The second craftsman I visited in Japan is Mitsuaki Takada of Takada no Hamono. His reputation in the knife community is among the top of all the knife craftsmen in Japan. I came across his Instagram profile by chance, and fell in love with the special finishes he put on his knives long before I even jumped into the knife communities. I would go to sleep dreaming about his Suiboku and damascus finishes. I was really looking forward to the trip because I had seen that he accepts orders for his knives.Unfortunately, he closed his books before I could submit an order. His orders were booked out for the next 5 years minimum!
I messaged him on Instagram about 3 months prior to my trip and he graciously replied, saying the visit was welcome, but to message him again prior to the visit. He could not guarantee any knives would be available, but that was okay for me. I had planned to remind Takada-san of my visit the night before, but I had forgotten to because of my late luggage fiasco. So when I arrived at his shop, I meekly waited by the doors as he finished up with another customer, feeling a little guilty.
For those unaware, a lot of the craftsmen are trying to get as many knives as they can out of their shops as fast as they can, so any interruption to their work processes causes a lot more of a delay than one would expect. So if anyone is planning on a trip to Japan to visit knife craftsmen, PLEASE message them and confirm that it’s okay before going. These aren’t store fronts, so while they may be gracious in welcoming visitors, it’s not typical of their day-to-day for random people to pop in.
Takada-san was very kind and welcoming. We chatted a bit about where we were from, how we heard about him, etc. He noticed my Konosuke bag and asked me about it. I showed him the YS I picked up and he affirmed to me how lucky I should feel.
Afterwards, he showed me his knife case and apologized for not having any of his normal knives in stock. He had a couple stamped knives with western style handles available, so I bought a petty knife because I wanted to support his business. It has his logo laser etched on the knife and he sharpened it, but it isn’t his grind, so I don’t consider this a “true” TnH knife. Regardless, I treated it preciously and used it often.
I wrestled with how to display and store my knives for a long time. I really wanted to get one of those floating magnet blocks but our kitchen didn’t really have the right space for it. I eventually decided on this magnetic knife block that sits on your countertop. The magnet is quite strong, so there is no fear of the knives slipping/falling off. However, you have to be careful placing and removing knives from the block because of it. You can chip it if you’re not careful. If you have longer screws than the ones included, that would also help with the stability of the base. I saw someone else glue a sheet of leather to the face of the block and I plan to do the same once I figure out where to buy some sheets of leather.