A Visit to business partners in Canada (7)

I asked them about the “Wa-Gyuto,” which is made by craftsmen outside of Japan from steel materials and even has a handle of his own making.

カナダの取引先さんへの訪問(7)

日本国外の職人さんが鋼材から作り上げ、自作の柄までを挿げた『和牛刀』について色々と聞いてみました。

（日本語は 写真の下に続きます）

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Perhaps because the heat treatment process requires the accumulation of techniques based on tradition and experience, there are some aspects of sharpness that are not as good as those of Japanese knives.

However, at least in terms of appearance, each craftsman has his own unique style that makes the most of his special skills, and above all, I felt his commitment as a craftsman to “work on various processes by himself.

I had a chance to talk with those craftsmen, and they were all very friendly and seemed to truly enjoy making things.

Until now, we had only produced knives with Japanese blacksmiths, but this encounter made us feel that new possibilities might open up for us to consider collaborating with people outside of Japan.

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熱処理の作業などが伝統や経験に基づく技術の蓄積が必要なためか、切れ味については日本製の包丁に敵わない部分もあるようです。

ただ、少なくとも見た目についてはそれぞれの職人さんの特技を活かした、唯一無二の独自性が盛り込まれていますし、何より『色んな工程に自ら取り組む』という職人としてのこだわりを感じたような気がします。

今回その職人さん方ともお話ししましたが、みなさんとても気さくで、モノづくりを心から楽しんでいるように感じました。

これまでは日本の鍛冶屋さんとしか包丁を製作したことがありませんでしたが、日本以外の方々との協業を考えることも、新たな可能性が広がりそうだと感じた出会いでした。