Takeshi Saji

Takeshi Saji, a master craftsman and traditional forge-smith, was born in Takefu in 1948. Takefu is renowned for its 700-year legacy of manufacturing Echizen Uchi-Hamono. Takeshi studied basic forging and blacksmithing methods for three years at the local "Blacksmith Training School" after completing his junior high education. He started manufacturing knives at the age of 18 under the careful guidance of his father and master, second-generation smith Harukichi Saji. When he turned thirty, his instructor told him that he was the third generation of smiths and that there was nothing more he could teach him. He also said that he would be permitted to produce his own knives.