I purchased this knife in Osaka from a little old lady who only knew a few words in english (not that I can do any better in Japanese). She kept saying “Doi-san, Doi-san” and at the time I vaguely understood that it was made by a man named Doi and it was a special knife. Later I did a little research and this is what I’ve found;
This knife was cold-forged by Itsuo Doi using a technique perfected by his late father, Keijiro Doi; a legendary master craftsman from the Sakai area, which has 600 years of tradition creating knives and earliest records of blacksmithing go all the way back to the 5th century. Dozens and dozens of lifetimes building off each other’s efforts.
Keijiro spent nearly 70 years honing his craft; many of which his son, Itsuo, apprenticed under him. He is widely regarded as one of the finest traditional knife makers to have ever lived. Itsuo Doi will be the last to carry on his families legacy.
I use it to carve steaks, so as you can imagine, it gets used a lot. This is a great example of what I am willing to spend my sats on. If you want them you’re going to need to compel me like Mr. Doi has. I’m only interested in work that speaks for itself.
