Tanaka Ao

The Tanaka Ao collection is made by master blacksmith Katsuto Tanaka. The products in this collection are made from Japanese Aogami (Blue # 2) steel.

Katsuto Tanaka started making knives at the age of 20 in the 1980s in the Nagasaki region. Knife making in the area dates back to the 1500s for the making of swords. At that time, sickles were made at the request of farmers in the area. After the end of the war in the country, the need for swords diminished, and most sword smiths began to make kitchen knives and farm implements. There are therefore several hundred years of techniques transmitted by word of mouth, from generation to generation.