Jikko Hamono

The history of Jikko Hamono begins when first-generation Itaro Jikko opened a knife specialist in the blade city of Sakai in 1900 (Meiji 33). Consistently committed since its founding to blade-setting and grinding through artisans' handwork, it has answered the call for "knives that cut well," centered on Japanese-cuisine chefs.

Today the fourth-generation Toshiyuki Jikko is at the helm, and many young artisans are active on the floor. Building on the inherited skills of Japanese knives, it continues to explore the form of blades suited to the times — through modern materials such as stainless steel and high-carbon steel, and design-forward brand collections.

In 2014 it developed a base at its Sakai flagship equipped with an open factory and showroom. Creating an environment where you can choose while watching the sharpening and production processes up close, and together with stores around the country — Namba and Umeda in Osaka, Kappabashi in Tokyo, Pontocho in Kyoto — it has built a system where you can consult while actually handling the knives.

Its lineup is wide-ranging — Japanese knives such as yanagiba, deba and usuba, Western knives such as gyuto and petty, and Jikko's own "all-purpose single-edged knife." Furthermore, through after-care such as re-sharpening, handle replacement and knife memorial services, it treats buying a knife not as the goal but the start, advancing an environment for a long relationship with a lifelong tool.

A knife specialist from Sakai, founded in 1900

Ever since its founding in the blade city of Sakai in 1900 (Meiji 33), Jikko Hamono has kept its commitment to "good cutting performance" through artisans' handwork. Having shipped over a million knives in total, it commands deep trust from cooks and restaurants at home and abroad.

An open factory and showroom

Its Sakai flagship has both a factory where knives are sharpened and a showroom where you can actually pick them up and try them. Opening up the production site, it clearly conveys to visitors how Sakai knives are made and why their cutting performance is so excellent.

Jikko's original "all-purpose single-edged knife"

The "all-purpose single-edged knife," designed to be broadly usable on its own like a Western knife while drawing on the structure and high cutting performance of a Japanese knife, is a series Jikko developed independently. By making gyuto, petty, santoku and the like in a single-edged spec, it proposes a knife easy for both professionals and home users to handle.

Artisan re-sharpening and lifelong after-care

At Jikko, the artisans who make the knives in-house also handle re-sharpening and repair directly. Through sharpening repairs that reconsider not only the edge but the knife's shape and restore it to near-new condition, and through handle replacement, it provides after-care for using a knife for 10 or 20 years.