Otsuka Hamonokaji's knives are made in Chizu Town, Tottori Prefecture, using rare domestically produced steel with handles made of natural wild cherry wood. The steel used for the blades are made with Japanese iron sand, and smelted in a tatara furnace (a traditional iron smelting furnace) in Yasugi, Shimane Prefecture. This steel is then clad in softer ingot steel and forged by hand. There are only about 50 professionals in Japan, and one of them is the Otsuka Hamonokaji, a third generation blacksmith who produces special grade kitchen knives that are rare, even in Japan.
