Why Are Sakai Japanese Knives Favored by Chefs?

Why do 98% of Japanese Chefs Use Knives from Sakai?

There’s a reason Japan’s top chefs trust Sakai.
For over 600 years, Sakai City has been the heart of traditional Japanese blade-making. From samurai swords to professional kitchen knives, its legacy of craftsmanship continues to shape the culinary world today.
In this video, we explore why 98% of Japanese chefs choose knives from Sakai.

Discover why well over 90% of the knives used by Japan’s professional chefs come from Sakai, Osaka—despite holding only a small share of the household market. This dominance is no accident: Sakai’s knife-making tradition is officially recognized by the Japanese government as a Traditional Craft of Japan, and its reputation has been forged over more than six centuries.
From the Edo period’s famed tobacco knives, once a monopoly product of the Tokugawa shogunate, to today’s world-class wa-bocho, Sakai’s artisans have passed down skills of exceptional sharpness and precision. Their unique division-of-labor system and full handcraftsmanship continue to set Sakai apart, making it the trusted choice for chefs in Japan’s most demanding kitchens.
In this article, we’ll explore the two core reasons why Sakai knives have earned such unmatched trust in the culinary world.

Reason 1: Specialization That Perfects Every Stage

Sakai’s knives are born from a division-of-labor system where each critical stage is executed by a different master:

The Bladesmith
Forges and shapes the blade’s profile and structure.
The Sharpener
Creates the cutting edge, often using a progression of many whetstones for micro-level precision.
The Handle Maker
Fits, balances, and aligns the handle for lasting comfort and control.

This model concentrates decades of practice into each step, yielding finer geometry, truer edges, and more consistent finishes than an all-in-one workflow can typically deliver. The system itself—blacksmithing / sharpening / handle-fitting handled by specialists—is a defining feature of Sakai cutlery.

The Art of Knife-Making: Division of Labor vs. Integrated Production
In the world of knife-making, there are two distinct approaches: division of labor and integrated production. Each has its own appeal, but the division of labor, in particular, harnesses the expertise and passion of specialized craftsmen to create truly traditional and unique products.

Reason 2: Handcraftsmanship at Every Step

From the initial forging—hammer-welding steel and iron—to final edge work and handle fitting, Sakai production prioritizes manual control. Subtle hand adjustments (heat, hammering, stone selection, alignment) enable razor-sharp yet resilient edges with a refined finish that mass-production struggles to replicate. This is why Sakai remains the reference point for professional tools even as other regions have leaned further into automation.

Differences Between Handcrafted Knives and Mass-Produced Factory Knives

Why Sakai Knives Stand Above the Rest: The Craft Behind Japan’s Most Trusted Blades

Sakai’s strength lies in a craft built over centuries—where each blade is created by multiple masters, each perfecting one essential stage.
This division of mastery produces knives with a sharpness, balance, and soul that mass production can never replicate.*
Source (98% data): Sakai Tourism Bureau

Handcrafted with heart, delivering true flavors that machines cannot replicate.

Our knives are filled with a commitment to handcrafted excellence. The belief that we cannot create the same quality as machine-made mass production supports our pride as traditional artisans. It is the skilled craftsmanship and heartfelt manual work that machines cannot achieve, resulting in a unique and unparalleled quality.

Ⅰ. Urasuki: The Hidden Feature Behind Sakai’s Unmatched Precision

The Subtle Curve That Defines Japanese Single-Bevel Knives
Among the many features that set Sakai knives apart, few are as essential — or as misunderstood — as the urasuki.
This is the gentle concave surface on the back side of a single-bevel Japanese knife (wa-bōchō), a design detail that is nearly invisible to the untrained eye but crucial to its performance.
Why Urasuki Exists
The urasuki reduces the surface area of the blade that comes into contact with food. This:
- Minimizes friction, allowing smoother cuts.
- Prevents food from sticking to the blade.
- Enables extremely thin, precise slicing without tearing or crushing the food’s cellular structure.
For Japanese cuisine — especially when preparing sashimi — this means a cleaner cut that preserves both the flavor and presentation of the ingredient.
Why Machines Can’t Replicate It
Creating urasuki requires skilled handcraftsmanship.
The curvature must be perfectly even from heel to tip, with subtle variations depending on the knife type and intended use.
Any inconsistency will cause uneven cuts or poor food release.
Machines can grind a flat surface, but achieving the urasuki’s precise, shallow concavity demands decades of experience and a craftsman’s trained eye.
The Sakai Difference
In other knife-making regions, such as Sanjo and Seki, double-edged knives for household use are more common.
Their symmetrical profiles are well-suited to machine production.
By contrast, Sakai’s single-bevel knives require deep knowledge of steel composition, heat treatment, and sharpening angles — expertise that only seasoned artisans possess.
The deba knife, for instance, originated in Sakai. Its thick spine and robust construction make it ideal for cutting through bones, while its edge is refined enough for delicate fish filleting. This balance of strength and precision is deeply tied to Sakai’s centuries-old craftsmanship.
Performance Recognized by Professionals
The benefits of urasuki and single-bevel construction become especially clear in professional kitchens.
Chefs note how effortlessly Sakai knives glide through ingredients, producing clean cuts that enhance both texture and flavor.
This level of refinement is a major reason why over 90% of Japan’s top chefs continue to choose Sakai.
In every Sakai knife, the urasuki is more than a design choice — it’s the signature of true Japanese craftsmanship, blending form, function, and centuries of expertise.

The Hidden Engine of Precision: Understanding the Urasuki

The urasuki is one of the most important—and least understood—elements of a traditional single-bevel Japanese knife.
This subtle concave hollow on the backside dramatically reduces friction, improves food release, and makes sharpening easier and more precise.
Its engineered geometry supports a thinner, sharper cutting edge and is a key contributor to the knife’s legendary performance.
To maintain this structure, only the surrounding flat rim (uraoshi) should be sharpened—preserving the urasuki and ensuring the blade performs at its highest potential.

Ⅱ. Sakai Knives: Where Six Centuries of Tradition Meet Modern Precision

Well over 90% of Japan’s top chefs rely on knives from Sakai, Osaka — a city whose blades are officially recognized as a Traditional Craft of Japan.
For more than 600 years, Sakai’s artisans have refined their skills, passing them down through generations. Today, that same heritage is blended with selective modern innovations, creating knives trusted in the most demanding kitchens worldwide.
The Art of Forging: Old Wisdom, New Tools
In Sakai, forging is still rooted in handcrafting techniques that date back centuries.
Where artisans once used charcoal to control heat, today’s workshops combine traditional methods with modern equipment like spring hammers and precision gas furnaces. These tools enhance efficiency and temperature control — but the critical details, like shaping the steel and setting the perfect curve between iron and steel, remain entirely in the hands of skilled bladesmiths.
The result? Blades with unmatched sharpness, durability, and balance.
Sharpening: Precision You Can Feel
Sharpening, or “honing,” was once performed entirely by hand — and in Sakai, the essence of that tradition remains.
Motor-driven grindstones now assist in the early stages, but the final edge is always refined by hand, stone by stone.
This ensures each knife glides effortlessly through ingredients, producing clean cuts that preserve texture and flavor.
Innovation with Purpose
In Sakai, innovation never replaces craftsmanship — it enhances it.
From modern furnaces that prevent oxidation to polishing machines that improve finish quality, every advancement is adopted for one reason: to make a better knife without compromising the soul of the craft.
The Passion Behind Every Blade
For Sakai’s artisans, these knives are more than tools — they are a legacy.
Each blade carries the pride of a craft honed over centuries, refined with care, and trusted by chefs across the globe.

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The handcrafted knives, made one by one by skilled artisans, are gaining attention from chefs around the world.

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