Traditional forge-smith & Master craftsman, Takeshi Saji, was born in Takefu (Fukui Prefecture) in 1948; a City that is famous for its 700 year old history of producing Echizen Uchi-Hamono (“Echizen hammer forged knives”). After graduating from junior high school, Takeshi spent three years at the local ‘Blacksmith Training School’ where he learned basic forging process and blacksmithing techniques. At the age of 18, he began making knives under the strict supervision of his master & father, Harukichi Saji, the second-generation smith. At the age of 30, his master informed him that there was nothing more he could teach him and that he would be allowed to make his own knives and acknowledged him as the third-generation smith. In 1992, he was officially certified as Dentoukougeishi, a “Traditional Master Craftsman”, by the Japanese “Ministry of International Trade & Industry” (Renamed the “Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry” in 2001).
With over 50 years of knife making experience Takeshi has developed a number of his own techniques, unique ideas and original designs. His distinctive traditionally forged custom knives are well known in the Japanese market and now he is now one of the most popular and best-known forge-smiths from the historic Takefu City.
You can see and order from Master “Saji Custom Hunting Knife collections” on our sister web site JKD (Japanese Knives Direct), which sells Japanese folding knives, hunting knives, outdoor sporting knives, scissors and pruning shears. Master Saji’s knives are always popular due to their unique aesthetics and traditional style.
About 8 years ago, Master Saji began to set aside more time and energy to enable him to produce a range of custom kitchen knives. With his dedication, originality and ingenuity, Master Saji's range of kitchen knives has gradually expanded and, just like his collections of custom hunting knives, each one of his custom kitchen knives has a unique appearance and characteristics.
Just like the original Echizen Uchi-Hamono (“Echizen hammer forged knives”), Master Saji's custom kitchen knives are Hammer Forged with traditional techniques and have a beautiful, powerful appearance and a cutting edge that has a high Rockwell hardness.
Master Saji’s unique ideas and designs cater to completely different tastes than the other existing factory-made knives on the market. We are proud to be able to offer Master Saji's custom kitchen knives to our customers and we are very confident in their cutting performance and high standards of quality.
A wide selection of Master Saji's custom kitchen knives, which each display a harmonious balance between traditional aesthetics and contemporary features, are now available!
