News

Going to Japan!!!
So, in about 2 weeks my wife Sara and I are heading to Japan. We will be there for about 3 months, meeting with knife makers and stone companies. Also, i will be learning more about knife sharpening from a knife sharpener while i am there. Over the 3 months we are there, we will be meeting with around 25-30 companies, trying to find new and interesting products to bring you.During this time, we will continue to operate the business normally. Our stock in LA will still ship from LA.... Read more...
Restaurant Profile - Yakitoriaya
This story begins a few years ago, when Sara and I were visiting her family in Japan.  One of our first nights there, Sara’s sister, brother-in-law, and close family friend took us to an Izakaya (focused on Yakitori).  I didn’t know it at the time, but there was a long discussion about whether or not I would be ok at an Izakaya or Yakitori restaurant.  Sara held off on telling me this until a few years later, after we had started living together in LA.  I was shocked.  Everyone that... Read more...
Regional Knife Makers
Japan has a number of knife making regions.  Some of these (like Sakai, Sanjo, and Seki) have become very popular in recent years, and some are still unknown.  Since there is not so much information available in English about these regions and certified craftsmen/craftswomen, Sara is spending a little time every day working on translating some of this work.  We hope you find this information as interesting as we do.  If you have questions, let us know and we'll do our best to answer.  Also, we are working on putting... Read more...
A few words from Sara
It has been about a month since we updated our blog. Blogging is a serious commitment. Some people do it every day, some people do it occasionally, and some people have never done it before. We decided to use blog in hopes that it might help us better communicate with our family, friends, customers and business partners. So, after a month of slacking, I finally took up my pen (or keyboard) because Jon wasn’t doing it. Unlike Jonathan, I am not a knifenut and so I have a different perspective on our knife... Read more...
Zakuri is here!!!
Zakuri Knives are here… I would write a long post about them, but instead I’ll just leave you guys with this: Keep your eyes on the website. Read more...
You Really Can Buy From Us Now
Ok... we're finally selling stuff on the website... Say hi to Zakuri. Zakuri is a Tosa based conglomerate of knife makers. These knife makers have come together with a few goals in mind.  First, produce great quality knives in the Tosa style. Second, educate people about the history and unique style of Tosa forged knives. As we aim to teach our customers about knives and culture while offering great quality products, it seemed like they would be a great fit for us. As always, we have a few more secrets up our sleeves,... Read more...
A Quick Update
So, it's been a little while since I've written anything here... We've been busy. Here's what's new. Our first shipment of knives has arrived (as many of you already know). We now have our Shigefusas in stock. We will be posting pictures and putting the knives up for sale shortly. Also, out second shipment is in customs in LA. That means that, within a few days, we should have Kaneshige Hamono's knives in stock as well. We've also redesigned the website... again. In testing our last site, we found that... Read more...
Over 40!!! (and we're not talking about age)
Today, Sara and I (well mostly Sara, because I was preparing for Passover) organized all of the knife maker contacts we've collected over the past few weeks. We've been researching everything that came across our screens for about 1 month now, but until today I had not realized how many makers we had contacted. OVER 40!!! We've been in contact with over 40 knife makers in Japan. Our files just keep growing. And the knife makers cover a wide variety of knives... very highly refined to rustic, expensive to relatively inexpensive, huge names to ones... Read more...
Wiring Money... The Hard Way
Have you ever tried to wire money to another country? If not, consider yourself lucky. What a pain. In an ideal world, all banking systems would be standardized worldwide... or, at the very least, have an understanding of other countries banking systems. I would have figured that banks that do wire transfers would at least have some practice with sending money to other countries in different currencies. Well, after today it sure doesn't seem that way.  First off, let me say this about my bank. I like them very much. They have always been good to me. They... Read more...
Wow!!! We are dorks!
When I say "We" here, I mean "We: all of the knife nuts who waste away on knife forums". I'm not trying to be mean here... just state a fact, that, over time, it's becoming more evident. I always had assumed that no one could be more of a knife dork than the knife makers, but I was wrong. Most of us at knife forums have achieved world record levels of knife-dork-ness. Really. I was talking with some Japanese knife makers, and a few of them that sell to the... Read more...
Looking for knives in all the wrong places
So the knifenuts out there know the places to look for knives... Osaka, Sakai, Echizen, Niigata, Sanjo, Tokyo, etc.  We all know those places. And the knives that come from those places are often of great quality. Cool. Nice. But it's been done. We can get many of those knives now from anywhere in the world. So who cares? Don't get me wrong... I still like them. Those cities have awesome knives. Aritsugu, Masamoto, Blazen, Suisin, Nenohi. They rock. But I want to do something different.  I want to bring... Read more...
Follow Up? Not in Japan.
As an American, the concept of following up with people is deeply rooted in how I operate. When I send something, I call to make sure the person got it. If I don't hear back from someone, I call them to check in. If I order something, I check to make sure my order was received. And, especially with job hunting, I call so many times just to make sure they know who I am and that I am interested. So, as I am doing business with Japanese companies, I find myself... Read more...