Kitaoka Knives

Hideo Kitaoka was born in 1950 and learned his craft as a child watching his father work in Echizen. He succeeded the family business over 30 years ago as a third-generation smith, and is a member of the Takefu Village knife cooperative alongside many other respected makers. Kitaoka focuses on traditional single bevel knives - deba, yanagiba, kiritsuke, and funayuki - forged in Blue #2 and Damascus White #1 carbon steel.