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The oldest known Japanese knife is more than 1200 years old. The knives are made using the same techniques that made the incredible sharp and durable samurai swords famous. In the 19^th century a lot of sword makers switched from making katanas (samurai swords) to making kitchen knives, such is the case of Aritsugu, the oldest known knife makers in Japan. Founded in 1560, Aritsugu was the supplier of samurai swords of the Imperial House of Japan, but in the 17^th and 18^th century came an era of peace, and the demand for new swords diminished. Aritsugu then switched from making swords to making pointed knives which were used to carve statues. The opening of Japanese borders in the second half of the 19^th century created the demand for Japanese kitchen knives. Aritsugu like many other sword makers used their experience to make knives. After WWII, General MacArthur banned the production of samurai swords, forcing skilled sword makers to begin making kitchen knives with the same passion and skill used in katana making, which resulted in some of the best knives in the world.

Traditional Japanese knife making requires at least 4 skilled craftsmen, and it takes them 2 weeks to complete a single blade. The process can be divided into four stages: forging, edge crafting, handle making, and assembling, each of these stages is separated into different steps. A top-grade knife can go through 50 different steps. The final step is the engraving by hand of the brand and the knife maker, which differentiates handmade knives to mass, produced ones.

 http://www.japaneseknife.org

www.japaneseknife.org