Blue Steel #2 (Honyaki-Mizuyaki) Yanagiba 270mm -Mirror Polished(both sides)

In Sakai's knifemaking tradition, our strength lies in division of labor. Each craftsman dedicates their life to mastering a single, specific step of the process, and it's this focused expertise that creates extraordinary blades.

Think of it like a symphony orchestra—every musician plays their part to perfection, creating something far greater than any could achieve alone. I've spent over three decades just perfecting the art of blade sharpening, while my colleague has dedicated his life to hammer forging. My father before me used to say, "It takes three generations to master one skill," and now I truly understand what he meant.

When people ask why we don't make knives from start to finish individually, I explain that true mastery comes from depth, not breadth. In my small workshop, where I spend countless hours bringing edges to life, every subtle variation in pressure and angle makes a difference that only decades of focused experience can understand. The same is true for each specialist in our community—the handle makers, the blade forgers, the pattern welders.

This specialization isn't just tradition—it's our wisdom passed down through centuries. Each knife that leaves Sakai carries within it the culmination of multiple lifetimes of dedicated expertise. When chefs tell us they can feel something special in our knives, they're feeling the touch of not just one craftsman, but an entire community of masters.

We often say in Sakai that "no single person makes a knife—the entire city does." And in this age of jack-of-all-trades, we stand proud in our belief that true excellence comes from the deep mastery of one crucial skill, perfectly synchronized with others. This is the heart of Sakai's knifemaking tradition.