The founder of the Iwai Blacksmith Company was a man named Genmatsu Iwai. He started the company in1939 in the city of Echizen, which is in the Fukui prefecture.
Echizen is known throughout Japan as one of its most important knife capitals.
Feature of Iwai Knives
One of the most notable characteristics of the Iwai Blacksmith Company is that every knife is painstakingly crafted by hand.
They spend hours and put their heart into each knife personally so that every product is special and carefully crafted.
They believed that even though the times were changing and more modern technology introduced faster and more effective ways to mass-produce knives, Iwai believed that continuing to handcraft each and every knife is the way to continue.
Thanks to this belief, each knife meticulously and expertly made to perfection.
Therefore, each knife is incredibly sharp, easy to use, and long-lasting. Iwai states that if taken care of carefully and with attentiveness, a knife can last a lifetime.
Since each knife is made by hand, this means each knife can be custom ordered to match whatever your needs may be, each knife is yours and no one else’s.
Another feature of this brand is that while they are breaking modern traditions of using technology to facilitate production, they maintain antiquated traditions of Echizen’s past.
Iwai continues the 700-year-old tradition of making knives by using the technique called “Echizen Uchi Hamono.”
Design: Traditional Knife for a Modern Day
Iwai Blacksmith Company relies heavily on Japanese knife traditions when producing their knives and this is shown in the design of each knife.
Most knives resemble a traditional Japanese knife where the blade is placed in a wooden handle. Not only paying homage to their roots and traditions but also continuing the tradition of producing a Japanese knife.
Some knives in their collection look more like a standard kitchen that you would see in either a Western or Japanese kitchen/home.
Some more modern knives have a black laminated wood handle, not just for a modern feel, but also for long-lasting effectiveness.
As for the materials, Iwai maintains tradition here as well and use the same if not similar material that they used in antiquity. For the steel, they mainly use variations of Shirogami and Aogami steel for its long-lasting, not easy to tarnish, and even aesthetic qualities.
When browsing you will also notice most knives available have a wave/ripple pattern on the metal.
For the handle, they rely on rosewood/red sandalwood, which has a reddish-muddy coloring to it giving the blade a rustic appearance. For the handle, they also offer three different varieties for the base: a circle, ridged pattern, and octagonal pattern.
As emphasized many times above, Iwai Blacksmith Company forges all of its blades by hand, and because of this, not every knife is created the same. So, every knife even if of the same variety and type can have different weights, patterns, and textures.
Function: From the Kitchen to the Garden
Most of Iwai’s products are intended for kitchen use, whether that be amateur or professional.
They have knives for all daily uses like cutting vegetables, meat, and fish.
They also offer more specialty knives for hobbies and other daily needs. They offer a variety of tools for gardening, pruning, chopping wood, and debarking.
Whatever tool you may need and whatever reason, you can find it at Iwai Blacksmith company.
Type: Knives, Scissors, Sickles, and Shears
For knives, they offer nakiri, usuba, santoku, gyuto, deba, and sashimi knives.
For beginners or first-time buyers, they recommend a santoku, gyuto, or deba knife, or a set of all three to not only get your money’s worth but also to try their brand to the full extent.
They also offer gardening products like shears and nata knives, which are used to chop kindling, prune trees and bushes, and for cutting and debarking small logs.
For those into ikebana, they offer special and high-end scissors to assist in your ikebana needs.
A Reputation that Proceeds
Iwai Blacksmith company is widely known for all their knives being handcrafted, one-of-a-kind works of art, but of course, there are many more complexities to this brand. They are also known for their quality and customer satisfaction.
No matter the knife, style, or design every customer has used their voice to highly praise the craftsmanship online of this brand. Everything this brand says their knives do they deliver, and then some.
With Iwai Blacksmith Company, what you see is not what you get, you get even more.
History of the Iwai Knives
The Iwai Family
As mentioned previously, Iwai Blacksmith company was originally started by Genmatsu Iwai in 1939.
Before starting his legacy, he was a blacksmith in Sakai, Osaka trained under Motojiro Yamagata.
However, unfortunately, World War II ravaged Japan and left Genmatsu nothing, so he decided to return to his hometown of Takefu, which is now modern day Echizen, and started the company that we know today.
He has since worked tirelessly for 80 years and handed his company off to his son.
Takayuki and Takeshi Iwai
The company was first handed off to Genmatsu’s son, Takayuki Iwai. In 1994, Takayuki received the certification of Traditional Craftsman in cutlery production.
Eventually, Takayuki handed the reigns off to his son, Takeshi Iwai. Takeshi started working as a blacksmith for his father after graduating middle school.
His talent preceded him so much, that in 2006 he also received the Traditional Craftsman certification, and was the youngest to do so.
He is now in his forties and has been working in the industry for more than 20 years.
He is the current owner and maintains the Iwai Blacksmith Company brand with his father.
Both work side-by-side to maintain their company’s prestige and to demonstrate their love for quality knives.
A Tale of One Factory
The Iwai Blacksmith Company currently has only one factory in Ikenokamicho, Echizen, Fukui prefecture.
They manufacture, engrave, polish/sharpen all knives at this location and send them off to be sold to customers.
Popular Products
Stainless Multi-layered Steel Stratus Gyuto Knife 180 mm (A3031)
This knife is a stainless multi-layered stainless steel gyuto knife.
With its multi-layering and stainless steel, this knife is guaranteed to be long-lasting, built-to-last, and incredibly hard to rust.
The blade is made of standard stainless steel, which is a gorgeous ripple, or stratus pattern that adds the blade’s aesthetic excellence and gives it the feel and look of a traditional Japanese blade.
The blade blends and is forged into the handle, rather than wedged in.
While typically Iwai Blacksmith Company uses traditional wood handles, this blade has a black laminated handle more commonly found in Western and modern kitchens.
This blade is the prime example of the Iwai company today in sticking with tradition and blending in elements of modernity.
This is a gyuto knife, so it’s mainly used for cutting and slicing meat. There is also the option to lengthen the knife’s blade to 210 mm for those who prefer the feel of a larger knife.
The 180mm blade is priced 24,200 yen (tax included) and for the 220mm 26,950 (tax included), or 233 and 259 USD respectively.
Wind Crest Deba Knife (A2003)
This knife is a deba consisting of aogami steel. The blade gives the look and appearance of steel, with a beautiful ‘wind crest’ pattern to compliment the inherent nature and quality of the steel.
This pattern gives off the appearance of wind moving along the desert sand leaving a trail and blowing the sand this way and that.
The blade is wedged into the handle like a traditional Japanese blade. The handle is made of Iwai’s signature rosewood.
This wood has beautiful and natural stratifications of black blended into the natural deep burgundy color of the wood.
The handle also is complimented with a glossy finish. This is a deba knife, so it’s mainly used in cutting fish, but can be used for cutting certain meats, poultry, and vegetables.
The knife blade comes in 3 different sizes, 150mm, 160mm, and 180mm, to fit and match each person’s preferences.
This knife is priced at 30,360 yen (tax included) for the 150mm, 34,100 yen (tax included) for the 165mm, and 43,450 yen (tax included) for the 180mm blade. Respectively, this is around 292, 328, and 418 USD.
Damascus Steel Drifting Cloud Santoku Knife 170mm (A3026)
This knife is a santoku made of nickel damascus steel. The damascus steel guarantees a sturdy knife that lasts a long time.
The blade has what Iwai calls ‘drifting clouds’ as a pattern to accentuate the steel. This pattern looks as if clouds are hanging in the sky on a blue nice-weathered day with sharp knives of wind cutting through the clouds.
This blade is inserted into the handle. The handle is not made of Iwai’s typical rosewood, but rather out of a matte and stylish deep Honduras rosewood.
This deep and dark color is complimented with a lighter wood that meets the blade.
The pattern at the base of the handle is an octagonal pattern. This is a santoku knife, which is a multi-purpose knife that can be used for almost anything from slicing meat to chopping vegetables.
This knife only comes in one blade size which is a perfect 170mm suitable for any hand size. This knife is 62,700 yen (tax ncluded), or 604 USD.
Best Place to Buy Iwai Knives
Since this brand has yet to become more internationally involved and every product is hand-crafted the best site you can use is their website e-hamono.net to purchase and personalize your very own knife.
This is good news for those living in Japan, but for everyone else, this means getting your hands on their masterful blades will prove a difficult challenge.
