Who we are

SAKAI EDGE is run by a resident of Sakai, Osaka — one of Japan’s historic knife-making towns — who has worked around industrial cutting tools and tool steel for many years. We write for home cooks and chefs outside Japan who want to understand Japanese kitchen knives before they buy one.

How we research

• Numbers come from primary sources. Steel compositions and hardness figures are taken from the steelmakers’ own published data (for example Proterial, Takefu Special Steel and Aichi Steel). Each value links to its source, and values that only retailers publish are marked.
• We say what we could not confirm. When sources disagree or a maker does not publish a figure, we say so instead of guessing.
• First-hand visits. We visit workshops and shops in Sakai and other knife towns and will add our own photos and notes as we go. We only publish people’s names and faces with their permission.

AI-generated images

Some illustrations and the opening video on the home page were made with AI tools (Canva and Google Flow). They are marked as AI-generated, are not photos of real products or workshops, and will be replaced with our own photography over time.

How the site is funded

Some links to shops are affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Commissions never decide what we recommend or how we describe a knife or steel; see our privacy policy and disclosure.

Contact

Corrections and questions are welcome — please use the contact page.