Our Knifemakers - Original Japanese Knifemaking Tradition
Hand-forged chef's knives in perfection
Our forgers have the entire manufacturing process under their control. This process begins with the selection of steel and culminates in a finished knife (in between the forging of several materials, appropriate heat treatment, shaping of the steel, grinding, embedding of the blade in the handle, etc.). Each step has been perfected over many years and is done by hand. Accordingly, in one of our Japanese knives are not only many hours of work but also knowledge and experience built up over generations. The resulting knives are therefore perfectly balanced and matched to their intended use.
Original Japanese chef's knives from family-run handicraft businesses
These aspects also result in the higher price compared to conventional European knives. Despite the perfection of craftsmanship, a Japanese knife is unique and cannot be reproduced in detail. Nevertheless, the Japanese knives of different forges differ significantly, because different forges have developed different techniques, which have been further developed and perfected there for generations.
Silverback Knives offers a cross-section of the Japanese knifemaking tradition.
The goal of our store is to offer an interesting cross-section of the Japanese cutlery tradition. Our knives do not come from mass production, but for the most part from family-run craft workshops that have existed for generations. The individual forges have been selected by us because we are convinced of the product quality of these forges. It is important to us that tradition and today's demands are not mutually exclusive, but go hand in hand. The output of our forges is limited because most of the production is sold directly in Japan and only a certain number of knives can be produced with the available working time of the blacksmith. Our good fortune is that we have access to the exclusive products of these small craftsmen and can make them available in Germany accordingly. The Japanese knifemaker goes through years of training. It often takes more than 10 years until each step is perfected. The smiths are often specialized in the production of certain types of knives and certain steels. They then master this limited field to perfection.