Photo essay: Pandemic cooking sharpens Japanese knife sales

The city of Seki, famous for forging samurai swords, is now the epicentre for world-renowned kitchen tools

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  TOPSHOT - This picture taken on September 16, 2022 shows a variety of knives displayed at a factory of Sumikama Cutlery in Seki, Gifu prefecture. - In a Japanese city once famous for forging samurai swords, craftsmen sharpen and polish kitchen knives, but even at full tilt their small factory can't keep up with global demand. The export value of knives and other bladed tools like scissors hit a record high in Japan last year, partly thanks to a home-cooking boom sparked by the pandemic. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY Japan-lifestyle-culture-craft-knives by Natsuko FUKUE

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  French chef Olivier Oddos cleaning a knife with whetstone at his restaurant in Tokyo

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  In a Japanese city once famous for forging samurai swords, craftsmen sharpen and polish kitchen knives

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  The export value of knives and other bladed tools such as scissors hit a record high in Japan last year

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  A worker begins the knife sharpening process at Sumikama Cutlery in Seki

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  The demand for Japanese knives is partly because of a home-cooking boom sparked by the pandemic

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  A worker checks the quality of a knife being polished

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  The factory is at full capacity to meet global demand

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  Aspiring and professional chefs prize Japanese knives' delicate precision, sleek finish and long lifespan

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  Katsumi Sumikama of Sumikama Cutlery puts the popularity down to a 'combination of technology and traditional craftsmanship'

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  A worker testing the sharpness of a knife

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  To achieve the formidably sharp knife edge, the company uses machines that guarantee accuracy to one-thousandth of a millimetre

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  Seki's renowned blade expertise dates from the 14th century

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  Seki became a major producer of swords thanks to its rich natural environment

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  The Kama-Asa cutlery shop on Tokyo's famous Kappabashi kitchenware street

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  The export value of kitchen bladed tools hit a record $90 million in 2021

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  Katsumi Sumikama, right, head of Sumikama Cutlery, checking the quality of a knife at his factory in Seki

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  Japanese kitchen knives have a worldwide reputation

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  Japanese knives have to be maintained regularly with sharpening stones

Over the decades, Japanese knives have become much-coveted for their delicate precision, sleek finish and long lifespan.

They're often the utensil of choice for aspiring and professional chefs, including French chef Olivier Oddos, whose Tokyo restaurant had a Michelin star between 2014 and 2021, and who has been a devotee for more than two decades.

The home-cooking boom of the pandemic, however, sharpened the knives' popularity, with the export value of kitchen bladed tools hitting a record 12 billion yen ($90 million) in 2021, a 30 per cent jump from about nine billion yen the previous year, according to Japan Customs.

Seki is the epicentre of knife-making in Japan, where blade expertise dates from the 14th century, when the city became a major producer of swords thanks to its rich natural environment; clean water, charcoal and raw materials.

When samurai were ordered to abandon their swords in 1876, the industry faltered, but after the Second World War the city began producing pocket knives for export.

Now, craftsmen sharpen and polish kitchen knives, but even at full tilt their small factory can't keep up with global demand.

Katsumi Sumikama, head of Sumikama Cutlery in the central city of Seki, puts the popularity down to a "combination of technology and traditional craftsmanship".

To achieve the formidably sharp edge needed to make perfect sushi or cut precise slices of Wagyu beef, the company uses machines that guarantee accuracy to one-thousandth of a millimetre, then artisans finish the job by hand.

But even at full capacity, "we can't keep up", Sumikama told AFP. "We're seeing demand stronger than pre-pandemic levels in all countries."