The "SHIKI" series of knives are produced by Hiro Knives Co., Ltd. in Seki-City, under the supervision of Master craftsman and designer Masui Hiroaki. Master Masui was born in Seki (The cutlery making capital of Japan) in 1944 and began his knife-making career at the age of 16 years old. In his youth, in addition to learning knife-making techniques, he also studied design at the Musashino School of Art (Now, Musashino Art University) in Tokyo.
Master Masui originally specialized in producing high quality outdoor sports and hunting knives that were based on his own original designs but, after many years of research and development, he began to design and produce kitchen knives in 2006. Using the extensive experience that he gained whilst grinding, hand contouring and finishing outdoor sports and hunting knives, and his own original designs for kitchen knives, Master Masui produces a range of “Shiki” branded kitchen knives that have exotic-looking blades and unique custom made handles that prioritize user comfort and durability. These great assets are only made possible by Master Masui’s 50 years of experience in knife making and his innovative, highly practical designs.
For many years, we have been impressed by Master Masui’s passion and energy for knife making and we love his lively spirit and his inventive ideas and designs. His knife making philosophy is very simple, but is not easily achieved by ordinary craftsmen: He always strives to make his knives special, by using his own novel designs and special knife-making techniques; this ensures that no one can directly compete with his “Shiki” knives. Master Masui continues to pursue this challenge every day and we are proud to be the exclusive retailer of his special “Shiki” custom-grade Japanese kitchen knives.
