Okubo Kajiya / Tokushima

2024.2.21 Notice regarding availability.

Well, gosh darn it. 

Okubo san has asked us to suspend sales of his knives for a time. The reason: handles. Or lack thereof.

Okubo san's supplier has faltered in their ability to resupply Okubo Kajiya in good time. We're exploring some short term alternatives and things may be back up and running very soon (we have a supply of rather fetching rosewood handles that might work) but for the moment instead of clicking that buy button please shoot us a hello via the 'Contact Us' page (up there, under Ordering Information). We'll keep you in the loop.

Please note that orders already in place are unaffected, and Okubo san's takenoko nakiri-bocho remains available for order. He makes those handles himself.

2024.7.14 Update regarding availability.

Well, gosh darn it.

Things really haven't progressed from where we were in late February. There is some qualified expectation that things might return to normal in September.

We should note that over the last few months a number of customers have opted to order a blade and fit a handle themselves. Please fee free to get in touch if that's something you'd like to do.

2024.10.2 Update 

Well September came and went and still no word on hounoki/horn handles. Okubo san is fitting walnut handles with a plastic ferrule for local buyers so feel free to contact us if that option is of interest. Other handle options are being explored from our side but, you know, economies of scale. We'll see how those feelers pan out.

A quick note on fulfilment times. An order placed in early October is likely to be shipped in early December. Please note that blacksmiths become busy in December with all the additional work associated with the lead-up to the o-shogatsu new year period (sharpening particularly) and it's more than likely fulfilment times will lengthen. An order placed in late October is unlikely to arrive before the end of the year. 

That's how it's done. Wordless coordination and a perfect strike.

Tokushima Prefecture lies between the knife-making powerhouses of Sakai city in Osaka Prefecture and Tosa city in Kochi Prefecture. From a smithy point of view things have always been fairly quiet in Tokushima. 

But nestled in a small valley just far enough from Tokushima City to be called the country, there's a small, elven-like forge producing traditional edge tools of wonderful quality.

Okubo Kajiya is the sole knife maker in the prefecture and without a great deal of information to uncover beforehand we weren't quite sure what to expect on our first visit. What we found was a rich spirit of craftsmanship, and that welcoming generosity that makes traveling around Japan such a pleasure.

Wow. What an experience. The kind of experience that makes all we do at Knife Japan more fascinating with each passing year. Seated inches from Okubo san's anvil and forge we witnessed a wonderful demonstration of the craft. Great cleaving strikes of the long hammer through to delicate final shaping, all the while the younger Mr Okubo sharing a patient and thoughtful explanation of his father's work throughout the forging process. Wonderful.

Output from this small family concern is modest, and there's usually a wait involved in purchasing one of Okubo san's fine knives. But what will arrive will be a beautifully-executed hand-crafted tool, with lovely cutting feel right out of the box.