yosimitu Kajiya for clarification). Similar style of free forging to Tosa knives from what I've gathered so far. The knives are rustic in fit and finish, they generally need a bit of work to get them running right but I love the performance for the price.
Here's a couple of places to go.
Shimabara:
Shigemitsu Hamono
重光刃物
Yosimitu Kajiya
井手鍛冶屋(好光)
Yoshimitsu Hamono
Matsubara:
Tanaka Kama Industry
Here's a couple of places to go.
Shimabara:
Shigemitsu Hamono
重光刃物
Yosimitu Kajiya
井手鍛冶屋(好光)
Yoshimitsu Hamono
Matsubara:
Tanaka Kama Industry
Thank you! It looks like I will be in Nagasaki Sunday. Hopefully one of these places will be open. Matsubara looks very Tardis-like: small on the outside and huge on the inside!
Dull_Apex
Correct Handed Member
How about Toshio Ohba/Oba in Fukuoka? Miyazaki apprenticed under him and there are write-ups about how he is the only person who services the rakes for sumo rings.
Someone has been selling (flipping?) his knives on yahoo auctions recently so he might still be active.
Someone has been selling (flipping?) his knives on yahoo auctions recently so he might still be active.
Interesting. 80 years old. I’ll definitely need a translator.
https://thejapanesefoodlab.com/toshio-ohba/
I visited Toshio Ooba Saturday. Communication was very difficult with my minimal Japanese and Ooba-San’s non-existent English. Even with Google translator it was tough. Fortunately the hotel called ahead for me so he was expecting me and knew I was interested in his kitchen knives. He was working on a knife when I arrived—very active for an 80 year old. He seemed as geeked as I was to meet, although I couldn’t understand anything he said. I bought a smallish Hakata knife—maybe 200 mm—that felt good in my hand. The grind is fairly thick, the bevel is convex, and it’s kinda sharp but needs a little work. It’s a symmetric grind. Looking forward to trying it out. My expectations are fairly low as he starts with low carbon steel, but he uses coal or charcoal in his forge so maybe it picks up enough carbon to be mid-50s in hardness. I thought about asking about hardness, but figured I wouldn’t understand anyway. Likely he’d answer “hard enough but not too hard”
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Clarification: The mosquito style refers to one blacksmith who's kanji is similar to the mosquito kanji.
